C

B

A

I go cold sores every month, which I suppress pretty well with medication.  My concern is that I may autoinoculate and spread information technology to my genitals; in fact, every time I take a pimple, ingrown hair or tear down there I panic!  How does the appearance of genital Herpes Simplex Virus Type ane (HSV-ane) differ from other more benign atmospheric condition? Is it unreasonable to end upwards at the gynecologist every time one of these other things appears?

Bang-up questions.  Allow'south tackle them one past one.

Is it unreasonable to end upward at the gynecologist every time something looks funny downward there?

Absolutely not.  The just way to truly detect out what you're dealing with in these situations is by consulting with an expert whose communication you trust.  Sometimes even your physician won't exist able to tell by but looking – the same problem can look very different in different people, or even at unlike times in the same person – so she can do other tests to aid yous figure out what's going on.

Tin yous autoinoculate yourself and spread HSV-ane it to your genitals?

Unfortunately, the respond to this one is aye.  People tend to call up of Canker Simplex Virus 1 (HSV-1) as the "cold sore" virus and HSV-2 every bit the "genital canker" virus.  But both HSV-1 and HSV-ii are spread by direct skin-to-peel contact, and either tin infect the mouth or genitals.  So if you were to touch a cold sore on your mouth and then touch your genitals, you could theoretically cause an outbreak downward there.  The good news is that medication lessens the duration and severity of outbreaks (which tend to decrease in frequency and severity over time on their own anyway), so if you are staying on tiptop of your cold sore outbreaks with suppressive medication, the odds of y'all doing this are very, very small.

How does the advent of genital Herpes Simplex Virus Blazon 1 (HSV-1) differ from other more than benign atmospheric condition?

This is a tough one.  Similar I said, many conditions that can bear upon the genitals look like Canker and sorting them out isn't always as easy every bit laying optics on the situation.  That existence said, some of the more common weather condition do have typical characteristics.

Folliculitis : is inflammation of a hair follicle ("ingrown hair" or "shave bump").  It happens when hair follicles are damaged by friction from clothing, a pimple or shaving and then get infected with Staphylococcus Bacteria ("Staph infection").  They are red, inflamed areas that usually look like a pimple and take a hair in the center of it. They tin be treated with anything from warm compresses to antibiotics.

Molluscum Contagiosum : are pocket-sized, painless bumps that are flesh-colored and ordinarily take a dimple in the center.  They may be reddish if they get irritated.  They're caused past a poxvirus and are treated similar genital warts caused by HPV.

Canker : typically appears as a group of cherry-red blisters or ulcers.  Different molluscum, genital warts and (usually) folliculitis, these lesions are VERY painful and can be preceded by flu similar symptoms.

There's a picture of each of these conditions to the correct.  Can you lot tell which one is which?  (Click to enlarge.  Answers below)

This listing is far from complete, and again, no one can make a diagnosis from looking at a pic online, so if something doesn't expect right downwards in that location, be sure to see your women's health care provider correct away.  If you are a student at Ohio State, you tin make an engagement with our Women'southward Services Dispensary; they're always happy to help.

John A. Vaughn, MD
Student Wellness Services
The Ohio Country Academy

Answers: A = Molluscum Contagiosum, B = Herpes, C = Folliculitis