Genital hsv 1

[lex250]

Hi Terri,

I was diagnosed with genital hsv 1 six months ago. I am on 1 gram
of suppressive therapy a day. I am pretty healthy.

I found these bumps today though, there are no blisters or fluid, just pink slightly raised spots, 3 on the left side, pictured are 2. One is further down on my “lip” under my hair and the other two are further up in the lower part of my pelvic bone, “north” of my clitoris. hard to find or see unless I dig through my pubic hair. No pain, just a little burn feeling if i rub it or pick it too much. Could this be an outbreak? My concern is that I am on suppressive therapy and cant tell if this is a mild outbreak or not one at all. I have an hsv negative partner who i want to protect which is why i am concerned.

Thank you

[Terri Warren]

Those could be herpes lesions, yes, but I’m not certain. Would you consider asking someone to do a PCR swab on these to find out if they are herpes? It is not unheard of to break through suppression, especially in the first six months, but they just aren’t clearly enough herpes for me to say so. It might be a good thing for you to have PCR swabs at home so that when something like this comes up, you could swab it yourself and drop the swab off at your provider’s office to be sent to the lab. Otherwise, it’s very hard to know for sure.

Terri

[lex250]

Thank you. Exactly a month ago I had some bumps in the same area, not same spot though. They look the same as today’s. At the time i was on valtrex 500mg a day for suppression. I bumped it up to 1 gram a day for 3 days and they cleared up after 5 days or so. About a week later i started 1 gram a day for suppression. If these indeed are herpes lesions, what do you suggest i do about valtrex dosing since my outbreak dose used to be 1 gram and now its the norm? Do I just let them heal on their own if these indeed are lesions?

[Terri Warren]

It would be unusual to need 1 gram a day of Valtrex to try to control HSV 1 genitally, but not impossible I guess. I think the best way to know for certain what’s going on with the bumps is to have them swab tested. You could come off meds and see what pops up and get those swabbed. Swabbing while on medicine may give you an incorrect answer.

Terri

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