Home swabbing info?

[curious1965]

I recently heard that it is possible to swabbing at home to determine the rate of shedding for HSV2. I would like to learn more about it as I would like to determine if my HSV2 is actually genital or if it is oral. I know that it is rare to have oral HSV2 but given my history I think it is a possibility. It is also my understanding that there is little to no concern of transmission with oral HSV2.

I strongly doubt my health insurance would provide any coverage and I doubt my health care provider would be willing to order it (Kaiser Permanente.) So I am also wondering what the cost is.

I am a 50 year old woman. About two years ago I went to a testing center for routine STI/STD testing. It was the first time I was tested for HSV1 or HSV2. The results were negative for HSV1 and positive for HSV2. I have since been tested twice more with the same results. The numbers for the HSV2 have been definite positives – 5 something, 7 something and the last was 20 something. I was surprised to find I am negative for HSV1. I have never had a genital outbreak and I have been paying close attention since I received my test results.

One of my questions is: How common is it to have only HSV2 without also having HSV1?

I was sexually molested as a child. I was not actually raped until I was 17. I do recall a penis being thrust in/at my mouth and being forced to give fellatio when I was young. I don’t recall penises around my genitals (only fingers) until I was older but I can’t be sure. The molesting started by the time I was 7.

I remember having a cold sore. I believe I was 7 or 8 at the time. It was definitely after the molestation had begun. I had had canker sores and this was not a canker sore. This was on the outside of the mouth by the outside corner of the mouth. I have had no other cold sores in my life time.

Two of my high school boyfriends (long term at least two years each) both had cold sores. One very frequently. We didn’t know anything. We kissed during their outbreaks and had oral sex during their outbreaks. We did not use condoms. I know one was a virgin when we met and the other one may have been also.

No sexual partner has ever come back and said I gave him/her herpes. (Most partners have been male.) I do not know the number of sexual partners I have had, but it is in the hundreds. Many were one time encounters but many were longer term partners also. I tend to date more than one person at a time. Very seldom were condoms ever used until about the last 5 years.

Anyway, I wonder if my HSV2 is oral rather than genital and am thinking that a series of genital swabbing would let me know if my herpes is actually genital or if it is oral. Your thoughts would be appreciated and also if my thoughts are reasonable how would I go about getting the home swabbing done and processed?

[Terri Warren]

Your history is very sad indeed. I’m so sorry that you had to live in this awful way when you were a child.

PCR swabs are expensive – $75 each. We can ship them to you for you to gather at home but this could be a long process for you – you may shed infrequently from the genital tract and it could take a while to get a positive swab. Swabbing your mouth looking for virus would really take longer still as HSV 2 is shed infrequently from the mouth – perhaps 3 days out of 365 days. You are indeed in a difficult position to sort this out. Alternatively, you could assume that your infection is genital and live that way as that is most likely. You could take daily medicine to reduce the risk of viral shedding and if it happens to be oral instead, the medicine would still work on it.

Your thoughts?

Terri

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