Igg results and transmission timeline

[Ihatethatimonhere]

Have atypical sores on genitals- no one thinks it looks like herpes but all other tests negative no other sti, yeast, or bv and not sure why else I’m so itchy.
So here is the thing. relationship from may until two weeks ago. No protection, occasional oral. I am unsure of last time I received oral, probably sometime in the month of October. He once pulled down his lip and had a sore on the inside- I looked it up and was confused, is that a canker or herpes sore? Most say canker but then say gingivostomatitis herpes exists? How can you tell them apart?
So here’s the issue: had unprotected sex with ex 11/13. Sex was painful internally unsure why,itchy, so treated OTC for yeast. Week prior thought I had yeast as well with itchiness, I think I did 2 rounds if I remember correctly. 11/14 had extremely brief sex with another person. Half with condom then he took it off (ugh not ok) and such brief oral it had to be less than 30 seconds he just sucked like 2-4 times. 11/17, severe itchiness unlike usual. Overwhelming crawling sensation. Get tested, have a cut from scratching doesn’t look concerning, all other tests come back neg. (yeast bv sti). No further symptoms think I’m going insane. Unprotected sex again with ex 11/21. 11/23 cut looking sores now. Round, one sensitive to touch on labia majora. Few on rectum hurts to wipe after bowels only two times. 11/25 no more pain but concerned with amount and circular shape of cuts. 11/26 swabbed, negative, HSV1 igg 1.4.
What do you think of my timeline and igg? I know it’s low, and if not false it’s either 12 days after 2nd person or more likely it’s older? What are the odds it’s from #2 or I missed this before thinking I was scratching myself due to yeast? I’ve had similar problems in past but didn’t think it could be this so it’s possible however this one seems worse/different than past issues of course I’m now more aware as well. Can ex having a sore inside his mouth be hsv and not canker? Would it transmit genitally?

[Terri Warren]

False positives are less common for HSV 1 than HSV 2. It’s good that you had it swab tested and quickly after the sores appeared.
I think acquiring herpes from partner #2 with such a brief encounter is highly unlikely but not impossible.
Sores inside the mouth are generally canker sores, correct.
At this point, I think you are going to have to rely upon the negative swab test. The IgG test for HSV 1 could be re-done in about a month and see if it goes higher or stays about the same. And if truly positive it could be either oral or genital.
If you get more genital sores, please have them swab tested right away, as you did this last time, for the most accurate results.
It isn’t possible to know at this point what to make of the sores and IgG test, I’m afraid. But redoing the IgG down the road a few weeks might help sort this out.

Terri

[Ihatethatimonhere]

Thank you Terri.
– What are the chances that an igg test could detect a positive at a 1.4 level after 12 days? Is that possible? Highly unlikely? Urgent care provider said that means it is probably at least 6 weeks old but I don’t know how accurate her information is.
– my concern is a week later, if it were true that I am actually positive and it was from the brief encounter #2, I did have PIV only sex with the #1. How likely would this be an exposure? I know genital to genital transmission is unlikely but what about newly
Infected would that make it more likely I’m guessing since it’s freshly activating? I also ask because he says he has a bad cold right now and sore throat and it’s been 1 week since sex but there was also no oral. So I am unclear if those symptoms even correlate. I have read some people swear they had a sore throat, some say flu like symptoms with bad outbreaks, and others say genital hsv wouldn’t ever cause cold/sore throat. I am just concerned if it wasn’t from him, and I am positive, the risk of giving it to him a week after. What do you think of this?
-my lesions always appear after scratching only. Never appear without scratching, but I don’t know why I am so itchy if I don’t have yeast or bv? Which is why I wonder if it is onset of herpes. They usually heal within 3 days. But I know presentation varies from person to person, mine just dont seem similar to any I’ve come across yet. I feel like I’m almost always itchy down there. This has been going on for awhile which is why I was treated for yeast 3 times this month but then was actually negative. This happens to me a lot?
-earlier this month, #1 complained of headache, stiff neck, and sensitive to light for at least a week if not longer. I thought it was odd to be so long. Then after this panic I’m in now I saw herpes meningitis exists. But I hear that’s rare? I know that could really be anything but just something I thought was odd.

[Ihatethatimonhere]

To be clear he only has mentioned a sore throat and cold to me no genital symptoms but since I’m in panic mode while I try to sort this out I am just panicking over every little thing I have not brought it up to him yet while I try to learn more about what’s going on with me since it’s so uncertain.

[Terri Warren]

1. Yes, it is possible that you could have an index value of 1.4 12 days out, certainly.
2. A genital only infection would certainly not cause a sore throat.
3. You could have a yeast infection that doesn’t show up in an in-office visit. Have you tried treating the itching with yeast medication to see if it helps?
4. While those symptoms are similar to herpes meningitis, yes, you really don’t seem sick enough for that to me, but that’s a guess over the internet, certainly not a final word on what’s going on with you.

