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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?
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* 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
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* 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
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That is a PCR – nucleic amplification assay. Same.
Terri
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It is unlikely that a PCR done that late will be accurate but it could be if there was still lesion material present.
Herpes lesions don’t get infected normally, so I see no reason for that instruction. Yes, it might make the swab less accurate.
AGain, it didn’t sound herpetic to me.
Terri
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Please ignore the last post it was full of typos.
They did up locating my specimen, there was a confusion with my name because of a name change.
So, the original PCR swab that I got the day after the lesion showed up came back negative.
My questions are:
*I was swabbed on the Sep 15th, the swab made it to the lab on the 16th, but I didn’t get my results until the 21st because the lab was busy and backed up. Would the swab still be accurate after all that time in storage? Are PCR swabs stable enough to last a few days before being tested?
*Does washing your hands before the PCR swab affect results? I left from work and I had washed my hands when I used the restroom earlier in the day, but it had been at least an hour later that I got the PCR swab on my finger. Surely it still would have picked up shedding virus correct since it was the day after the lesion showed up, correct?
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Apologies, I purchased some more.
Could you please answer my last question, today if at all possible?
They did up locating my specimen, there was a confusion with my name because of a name change.
So, the original PCR swab that I got the day after the lesion showed up came back negative.
My questions are:
*I was swabbed on the Sep 15th, the swab made it to the lab on the 16th, but I didn’t get my results until the 21st because the lab was busy and backed up. Would the swab still be accurate after all that time in storage? Are PCR swabs stable enough to last a few days before being tested?
*Does washing your hands before the PCR swab affect results? I left from work and I had washed my hands when I used the restroom earlier in the day, but it had been at least an hour later that I got the PCR swab on my finger. Surely it still would have picked up shedding virus since it was the day after the lesion showed up, correct?
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The sample was completley fine to be tested. You could leave on PCR on a window sill for 10 years and it would be exactly the same as the day it was collected.
Washing your hands would not have any impact here on the swab testing done at least an hour later,no
Terri
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