HSV2 Questions

[Maria2]

Hi, I am a F28yo and I have had HSV2 lesions since I was 17 witch I got during my first sexual intercourse. But I had never been diagnosed with HSV until recently. Every time I went to the doctors they asked me for a blood test, but the result was always negative and they told me that I had nothing, so I went about my life without knowing what those little blisters that appeared on my groin were. Since I didn’t know I had herpes, I used to shave during the outbreaks and ended up spreading the virus through my genitalia and that made me very worried. I repeated the blood test every year and it was never positive until a few months ago when I had a positive blood test. This has made me so depressed because I spent all this time without enough information on how to take care of myself and now I spread this virus on my genitals with the shaver. I started taking Valacyclovir 1g daily because I have a boyfriend and to suppress the virus, but I still feel a lot of itching and burning even though I don’t have visible sores. I have some question which are: 1- I have this virus since I was 17yo and I heard that the longer you have the virus, the less chance you have of transmitting it. However, a month ago I noticed a new sore at the entrance of my vagina which must also have happened due to the fact that I shaved, so in this case does this new sore counts as a recent sore that will be shedding all the time during the next years?
2- If I take Valacyclovir 1g daily and do not wear a condom, would we be putting my boyfriend at too much risk, since the new sore is at the entrance of my vagina and there is no way to avoid the contact of the penis with the area affected by the virus? He tested negative and before I had the positive test result, I didn’t have this sore in that area.
3 – In how many years do you think we will have a vaccine/cure for this virus? I’m sorry for writing so much, but I’m devastated that I didn’t have the opportunity to take care of myself before.Thanks

[Terri Warren]

1- I have this virus since I was 17yo and I heard that the longer you have the virus, the less chance you have of transmitting it. However, a month ago I noticed a new sore at the entrance of my vagina which must also have happened due to the fact that I shaved, so in this case does this new sore counts as a recent sore that will be shedding all the time during the next years?

Did you have the sore swab tested for herpes? The fact that you tested negative all these years, the fact that you think you got it at your first intercourse when you’re 17 when HSV two is extremely rare, and the fact that false positive IgG’s are common now, makes me really wonder if you have HSV to or not.

2- If I take Valacyclovir 1g daily and do not wear a condom, would we be putting my boyfriend at too much risk, since the new sore is at the entrance of my vagina and there is no way to avoid the contact of the penis with the area affected by the virus? He tested negative and before I had the positive test result, I didn’t have this sore in that area.

You should never have intercourse with a herpesvirus lesion present. It’s too easy for the condom to come off or break. That risk is just not worth taking in my opinion

3 – In how many years do you think we will have a vaccine/cure for this virus? I’m sorry for writing so much, but I’m devastated that I didn’t have the opportunity to take care of myself before.Thanks

I suspect major in progress will be around in 5 to 10 years. But for you personally right now, I would suggest a herpes Western blot unless you have a positive swab test from the sore at your vagina. I would certainly recommend having that swab tested to be sure
Terri

[Maria2]

1- I’ve never had these sores swabbed because the doctors always asked me only for the blood test. I’ll definitely do a swab test,but what concerns me is that I have all the Herpes symptoms and that’s why I got tested all these years.

2- What I meant was that, if I’m not having an OB or any symptoms like itching or burning I can only have sex wearing a condom? Does it mean that I’ll have to wear a condom during all my life even when I’m not having an OB and taking antivirals?

Thank you!

[Terri Warren]

1- I’ve never had these sores swabbed because the doctors always asked me only for the blood test. I’ll definitely do a swab test,but what concerns me is that I have all the Herpes symptoms and that’s why I got tested all these years.’

What was the index value of the positive antibody test that you recently had done?
I will tell you that sometimes people tell me they’ve had herpes sores for years, but they turn out to be negative by western blot, the definitive answer about infection. I don’t know if that is you but it could be you.

2- What I meant was that, if I’m not having an OB or any symptoms like itching or burning I can only have sex wearing a condom? Does it mean that I’ll have to wear a condom during all my life even when I’m not having an OB and taking antivirals?
All of that depends upon how strongly a sexual partner feels about the possibility of becoming infected. People give off virus when they and when they don’t have symptoms.

Your situation really makes me wonder if you actually have HSV 2.

Terri

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