I’m worried about infecting my wife.

[iamworriedformywife]

Hi Terri.

Some background info:

*I am positive for HSV1, negative HSV2. My wife is negative for HSV1 and HSV2 via IGG and Western Blot.

*I don’t know if my infection is oral or genital.

*I have tried antivirals and have not reacted well to them.

Here are my questions:

* If this infection is genital, I know it rarely sheds but it still seems inevitable that my wife will come in contact with shedding virus. If I am infected genitally it would have to be from 2014 from my last relationship.Is it possible that after so long that I may not be shedding at all or shedding such low amounts that it isn’t a risk to her?

* In 2018, I was on a beach vacation and my meatus became very swollen and irritated. I think it might have been from rubbing against the mesh of my swim trunks, but I have this nagging fear that it might have been herpes. The meatus was red and kinda looked puffy, but I didn’t see any blisters or ulcers, nor did my wife. Could this be an atypical presentation of herpes?

* A couple years ago, I had a spot on my lip that turned yellow and scabby, but I had been messing with it. It was right in the center of my lip, not on the edge. Could this have been a cold sore?

* I had another spot on my lip that looked like little white dots under the skin, they were not fordyce spots and this was also in the center of my lip. I don’t recall it blistering or ulcerating, but I might not have been paying close enough attention. Could that have been aborted outbreak?

* I have two grandmothers that get cold sores and my two older siblings do, statistically is it more likely that this an oral infection?

*My IGG score was 21 for HSV1, does that indicate how long I’ve had the infection. Like would it be higher if i was infected from childhood vs 2014?

* Is it possible to get cold sores in childhood and then not get them or have symptoms as an adult?

* My wife and I have been together since 2017 and since 2018 we have been having unprotected sex, I recently requested that she get a Western Blot to have a solid baseline. I don’t perform oral sex on her. If this is genital and she’s went this long without contracting, it likely she won’t every contract it genitally from me?

* I saw on another post where you recommended 24/7 labs swabs for herpes? Are these PCR? Do you think it would be worth it for me to genital swabbing or is unlikely to yield anything?

• This topic was modified 3 weeks, 6 days ago by iamworriedformywife.

[Terri Warren]

* If this infection is genital, I know it rarely sheds but it still seems inevitable that my wife will come in contact with shedding virus. If I am infected genitally it would have to be from 2014 from my last relationship.Is it possible that after so long that I may not be shedding at all or shedding such low amounts that it isn’t a risk to her?

It is not inevitable that you wife would acquire HSV 1 from you if you have genital HSV 1, not at all. If you have it genitally, it is likely very very rarely shed at this point

* In 2018, I was on a beach vacation and my meatus became very swollen and irritated. I think it might have been from rubbing against the mesh of my swim trunks, but I have this nagging fear that it might have been herpes. The meatus was red and kinda looked puffy, but I didn’t see any blisters or ulcers, nor did my wife. Could this be an atypical presentation of herpes?
Doesn’t sound like it to me.

* A couple years ago, I had a spot on my lip that turned yellow and scabby, but I had been messing with it. It was right in the center of my lip, not on the edge. Could this have been a cold sore?
Certainly

* I had another spot on my lip that looked like little white dots under the skin, they were not fordyce spots and this was also in the center of my lip. I don’t recall it blistering or ulcerating, but I might not have been paying close enough attention. Could that have been aborted outbreak?
Possible, yes

* I have two grandmothers that get cold sores and my two older siblings do, statistically is it more likely that this an oral infection?
I don’t know that that is true, not necessarily

*My IGG score was 21 for HSV1, does that indicate how long I’ve had the infection. Like would it be higher if i was infected from childhood vs 2014?
No, whether you were infected at childhood or in 2014, this number does not help to make that distinction

* Is it possible to get cold sores in childhood and then not get them or have symptoms as an adult?
Yes

* My wife and I have been together since 2017 and since 2018 we have been having unprotected sex, I recently requested that she get a Western Blot to have a solid baseline. I don’t perform oral sex on her. If this is genital and she’s went this long without contracting, it likely she won’t every contract it genitally from me?
I would say there is an excellent chance she won’t get it from you if you have it genitally

* I saw on another post where you recommended 24/7 labs swabs for herpes? Are these PCR? Do you think it would be worth it for me to genital swabbing or is unlikely to yield anything?
I had a patient who tested positive for HSV 1 with no known lesions in either location (that is not true for you – you had a lip lesion). He swabbed every day for a year with none that were positive. I would say that if you have a symptom, you could order this kit but if not, I think it is an exercise in futility to swab genitally.

