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What Do Red And White Lump On Penis Head Suggest?

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Posted on Tue, 14 Jul 2015
Question: Hello, my boyfriend's penis has a red and white lump on the head of his penis. We had sex on Saturday and on Sunday he felt a disconfort. Today the bump appeared/ We are XXXXXXX but we have protected sex.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr. Kakkar (38 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
Seems like Genital Herpes

Detailed Answer:
Hello. Thank you for the Image.

I can see erosive lesions on underside of glans on either side of frenulum with surrounding redness/ erythema.

I would definitely keep Genital Herpes as a possibility.
Genital herpes usually presents as erosive lesions which may be discrete or coalesce together to form polycyclic erosions.
There may be associated pain, burning sensation in genital herpes infections.

Genital herpes is an STD and it is usually acquired by close/ direct contact with an infected sexual partner.
The type of contact usually associated with transmission of genital herpes is either Vaginal, Anal Or Oral sex.
A condom does reduce risk of transmission but it does not completely protect against transmission. This is because a condom covers only a portion of shaft of penis and therefore leaves a lot of skin exposed for direct contact during sexual intercourse e.g base of shaft Or pubic skin.
Therefore, during a condom protected sex, even though the virus may be initially acquired at base of penile shaft it can subsequently spread to form lesions on glans.

-Do you have a history of genital Or anal erosions?

-Do you have or have had any other sexual partners? and does he has Or have had any other sexual partners other than you?

I suggest that he visits a sexual health clinic for a confirmatory diagnosis. A swab taken for a PCR test for herpes virus would be confirmatory at this stage.

Treatment of a confirmed herpes virus infection would be with Oral antivirals e.g Valacyclovir Or Acyclovir for a week.

Regards
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Shanthi.E
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Dr. Kakkar (1 hour later)
I have never had a history of genital or anal erosions. I have had past reletionships but he has never been in a reletionship until i. We have a long distance reletionship and this saturday is the first time we had sex for quite a while. Is it common for it to show up from one day to another?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr. Kakkar (5 hours later)
Brief Answer:
I suggest a confirmatory lab test

Detailed Answer:
Hi.

Erosive lesions on glans in a sexually active individual should be confirmed by appropriate laboratory tests to rule out possibility of Genital herpes.
Genital herpes is fairly common in sexually active individuals and most people are not aware where they got it from, specially, if they have had multiple partners in past.
Genital herpes can remain clinically silent for weeks or months and may appear at a different time from when it was first acquired.
Apart from STD's there are other possibilities for genital erosive lesions such as fixed drug eruptions, aphthous ulcers/ canker sores etc and these can be considered in a sexually active male only if the lab tests for genital herpes turn out to be negative.
I suggest that for the time being he continues with the topical antibacterial cream.

Regards
Note: For further follow up on related General & Family Physician Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Shanthi.E
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Answered by
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Dr. Dr. Kakkar

Dermatologist

Practicing since :2002

Answered : 9612 Questions

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What Do Red And White Lump On Penis Head Suggest?

Brief Answer: Seems like Genital Herpes Detailed Answer: Hello. Thank you for the Image. I can see erosive lesions on underside of glans on either side of frenulum with surrounding redness/ erythema. I would definitely keep Genital Herpes as a possibility. Genital herpes usually presents as erosive lesions which may be discrete or coalesce together to form polycyclic erosions. There may be associated pain, burning sensation in genital herpes infections. Genital herpes is an STD and it is usually acquired by close/ direct contact with an infected sexual partner. The type of contact usually associated with transmission of genital herpes is either Vaginal, Anal Or Oral sex. A condom does reduce risk of transmission but it does not completely protect against transmission. This is because a condom covers only a portion of shaft of penis and therefore leaves a lot of skin exposed for direct contact during sexual intercourse e.g base of shaft Or pubic skin. Therefore, during a condom protected sex, even though the virus may be initially acquired at base of penile shaft it can subsequently spread to form lesions on glans. -Do you have a history of genital Or anal erosions? -Do you have or have had any other sexual partners? and does he has Or have had any other sexual partners other than you? I suggest that he visits a sexual health clinic for a confirmatory diagnosis. A swab taken for a PCR test for herpes virus would be confirmatory at this stage. Treatment of a confirmed herpes virus infection would be with Oral antivirals e.g Valacyclovir Or Acyclovir for a week. Regards