Walk-in · Thonglor from 7am · every day

Is this rash mpox, or something else?

The short answer

A rash on its own cannot tell you whether you have mpox. Herpes, syphilis, chickenpox and molluscum can all look alike in the first few days. What separates them is the pattern — where the spots started, whether they change shape, and what else you feel. A doctor can usually narrow it down the same day.

Seen by

A doctor, not a nurse
No appointment needed

Privacy

You may use a pseudonym
For sexual health testing

Opening

Thonglor 7:00–19:00
Silom 8:00–19:00
Every day, including Sunday

A forearm being scratched, of the kind assessed at a walk-in rash appointment

What a rash visit covers

A doctor looks at the rash and takes the history
4th-generation HIV test and a 29-item STI panel, if indicated
Swabs and bloods for herpes and syphilis
Written referral if you need a test we do not run

Told apart on sight — and on what follows

Five things a rash like this usually turns out to be.

This is the table to read at 2am. It does not replace a diagnosis, and none of these five can be ruled out from a photograph alone.

Condition	What the spots look like	Where they usually start	What comes with it	How it is confirmed
Mpox	Firm, deep, round lesions that all change together — flat, raised, blistered, crusted	Face, hands, or the genital and anal area after sexual contact	Fever, and swollen lymph nodes — the sign clinicians weigh most	PCR swab of a lesion. We refer for this — we do not run it.
Herpes (HSV-1, HSV-2)	Small clustered blisters on a red base, shallow once they open	Same site every time it recurs	Tingling or burning a day before anything appears	Swab of an open lesion, or bloods. Done here.
Syphilis	One painless firm ulcer, or later a flat rash including palms and soles	The site of contact, then widespread	Often nothing at all, which is why it is missed	Blood test. Done here, in the STI panel.
Chickenpox	Thin-walled blisters in crops, at different stages side by side	Trunk first, then outwards	Itch, and fever in adults	Usually clinical. Swab if unclear.
Molluscum contagiosum	Small pearly bumps with a dimple in the centre, never crusting	Genital area, thighs, trunk	No fever, no pain, weeks to months of it	Clinical. Seen and treated here.

Scroll the table sideways to compare →

What does mpox look like when it starts?

Often it starts as one or two spots rather than a spread. They are firmer and deeper than a spot you would squeeze, and they hurt more than they itch. Over days each lesion moves through the same stages — flat, raised, filled, crusted — and in the current pattern of transmission they frequently appear first in the genital or anal area, with swollen glands nearby.

What matters clinically is less the look of one spot than the sequence and the company it keeps. That is what a doctor is reading when you come in.

How can you tell the difference between mpox and herpes?

Herpes tends to recur in the same place, announces itself with tingling, and produces shallow clustered blisters. Mpox lesions are fewer, firmer, deeper, and are usually accompanied by fever and swollen lymph nodes. Neither can be settled from an image — both are confirmed by a swab, and only one of those swabs is a test we run.

How soon after exposure can you be tested?

It depends on what is being tested for, and it is the question worth asking on the phone before you travel. A lesion can be swabbed as soon as there is a lesion. Blood tests have window periods that differ by infection, so a negative result taken too early means less than it appears.

What we can do, and what we can't.

We can

Look at the rash today. A doctor examines it, takes the sexual and travel history, and tells you what it is most likely to be.
Test for what it usually is. Herpes, syphilis, HIV and a 29-item STI panel — all run from here, with results published per test.
Keep your name off it. Sexual health testing can be done under a pseudonym.
Write the referral. If you need mpox PCR or the vaccine, you leave with a written referral rather than a shrug.

We can't

Run an mpox PCR test. We do not hold it. If a swab is needed, it is taken where the test is run.
Give the mpox vaccine. We do not stock it, and we will not imply otherwise.
Where it is instead. In Bangkok, mpox vaccination and PCR are handled through the Thai Red Cross Anonymous Clinic and government hospital services, with pre-registration required.

The next step

Have it looked at today, at Thonglor or Silom.

Walk in from 7am. A doctor examines the rash, tests for what it usually is, and refers you on if it is the one thing we cannot test for.

Book an appointment Talk to us first

Go to a hospital today, not to us

Difficulty breathing or swallowing · a spreading rash with confusion or a stiff neck · severe pain that stops you passing urine · lesions on or near the eye · you are pregnant or immunosuppressed and have a new blistering rash.

Common questions

Do I need an appointment?

No. Both branches are walk-in. Thonglor opens at 7:00 every day, which is usually the quietest hour.

Can I be tested without giving my real name?

Yes, for sexual health testing you may use a pseudonym. You will need to remember it to collect your results.

Will you tell me it is mpox?

We will tell you what it is most likely to be, and what it is not. A confirmed mpox diagnosis needs a PCR swab, which is run elsewhere — we write the referral.

Can I bring a photograph instead of coming in?

A photograph is a poor substitute. Firmness, depth and swollen glands are the discriminating signs, and none of them appear in an image.

Medically reviewed

Dr Donna Robinson · General practitioner, MedConsult Clinic

Thai Medical Licence 23692 · UK Medical Licence 2613093

Last reviewed 23 August 2026 · reviewed again every six months, or when guidance changes

Sources

Primary sources only. We do not cite other clinics.

Where to read next

Sexual health testing — what is tested, and how long results take

Thonglor 7:00–19:00 · Silom 8:00–19:00 · every day · testing under a pseudonym available