Terri

[Ihatethatimonhere]

Thank you for your help terri. I was shocked that it is so possible to be positive 12 days later- just when I thought I understood a good amount about this virus I got thrown for a loop. I know there is no real way to know with antibodies but What value would you suspect someone would have at 4 or 6 weeks, especially if it was a 1.4 at ~2?
-Would you expect it to go up much more? For example if I test again? I know there’s no real accurate way to know but in your experience/generally. Let’s say I test again and it’s roughly that low again, what would you make of that let’s say even at 12 weeks?
-Is any labtestnow historically more accurate than labcorp or is that just hsv2?
-the weeklong severe headache, neck pain, and light sensitivity was my ex- shortly around the time he had two very small bumps on his chin. They didn’t look like acne but at the time they didn’t look like hsv to me either. Now that I google pics I’ve seen some look that way but usually when there’s more. When I googled a pic of herpes on the eye and under the nose I saw bumps that looked like his but again, he only had two so I thought nothing of it at the time. I know I should contact him and just talk to him but do you ever see minor outbreaks like this inbetween the lip and chin?
-lastly, I had a very bizarre case of acne last month. It started with very deep bumps that I tried to pop and clear just oozed out. It crusted a little, took forever to go away. Slowly one by one they appeared on my face all over. They turned into wounds almost Then after a couple deep sore bumps, the news ones were small and left little crater indentions. Never any by my lips, but my forehead, eyebrows, on my cheek on either side of my nose. I know I sound crazy, thicker skin is less susceptible, but he used to always kiss me all over my face too. Of course I’ve panicked and thought about autoinoculation during a primary ob too. Both occurred back to back but I know I’m probably reaching for anything to make sense

[Terri Warren]

Remember that your 1.4 could be a false positive. If you test below 3.5 in 12 weeks, you should obtain the western blot for clarity.

LabCorp doesn’t run the test, they simply draw and spin the blood. The blood then gets shipped to the University of Washington to have the test run. They are the only lab in the US that runs this test for patients.

It would be highly unusual to have herpes lesions appear all over your face without them showing up on the vermillion border of the lip. If you still have them and are concerned that they are herpes, you could have them swab tested to be sure.

Your symptoms could certainly be related to a yeast infection and scratching. but with the low positive IgG, I would recommend that you repeat it in 12 weeks and if still a low positive, get the western blot. And if you get more sores in the meantime, get them swab tested for sure

Terri

[Ihatethatimonhere]

Hi Terri,
I have an appointment with my gyn tomorrow and I wanted to check up with what you thought on some things still on my mind.
– I know you said that a reading of 1.42 for HSV1 11-12 days after exposure is possible, but how common is that actually? It seems to me from message boards earlier readings tend to come from HSV2 which may not be correct other than just what ive noticed asking around.I have seen some studies say that it took an average of 25 days for their group of HSV1, and then another study broke it into 8-30 days and only had 25% test that early or HSV1 in that group (it was a small study though). Even though its possible I wanted to know how often youve actually seen it. the reason i wonder so much is ive had a lot of itching and caused sores before even a month or so ago, so now i am wondering if this is older than i thought if this is a genital presentation. and because im still waiting on the guy to test even though ive begged him.

– When findings say that 50% seroconvert at 3wks and so on, are they saying lower numbers are to be expected at 3 weeks? like at 3 weeks its just detectable in some form like in the 1’s? and then by 6 or 10 weeks it is more likely to surpass the firm positive threshold?

-what is your experience/knowledge of hsv1 and its impact on someone with autoimmune/crohns?

– I know if it is GHSV1 the shedding is very low especially after 1-2 years. If this is my actual situation after all, what about right after transmission?

[Terri Warren]

– When findings say that 50% seroconvert at 3wks and so on, are they saying lower numbers are to be expected at 3 weeks? like at 3 weeks its just detectable in some form like in the 1’s? and then by 6 or 10 weeks it is more likely to surpass the firm positive threshold?

Yes, so there would be lower numbers before the three weeks. Most people’s numbers go up later, yes, but there are some people who always stay in the low positive range and are truly infected.

-what is your experience/knowledge of hsv1 and its impact on someone with autoimmune/crohns?

I don’t have any specific experience, but generally, people who are immunosuppressed have somewhat more outbreaks than others though antiviral medicine can effectively control that.

– I know if it is GHSV1 the shedding is very low especially after 1-2 years. If this is my actual situation after all, what about right after transmission?

With new infection, shedding might be present on about 15% of days.

But remember, this can be a false positive.

Terri

[Ihatethatimonhere]

Thanks terri,
I went ahead and took another igg test and this time I got a 5.52 so I am definitely positive unfortunately. I honestly can’t believe this. I was 1.42 on 11/26 and 5.52 on 12/17 exactly 3 weeks later. First test was 11ish days after sex.

gyno looked at my photos and said most of my marks did look like scratch marks but there was only one she thought looked herpetic. I guess it’s weird my main symptom and the only thing that really even made me think I could have this is the itching and neg yeast. I would have totally missed this if I had treated it over the counter. Which brings me to my only conclusion: did I have this a month ago when I thought I had a yeast infection or was this truly my primary outbreak? I still have not heard from the other guy seems like he doesn’t care.

About a month prior, I thought I was having a yeast issue as well, treated over the counter, had the itching and scratching episode, remember seeing them look circular like this time, and I also remember feeling the tiniest painless almost hard tiny bump down there that time that went away in a few days. Smaller than a pimple. I remember kind of being alarmed but being naive and monogamous I didn’t investigate and now I wish I did.

I guess I mainly have an update and to see what you think about my situation: more likely to be second ob from previous vague symptoms and thats why I tested positive this ob or chance my igg picked it up what seems to be earlier than the vast majority which is more likely?
I know either are possible and no way to know beyond a guess but I’m just mad. I have a complicated history of lifelong sexual dysfunction, finally resolved, to have this almost immediately upon being sexually active, and 2nd guy took advantage of me so if it’s from him, I am even madder at myself for letting him do that to me with a lifelong reminder. My gut makes me think the first one was the same but I don’t know for sure of course.

[Terri Warren]

You’re right, anything I would say would just be a guess, but the time you saw something circular vs. linear would be more likely to be herpes. And if I had to venture a guess, I might guess your earlier partner rather than the later partner.

Terri

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