Hello, it's my first post on this forum. I am from Germany and I am really greatful that I found you guys - it seems that the knowlegde of genital herpes seems to be considerably higher in the US than in Germany. Same seems to be true about the openness in which people share their problems with having the virus.
Anyways, here is my huge problem (sorry, that it's kind of a long story): I have been diagnosed with genital herpes in 2009, since then i had on average 3 outbreaks a year which I could inititially manage well by just using aciclovir creme which my urologist had prescribed me. When I noticed an outbreak I used the creme for about 7 days (5 times daily). After that all symptoms were gone and the skin looked perfectly normal again.
However, probably starting in 2014, I noticed that the creme did not seem to work that well any more. It took longer and longer for the ulcers to disappear. In January 2015, I had an outbreak after in the course of which - unusal for me - after 14 days the skin on my penis still did not look normal again; it kept being red, and even though the ulcers were somewhat dried out, you could still cleary see them. Slightly alarmed, I went to see a dermatologist and he told me that I had an eczema that had developed after the herpes. He prescribed me a creme containing cortisone and told me to use it for 14 days. I did as he told me, and yes, afterwards the skin was looking normal again. But unfortunately only for a short time. Then the redness and itching came back again.
And that is where my nightmare started - until then all outbreaks had been in the same manner: itching, then dots, spreading out. Now I had just redness and itching, but no ulcers. I went back to the dermatolgist and he told me again that it was an exzema and that I should use the same cortisone creme again for 14 days and afterwards another creme containing urea.
Anyways, to make a long story short: Ever since my skin in the affected area seems to be somehow "damaged" in that sense, that it does not look "normal" anymore. It always seems to be irritated, slightly red, and it is also continuously itchy (sometimes more, sometimes less). I just do not know what is going on any more. Now in the end of April, I clearly had another herpes outbreak in that irritated area, and it was much graver than anything I experienced before. In the meantime, I asked the doctor to prescribe tablets. Now, I took Aciclovir tablets (800 mg twice for 5 days, then 200 mg 5 times daily for another seven days). Additionally I use cink creme. However, now, 16 days later and after having taken the tablets, the skin in the affected area (even though it got better) is still red, itchy and irritated. And also the ulcers are somewhat dried, they are still visible as bumbs. From what I read so far in the internet it is rather unusal that a recurrent outbreak does last so long. It is really driving me into depression that my skin condition does not seem to go back to normal again. Thus, finally, my questions: What does that mean? Could it really be that the outbreak is still ongoing? And are the areas still contagious after that long a time (the dermatologist told me that herpes is only contagious for 3-4 days after an outbreak)? Should I consider going back to taking tablets? Does anyone have any advice on possible further treatment, also for curing the continuously irritated skin? I am also interested in your opinion about the dermatologists assessment that herpes can easily develop into an exzema after an outbreak? Has anyone of you ever heard of that? Thank you very much in advance and best regards from Berlin ....