Negative tests but still have symptoms after 3 eyears

[Needtoknowthetruth]

Hello Terri. I’m a 48 yof. Three years ago I had a one time sexual encounter of unprotected oral (receiver) and vaginal sex. Probably no more than five minutes of each. One week later I started to have pain and burning. Went to the GYN and was diagnosed with BV, yeast and a UTI. STD panel was ordered and came back positive for gonorrhea and chlamydia. I was treated but pain and burning persisted for months . Four months after the encounter I developed what looked like a 3 inch raised line that look like a burn on the skin between my thigh and anus. It was painful and was gone within 24 hours. Since then I have had different variations of look like pimples in that same area. They’re not blisters and they never open up. They look like braised red pimples that are very painful and they always disappear within 12-24 hours . I’ve had the same pimple like sores that might appear on my butt cheeks on either side. On two seperate occasions I had the source swabbed via viral culture and both came back negative. I had IgG blood and results are:
18 weeks post encounter:
HSV1- 0.39
HSV2- 0.10
I repeated I GG at nine month and 12 months and all results were <0.90 for HSV1 and HSV2. Same lab so not sure why the results Were measured differently.
I get occasional cold sores on my lip since I was a teen so I know I have HSV1. I received opinions from several GYNs and they all agree I do not have genital herpes but have no explanation for my symptoms. Can I trust my IgG HSV2 results? Does anything about this sound like it could possibly be an atypical presentation of genital herpes?
I get these pimple like sores in this area at least once a month or every other and even When there’s nothing there I always have Burning sensations in that area. Since I get reoccurring symptoms in the same area should I assume that my IgG results are incorrect and that I have HSV2? I’m so afraid to pass this on to somebody else. Thank you in advance for your help.

[Terri Warren]

You can trust your IgG results for HSV 2 with 92% certainty. The IgG test misses 8% of HSV 2 infections compared to the gold standard western blot. If you want the greatest certainty, you should consider getting the western blot through the University of Washington. As you can see, the IgG test missed your HSV 1 infection – it is known to miss 30% of these infections.
Your results were all the same though they were reported out differently.

Terri

[Needtoknowthetruth]

Thank you for your reply. I have a few more questions.
1. Which is more common- a false negative or a false positive?
2. I am a healthy individual who is rarely sick so I assume I have a healthy immune system. In the 8% of infections that aren’t detected is it because the individual doesn’t have the antibodies other people would have or is it that the test just isn’t detecting them?
3. I understand once negative always negative so doing any further IgG test would be pointless right?
4. Is the same true for viral culture? If I am testing negative via culture will I always or would there be value in having any future outbreaks swabbed?
5. I had a dermatologist tell me my outbreaks sounded more like hives to her because they appear and disappear so quickly. In your experience have you ever seen individuals who have such short-lived herpes outbreaks and wouldn’t a doctor be able to tell the difference?
6. I have never had hives or allergies in my life. Does herpes cause people to have problems with hives after contracting herpes?
7. I’ve read on this forum that 5 minutes of sexual contact would be very unlikely to transmit the herpes virus. Would having a hemorrhoid at the time of contact increase that probability?
8. Why is Western Blot so difficult to obtain and why do most doctors not understand how herpes is transmitted or what the IgG values mean?

[Terri Warren]

1. Which is more common- a false negative or a false positive?

False IgG negatives are found in 30% of people with HSV 1 and 8% of people with HSV 2. False positives occur in about 3% of people who test positive for HSV 2

2. I am a healthy individual who is rarely sick so I assume I have a healthy immune system. In the 8% of infections that aren’t detected is it because the individual doesn’t have the antibodies other people would have or is it that the test just isn’t detecting them?

It is a test issue, not an antibody issue, because the the 8% is compared to the western blot which HAS picked up the infection through antibody testing.

3. I understand once negative always negative so doing any further IgG test would be pointless right?

I think it is yes

4. Is the same true for viral culture? If I am testing negative via culture will I always or would there be value in having any future outbreaks swabbed?

No, it is not the same. You should have outbreaks swab tested

5. I had a dermatologist tell me my outbreaks sounded more like hives to her because they appear and disappear so quickly. In your experience have you ever seen individuals who have such short-lived herpes outbreaks and wouldn’t a doctor be able to tell the difference?

The shortest duration of outbreaks I have seen is 3-4 days

6. I have never had hives or allergies in my life. Does herpes cause people to have problems with hives after contracting herpes?

They can have something called erythema multiforme which looks a bit like hives, yes, and it is realted to herpes activation.

7. I’ve read on this forum that 5 minutes of sexual contact would be very unlikely to transmit the herpes virus. Would having a hemorrhoid at the time of contact increase that probability?

