Cant Tell if I have Genital HSV-1

[Notsurewhatthisis]

Hi Terri,
I’m a 27M and on Sept 1, 2015 I received around 2 minutes of unprotected oral sex. After the initial incident my groin became hot/itchy and I developed mild flu like symptoms. No lesions were present on my penis or my pubic area. After about 7-10 days I finally noticed red bumps on both buttocks. These bumps were not clustered and were interspersed around the area. At this point I believed I had contracted HSV-1 and my partner at the time confirmed that she had HSV-1. I received STD testing 1 week after the encounter and every them back negative.
My original PCP said that this could potentially be viral and prescribed me 10 days of Valtrex, however the symptoms didn’t really abate after I had completed the prescription. I still had numerous non clustered pimple like bumps(I don’t think I could pop them, but some looked to have small whiteheads, but neither were they really fluid filled). Alongside the red bumps on my butt I’ve had burning/itching in my thighs, butt, lower legs, feet, upper torso, as well as swollen neck/groin lymphnodes, headaches, fatigue. The bumps also seemed to come in new spots all the time. The initial stages of this caused me terrible anxiety and stress which I’m attempting to deal with by seeing a therapist and I do have a history of chronic depression. I have seen my PCP, a dermatologist, and gone to PP(Saw the RN). My dermatologist prescribed me Clindamycin Phosphate lotion, which seems to have cleared it up but i have noticed two very small red bumps pop up yesterday which is reinvigorating my anxiety, hence this post. All three told me this does not look like HSV.
6 weeks after the encounter, I did another IgG test and everything came back negative. However, after reading more of this forum and seeing that HSV 1 and the ELISA test’s accuraccy it seems like waiting until 16 weeks is my only option.

I was hoping to hear your thoughts on whether you think this sounds like Genital HSV-1?

Thanks

[Terri Warren]

This sounds absolutely nothing like HSV 1 to me. Nothing! And if clindamycin helped clear it up, it strongly suggests that this bacterial, not viral. And yes, for the most certainty, you can get a western blot at 16 weeks and we can order that for you through the clinic if you like. If you test positive for HSV 1 however on the blot, I see nothing to suggest that it was acquired genitally or at this event in particular

TErri

[Notsurewhatthisis]

Thanks Terri,

Hopefully your words will assuage some of my anxiety. However, the timing of the encounter followed by all these symptoms(swollen lymph nodes and itching/burning) still has me worried. I’m hoping that the clindamycin timing wasn’t just coincidental with my outbreak going away on its own, since one or two more spots have shown up recently. Mainly the continued itching/burning and overall feeling unwell just has me thinking its herpes. If I have herpes, well then I have herpes. My concern is really confirming what this is so I can take measures to stop the neuralgia or burning, but since this most likely would be HSV-1 and my last sexual contact before this encounter was 8 months prior (I’ve also never had an oral cold sore) and my baseline IgG was negative, I’m just very frustrated. However, I don’t want to try to get prescribed the antivirals so that the test can be more conclusive at the 16 week mark. I’m really hoping I can chalk this all up to stress/anxiety and maybe when I get on antidepressants things will abate, but I guess only time will tell. Waiting with no relief is the worst.

Again, thanks for taking the time to do what you do on these forums, and I’m sure I’ll be contacting you all in January to order the Western Blot. Hopefully things will have improved by then.

Thanks

[Terri Warren]

You’re welcome.
Let me ask – was this your only lifetime sexual encounter?

Terri

[Notsurewhatthisis]

No, I’ve had multiple(say ~6) partners in the past, but never had any symptoms like these until after this encounter in early September. My last partner and sexual contact was 8 months prior and since the initial(1 week) IgG test after the encounter was negative I figured that was a solid enough baseline for this incident being the culprit if I am indeed HSV 1 positive. There were no visible sores that I noticed on my most recent partner’s mouth, but I know asymptomatic shedding occurs and I did have an abrasion on my penis which could have made me more susceptible to the virus if she was shedding. She was also tested after I told her I thought she may have herpes and she confirmed she has HSV1. I don’t know if they preformed an IgG or IgM, but if they did detect HSV 1 its probably safer to guess she has had it awhile. The timing, coupled with the burning/tingling skin sensation, swelling lymph nodes, and weird pimple like bumps on my buttocks just really has me concerned, even after multiple doctors say it doesn’t “look” like herpes since I’ve never had symptoms like this before, especially ones that have persisted this long. I’ve read that its rare for the first outbreak(at least that I noticed) to present on the buttocks, but I know its possible anywhere in the boxer region.
Not knowing is really the most frustrating thing for me. I’m not a doctor and I was doing my best to not self diagnose and believe the doctors and the PP RN that this most likely isn’t herpes, but the constant itching, burning, and now occasional and sparse red bumps (before there were continually ~10-20 dotted on both bottocks, but not tightly grouped nor very painful like I’ve seen/read online) still has me worried and HSV is currently my best guess. Hopefully I can chalk this all up to depression/anxiety, but I’ve had that for 9-10 years without these symptoms. Maybe I just have an atypical case with a type of post herpetic neuralgia. Doubtful I’m sure, but I’m grasping at straws.
Thanks

[Terri Warren]

I think the other thing that happens when people have a sexual encounter is that they can acquire skin bacteria that some people might have as normal skin flora that can cause abnormal skin issues in their partner. I’m wondering if that could be what has happened to you.

Terri

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