Herpes or an ingrown hair, pimple or razor bump?

Is it herpes or an ingrown hair?

An ingrown hair is a short, curly hair that curves back into the skin instead of growing out. Herpes sores usually appear as one or more blisters on or around the genitals, rectum, or mouth.

Most people with genital herpes have no symptoms or have very mild symptoms. Most people do not know they have a herpes infection. Many people with genital herpes never have sores, or they have very mild symptoms that go unnoticed or are mistaken for insect bites or another skin condition.

You may feel tingling, burning, itching, or pain at the site before any blister appears. The CDC says the blisters break and leave painful sores that may take a week or more to heal. MedlinePlus says the ulcers crust over and heal in 7 to 14 days or more, and ASHA says classic lesions may take two to four weeks to heal fully.

The American Academy of Dermatology describes the usual course: small blisters form on a patch of red, swollen skin on or around the genitals or anus, and sometimes on the thigh or buttocks, then break open into painful sores. The sores scab and completely heal, usually within 2 to 6 weeks. The outbreak guide follows a herpes sore across the days it lasts.

Is it herpes or a pimple?

These classic lesions of genital herpes often resemble small pimples or blisters that eventually crust over and finally scab like a small cut. The sores usually appear on and around the genitals, anus, buttocks, hips, or thighs.

Genital symptoms include small, painful blisters filled with clear or straw-colored fluid. When the blisters break, they leave shallow ulcers that are very painful.

Is it herpes or a razor bump?

You cannot tell a razor bump from herpes by looking. A herpes lesion may resemble razor burn.

These painful or itchy bumps are caused when shaving irritates the skin. Anyone can get razor bumps on their skin. Razor bumps are pseudofolliculitis barbae. The razor cuts hairs short, and if they are coarse and curly, those shortened hairs can curve into your skin and your skin reacts.

For many people, this happens when they shave, which is why ingrown hairs are frequently called razor bumps. Pseudofolliculitis barbae occurs mainly in African American men, and if curly beard hairs are cut too short they may curve back into the skin and cause inflammation. These bumps are especially common in men with a darker skin tone, and men often see razor bumps on the beard area when they shave.

Folliculitis is inflammation of one or more hair follicles, and it can appear anywhere on the skin except the palms and soles. Shaving is a common cause, and so is rubbing against clothing; either may damage or block a follicle and start folliculitis. Common symptoms include a rash, itching, and pimples or pustules near a hair follicle in the neck, groin, or genital area, and the pimples may crust over.

Is it a cold sore or a canker sore?

A fever blister occurs outside the mouth, generally around the border of the lips, and a canker sore occurs inside the mouth. Fever blisters are contagious until all the sores have scabbed over, and the blister and the fluid are contagious.

Canker sores usually form on the insides of the cheeks or lips, on the tongue, or in the back of the throat. When a cold sore is inside the mouth, it is usually on the gums or the roof instead.

Is it a cold sore or a pimple on the lip?

Subtle symptoms of oral herpes can be easily mistaken for a small crack or cut in the skin, chapped lips, a bug bite, or a pimple. Symptoms of oral herpes most commonly appear on or around the lips, and they can be very mild and go unnoticed.

A day or two before a cold sore, you may feel a warning on the skin where it will appear, such as tingling and skin that feels a little numb. Within 48 hours of the warning symptoms, cold sores usually break open. They will ooze fluid and then crust over, and in healthy people most cold sores disappear within 5 to 15 days.

A provider can diagnose oral herpes by looking at your mouth area, and sometimes a sample of the sore is sent to a lab. Most people with oral herpes do not have any symptoms. HSV-1 often causes oral herpes, which can result in cold sores or fever blisters on or around the mouth.

How do you find out for sure?

A provider may diagnose genital herpes by looking at a sore, but looking is not the test. They can also take a sample or swab from a blister or sore that is not already crusted over or healing.

If genital lesions are present, clinical diagnosis of genital herpes should be confirmed by type-specific virologic testing from the lesion by NAAT or culture; NAAT assays are the most sensitive tests because they detect HSV from genital ulcers or other mucocutaneous lesions. NAAT methods are the preferred method, with PCR the most-widely used NAAT method. PCR done on fluid from a blister is the most accurate test to tell whether HSV is present in the blister.

The CDC recommends herpes testing for people who have genital symptoms to confirm if they have it. If you have a lesion of any kind, see a provider so it can be swabbed, and read the testing guide for how the tests work and the guide to a recent exposure if this bump showed up after sex. Genital herpes can be difficult to diagnose by looking, because many infected people do not have the classic painful blisters or ulcers at the visit.

Beyond 48 hours of the symptoms appearing, a viral culture risks a false negative result. The sensitivity of viral culture is low, especially for recurrent lesions, and it decreases rapidly as lesions begin to heal. Viral culture is even less accurate during recurrences (positive in only about 30% of recurrent outbreaks). A culture of fluid from a blister or open sore is most useful during the first outbreak.