Well, if there was anal sex involved, possibly

8. Why is Western Blot so difficult to obtain and why do most doctors not understand how herpes is transmitted or what the IgG values mean?

The western blot is not an automated test, it is hand read by three people each time. So big labs can’t use it. I cannot speak for the ignorance of other providers on this topic.

Terri

[Needtoknowthetruth]

Thank you for your responses. Here are my final questions:3
1. If I did have erythema multiforme, can And allergist do a test to either confirm or rule out the condition?
2. If confirmed would it also confirm a diagnosis of HSV2?
3. I get these hive like bumps on the inside of my knee and the edge of my armpit. The bumps look and feel just like the ones I get down there and on my butt. They itch and burn and are painful. Can HSV2 do that and how would I explain the one by my armpit?
4. I sometimes get a burning prickly feeling by my eye but no visible marks that I never used to get. Could I have self inoculated and does HSV2 ever act like that?
5. After the encounter I had severe constant burning on both butt cheeks and down my thighs for almost a year. I had pain down my left leg much like sciatica for that year as well. Can HSV2 cause these kinds of neurological symptoms?
6. The area of my skin between my anus and inner thigh where I usually get the pimples has constant discomfort. It’s a pulling sort of pinching sensation and hurts when I touch it. This has been constant for three years. Does HSV2 act like this
7. There was no anal sex no. I was asking if the hemorrhoid which was an external and sometimes bleeding one could cause me to be more susceptible to getting HSV2 since it would serve as a point of entry?
8. I have chronic BV. Could BV cause these or similar symptoms?
9. Could perimenopause or plummeting estrogen levels cause skin problems such as these?
10. I’ve read that the HSV2 virus has to have grinding to work the virus into the skin. This encounter was so brief there was barely any rubbing and definitely no grinding. I don’t think the encounter lasted more than just a couple minutes. Isn’t it very unlikely to get HSV2 this quickly?
11. The WB is so expensive and not sure I can do it. What should I be telling any future sexual partners?
12. What is the reliability of the WB and what would be the rate of false positive?
Thank you.

[Terri Warren]

1. If I did have erythema multiforme, can And allergist do a test to either confirm or rule out the condition?

This condition is diagnosed almost exclusively by visual exam. I suppose one could do a biopsy of the lesion and diagnosed in that way as well

2. If confirmed would it also confirm a diagnosis of HSV2?

No, this could occur from HSV one as well

3. I get these hive like bumps on the inside of my knee and the edge of my armpit. The bumps look and feel just like the ones I get down there and on my butt. They itch and burn and are painful. Can HSV2 do that and how would I explain the one by my armpit?

If you are concerned that these bumps are caused by herpes, you should go into see a healthcare provider when they are present and have them swab tested for herpes. I have seen herpes lesions in very strange places on the body and don’t understand how they got there
.
4. I sometimes get a burning prickly feeling by my eye but no visible marks that I never used to get. Could I have self inoculated and does HSV2 ever act like that?

Normally, herpes of the eye is much more obvious then a burning prickling feeling.

5. After the encounter I had severe constant burning on both butt cheeks and down my thighs for almost a year. I had pain down my left leg much like sciatica for that year as well. Can HSV2 cause these kinds of neurological symptoms?

Yes, herpes can cause those kinds of feelings but they are not normally constant with herpes. They would be far more intermittent if they were caused by herpes, in my opinion

6. The area of my skin between my anus and inner thigh where I usually get the pimples has constant discomfort. It’s a pulling sort of pinching sensation and hurts when I touch it. This has been constant for three years. Does HSV2 act like this

Again, Constant symptoms are not normally related to herpes
.
7. There was no anal sex no. I was asking if the hemorrhoid which was an external and sometimes bleeding one could cause me to be more susceptible to getting HSV2 since it would serve as a point of entry?

No, not if there was no anal sex

8. I have chronic BV. Could BV cause these or similar symptoms?

No

9. Could perimenopause or plummeting estrogen levels cause skin problems such as these?

I honestly don’t know the answer to that

10. I’ve read that the HSV2 virus has to have grinding to work the virus into the skin. This encounter was so brief there was barely any rubbing and definitely no grinding. I don’t think the encounter lasted more than just a couple minutes. Isn’t it very unlikely to get HSV2 this quickly?
Yes

11. The WB is so expensive and not sure I can do it. What should I be telling any future sexual partners?
I think you should tell partners that you have been tested for type II herpes under negative

12. What is the reliability of the WB and what would be the rate of false positive?

There are no false positives on the Western blot. Either the proteins are present on the block or they are not. The HSV-2 Western blot sensitivity is 99.9%

This is your final post on this subscription. If you have more questions, feel free to renew

Terri

• This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by Terri Warren.

[Author]

Posts