Terri

[iamworriedformywife]

I have a couple more questions about the lesion on my lip.

* I know the fact that it developed a yellow crust makes it very likely to be a cold sore, but I was wondering if it could have been impetigo from me messing with it. Does impetigo only cause one spot ot does it usually spread around the face? Although, I think I might have had this lesion pop up on the same spot on my lip before as a teenager, but can’t be 100% sure.

* When I had the lesion on my lip, I had given my wife a kiss without thinking and she still didn’t end up getting it. If it was a cold sore could it have maybe been healing and didn’t have enough virus to infect her?

*Does contact with a lesion or shedding virus always in in transmission?

*IF my infection is genital is it possible that when I am shedding and that fact that I’ve had it for so long and the fact that HSV! doesn’t like to be in the genitals, could that mean that even though I am shedding, that I am shedding very little virus? Like even though I am shedding it wouldn’t be enough to infect someone?

[Terri Warren]

* I know the fact that it developed a yellow crust makes it very likely to be a cold sore, but I was wondering if it could have been impetigo from me messing with it. Does impetigo only cause one spot ot does it usually spread around the face? Although, I think I might have had this lesion pop up on the same spot on my lip before as a teenager, but can’t be 100% sure.

I doubt as an adult that you would have impetigo – normally that is something we see in children and it is normally a bit more spread out

* When I had the lesion on my lip, I had given my wife a kiss without thinking and she still didn’t end up getting it. If it was a cold sore could it have maybe been healing and didn’t have enough virus to infect her?
Yes, you’ve been together this long and she hasn’t gotten it – I suspect it is unlikely she will get it now but that’s not a promise.

*Does contact with a lesion or shedding virus always in in transmission?
It does not!

*IF my infection is genital is it possible that when I am shedding and that fact that I’ve had it for so long and the fact that HSV! doesn’t like to be in the genitals, could that mean that even though I am shedding, that I am shedding very little virus? Like even though I am shedding it wouldn’t be enough to infect someone?
I definitely suspect if you have this genitally and you’ve been with her all this time and she hasn’t gotten it, you are likely shedding very infrequently, yes.

I think you should back off worrying about this. is your wife as concerned as you are?

Terri

[iamworriedformywife]

I had a lesion that popped up on my finger that I was concerned may be Herpetic Whitlow. I went the day after it showed up and had it swabbed and am still waiting on the results. I asked the doctor if the swab was PCR and he said yes, but he didn’t seem very confident in his answer.

My online chart said this:

Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) 1 & 2, NAA – ThinPrep Vial, Lesion
Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) 1 & 2, NAA – ThinPrep Vial, Lesion

Is this a PCR or just a viral culture?

• This reply was modified 1 week ago by iamworriedformywife.

[Terri Warren]

That is a PCR – nucleic amplification assay. Same.

Terri

[iamworriedformywife]

So the urgent care that did the swab told me at some point that the swab was lost from their facility on the way to Labcorp. To say I am upset about that is an understatement!!

* They rewabbed me today, but it has been 6 days since the lesion popped and 5 days since the original swab. Is this still a valid time frame for a PCR? The lesion is still there but has started to scab.

* I had been putting an antibiotic ointment on it to prevent it from getting infected as the doctor told me to do that and I had put some on and put on a band aid before the second swab. He said he wanted me to wipe off my finger to get the residual ointment off and gave me an alcohol pad to wipe and waited for it to dry then swabbed me again. Would this affect the swab by making it less accurate?

* I do want to note that at the first visit, the doctor didn’t think it looked hepretic, but swabbed it since I was worried about it.

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