Are nonvenereal genital ulcers commonly due to Behcets disease?
No. Although genital ulcers are common in Behçet’s disease, Behçet’s disease is a rare cause of genital ulceration. Venereal ulcers are the most common type of genital ulceration and include herpes simplex, syphilis, chancroid, lymphogranuloma venereum, and granuloma inguinale (donovanosis). These infections need to be ruled out in patients with suspected Behçet’s disease. Nonvenereal causes of genital ulceration include trauma (mechanical, chemical), adverse drug reactions, nonvenereal infections (nonsyphylitic spirochetes, pyogenic, yeast), vesiculobullous skin diseases, and various neoplasms such as precarcinoma (Bowen’s disease) and carcinoma (basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma). More common rheumatic causes of genital ulceration include reactive arthritis and Crohn’s disease.
