Could this still be herpes?

[goingcrazy]

I am 26 years old and I have had 1 sexual partner, whom I was sexually active with for 4 years, the last time 11 months ago. He says he has no symptoms, but has not had an HSV blood test and now refuses to get one.

Two weeks ago, I was certain I had genital herpes. Monday night, I had two small, distinct rashes appear very suddenly on my left labia (but not in the mucous membrane area) and left perineum. They were not sensitive to touch, but my lymph nodes in my left groin were swollen. My NP took a swab from the rashes on Wednesday, and I also took a blood test.

From Wednesday night to Friday, I had a 4-inch rash (in a line) appear on my left buttocks, and two small patches of blistery rashes appear on my left upper thigh. I also developed extreme muscle soreness in my left leg, from calf to buttocks. My NP sent me the results of my tests on Friday, negative HSV PCR, negative HSV1 (.24), and negative HSV2 (.13). I was shocked, but absolutely elated. She still prescribed Valtrex.

Saturday morning, I woke up in so much pain that I spent 2 hours walking circles just to get relief. All of the muscles in my left leg were sore, but I was also having shooting sensations throughout (from my heel to my buttocks). If I attempted to be still, they would cause my left leg to flinch. Through Monday, I could not even sleep unless I had icepacks on my left leg and genital area. The rash on my left labia swelled and crusted over (not so much individual blisters), while those on my thigh and buttocks were clearly defined patches of blood blisters that popped and then began to heal. The rashes on my thigh and buttocks looked exactly like herpes rashes that I’ve seen online, which became really disconcerting, despite the test results.

Today, I had my annual pap smear. My NP remarked that I had a new brown spot on the left side of my cervix. Now I am back to my state of panic, as I wonder if it could be a nearly healed herpes lesion that I didn’t know about. My NP didn’t want to make a suggestion about what else the rashes could be, only that she’s “nearly certain” it wasn’t HSV 1 or 2, and then said I should get retested in a few months to be certain.

The fact that there’s some uncertainty about it not being herpes is giving me anxiety. I don’t know what to tell potential partners. Since my outbreak was unilateral vs. bilateral, am I correct in that it’s not a primary outbreak and I could retest now for peace of mind?

[Terri Warren]

I think if the last time you had sex with him was 11 months ago, you should rely on the HSV 2 antibody test. Your symptoms, without your blood tests, would worry me about herpes. But with your negative antibody tests and your negative PCR I think you should feel reassured. The only other possibility is that the screening test missed an HSV 1 infection. If you are still worried you could do the western blot – we can help you with that. I doubt that retesting in a few months will make any difference at all since you waited 11 months from last sexual contact.

You can tell future partners that you tested negative for HSV 2. I would ask if they have ever had a cold sore or fever blister. Have you?

Terri

[goingcrazy]

Thank you so much for your response. It is so relieving to have someone knowledgeable to talk to.

I am unsure if I have had any cold sores in the past. I thought that I had, but it did not surprise me at all when the HSV1 was negative because I could never really tell if I had a pimple or a cold sore on the edge of my lip. They didn’t have any of the other signs (pain/tingling/more than 1 blister) other than location.

I’ve only had oral sex once (although I know there’s a chance it could take just once), for a few minutes, at the beginning of our relationship 4 years ago. However, I performed oral sex on him every single time we had sex. This would make it more likely that if I do have it genitally, I got it from him genitally, and that I probably would have contracted it orally at the same time since that is where HSV1 prefers? Theoretically, if I could convince him to get tested, would his HSV1 also likely be missed by the same test?

Thank you!

[Terri Warren]

It’s hard to know if you are positive for HSV 1 where it is because 1) you think you might have had a cold sore and 2) you could have it orally since you were frequently the giver of oral sex to him. If he tests negative and so do you then the statistics start to add up to suggest that both of you are negative. Do you see what I mean?

So what’s the deal with you giving him oral sex every time you had sex and he gave it to you only once? Doesn’t seem very fair to me

Terri

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