HEALTH NURSE ASSISTANCE PLEASE: pimple-looking bump in pubic area

[mikolee]

Hello Health Nurse,

Hope this doesnt cause much of a nuissance. I'm new here and quite frankly quite freaked out. Im in my late 20's and have had one enduring intimate relationship all my life, with the exception of a one-night stint some 3 weeks ago.

I had broken up with my girlfriend last year. We were both virgins when we started our relationship some 7 yrs ago, and had never been in any other relatinship while together. Never had any problems, I mean sexually, with regards to STI's.

3 weeks ago I was at a friend's bacholars party and things went out of hand. I ended up sleeping with an asian SP from the GTA area. I wore a condom but didnt really pay attention to her cleanliness since the sex happened fast and unplanned. Anyhow, a few days ago i notice a pimple-looking bump in the pubic area, an inch from the shaft. It is relatively hard, with a white head. Tried squeezing it thinking it was a pimple but to no avail. Went to see a general doctor and he diagnosed it as a wart. He then froze it with liquid nitrogen. I have a bit of scarring in that area, but the bump is still there. It seems to deflate and inflate randomly. I'm not sure if it is in the process of dying or not.

I've been researching on the internet and believe what I have closely resembles Molluscum. However, I'm not 100% sure. I only have one bump. I also see a small reddend patch on the other side of the pubic area, but its flat with no apparent bump. I'm afraid I might have contracted herpes. Do you think this is Molluscum or herpes? Is it possible to contract both infections from one SP from a one-time encounter? what are the chances of that? I normally abstain from this type of sexual activity, and i'm kinda stunned at how I can contract an infection from a single encounter.

Your help is much appreciated.

Thx

 

[Health Nurse]

Hello Health Nurse,

Hope this doesnt cause much of a nuissance. I'm new here and quite frankly quite freaked out. Im in my late 20's and have had one enduring intimate relationship all my life, with the exception of a one-night stint some 3 weeks ago.

I had broken up with my girlfriend last year. We were both virgins when we started our relationship some 7 yrs ago, and had never been in any other relatinship while together. Never had any problems, I mean sexually, with regards to STI's.

3 weeks ago I was at a friend's bacholars party and things went out of hand. I ended up sleeping with an asian SP from the GTA area. I wore a condom but didnt really pay attention to her cleanliness since the sex happened fast and unplanned. Anyhow, a few days ago i notice a pimple-looking bump in the pubic area, an inch from the shaft. It is relatively hard, with a white head. Tried squeezing it thinking it was a pimple but to no avail. Went to see a general doctor and he diagnosed it as a wart. He then froze it with liquid nitrogen. I have a bit of scarring in that area, but the bump is still there. It seems to deflate and inflate randomly. I'm not sure if it is in the process of dying or not.

I've been researching on the internet and believe what I have closely resembles Molluscum. However, I'm not 100% sure. I only have one bump. I also see a small reddend patch on the other side of the pubic area, but its flat with no apparent bump. I'm afraid I might have contracted herpes. Do you think this is Molluscum or herpes? Is it possible to contract both infections from one SP from a one-time encounter? what are the chances of that? I normally abstain from this type of sexual activity, and i'm kinda stunned at how I can contract an infection from a single encounter.

Your help is much appreciated.

Thx

Hi mikolee

It is really hard for us to diagnose conditions over the internet as we would need to know your medical history, do an exam and testing. What I can do is give you some suggestions based on what you have written and what to do next.

Sorry to hear about your situation dealing with a possible STI can certainly cause a lot of stress. It is possible for multiple infections to be passed at one time but is not the norm when dealing with a one time encounter.

It is great that you used a condom as that will really reduce your risk. Most STI do not show symptoms so it is impossible to know someone’s STI status by looking at them.

From what you have described it does sound like a classic case of molluscum. We see this often in the clinic and it usually shows up as a pimple that won’t go away.

Herpes is a common STI but I would think that the doctor would have done a herpes swab if they thought this could have been a possibility e.g. any open sore.

Typically genital warts is something that is growing on top of the skin were things that are growing under the skin and pushing up with a white center can be things like molluscums, pimples, sebaceous glands, infected hair follicles or a boil.

When someone diagnosis genital warts it is not from a test but by a health professional looking at it. As you can imagine there is a certain degree of error with this method. People have come to the clinic for genital wart treatment, only to find out they are not genital warts. Given this it may be a good idea for a second opinion while you still have symptoms.

A great place in Toronto is the Hassle free clinic.
http://www.hasslefreeclinic.org/

Here is a link for more information on molloscum
http://www.ashastd.org/learn/learn_mc.cfm

I would be interested to find out what it ends up being.

HN
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