Peace of mind

[confirmationneeded]

Hi Terri,
I had a single sexual encounter that included genital rubbing but I was wearing underwear. I think at some point it slipped slightly and there was brief genital to genital contact. There was no penetration and no oral sex performed on me. I started itching a day or so after, but no sores were present. I went for a test at one month (which I know is not totally accurate, but I figured since I’ve been tested for herpes before and both HSV1 and 2 have come back negative there may be a more rapid seroconversion). The blood test came back negative, but when the doctor did a visual inspection my cervix was inflamed. There were no sores present. There have yet to be any sort of sores.

So would the inflamed cervix and itching be a symptom of herpes if there were no sores? If every single previous test has come back negative, would anything show up on a one month test if I had just contracted herpes and there was an outbreak? I know that what happened would be considered low risk, but I can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong. Thank you for all your help. I really appreciate it!

[Terri Warren]

When ever I help evaluate the likelihood that someone might have herpes, I always go back to the concerning event. Rubbing with underwear (even with slight slippage) is very very low risk, without slippage, zero risk. Hard to assess the risk of “slippage”. The inflammation of your cervix is of course concerning. What other testing was done to try to sort that out? Were you prescribed any medication? The contact, as you describe it, does not put you at risk for herpes cervicitis.

Terri

[confirmationneeded]

Hi Terri,
Thanks so much for your answer. I went through the whole set of all STD testing, and everything was negative. They found some yeast, so it was determined that the inflammation was yeast based and the blood is because I have a friable cervix. I was given medication for a yeast infection. At this point, with the lack of sores, the low probability of transmission, and the clear 1 month test, would you recommend another test in a few months or do you think I shouldn’t worry about it? And out of curiosity, would a herpes cervicitis risk need penetration? Thank you again for your time! I really appreciate it!

[Terri Warren]

OK but a friable (bleeding) cervix is not normal. Did they come up with why your cervix was friable? Did they think your cervix was friable because of the yeast infection?
Genital rubbing with underwear is not a risk for herpes acquisition.

Terri

[confirmationneeded]

It turns out my partner is HSV1 and HSV2 positive. We haven’t ever had penetrative sex and he is on valtrex. There has been some very slight skin-to-skin contact but not a lot, and mostly contact is through underwear. He has not performed oral sex on me. A few days ago I got a sore throat and the bottom of one butt cheek started to feel weird, almost like the feeling you get when your thighs rub together. I looked and there are two small red dots, not raised or anything, about an inch apart right above the area where there is discomfort. Does this sound like I acquired herpes?

[Terri Warren]

No, it doesn’t sound like herpes to me but without seeing it, very difficult to say. The sexual contact that you described is minimal and does not sound like there was much if any risk of getting herpes in that way. I think you’re good.

Terri

[confirmationneeded]

Hi Terri,
I purchased follow up questions because this situation is still rather strange and confusing. A little over two weeks ago would have been the last time I was in any way intimate with this particular partner. If there was skin-to-skin contact, it was extremely minimal. There was no penetrative sex, and no oral sex was performed on me. About a week ago, I started experiencing some small stabbing pain on both sides of my groin (right where the groin meets the thigh). The stabbing pain sometimes happens on the back of my thigh or my buttocks, but is mostly located in that specific area. There is a small pinkish rash where the elastic of my underwear sits, but it is very local (maybe half an inch). On that same leg, I developed a similar pinkish rash spot about halfway down my thigh, it seems to have faded over night and doesn’t hurt unless I touch it. I also have three zit-like bumps (that seem to have puss and heads) about two inches apart, a bit above that red mark. I’m starting to think it’s a first outbreak (I’ve always tested negative for both HSV1 and HSV2) but there are no obvious lesions anywhere (and I have been really checking). Does this sound like herpes at all? Or do you think the pain is more psychosomatic than anything and the bumps are nothing (I do have sensitive skin, which probably isn’t helping matters). Thank you again for all your help, and sorry to be a bother! This is just kind of weird, and it’s going to be a while before I can get blood tested anyway.

[Terri Warren]

First, you aren’t being a bother.

Again, we should go back to the concerning encounter and remember that it was very low risk for anything.
Still, if you are concerned that these bumps could be something infectious, then I would strongly encourage you to seek the opinion of a professional who can actually see you and your bumps/rash and give you a more reasoned opinion. I just can’t do that for you here. But I can reassure you that the chances of this being herpes is very very small.

Terri

[confirmationneeded]

Hi Terri,
After the sort of confusing symptoms have continued, I wanted to ask about clarification of the whole ‘skin-to-skin’ contact thing. Exactly how much skin-to-skin contact is necessary for transmission?

[Terri Warren]

It needs to be genital to genital contact, direct contact.

Terri

[confirmationneeded]

Do herpes rashes, without blisters, occur with pealing skin? I noticed a red rash about two inches long and 1/4 inch wide on the underside of my butt cheek, right where the elastic of the underwear sits. It was red for a few days and today I noticed that the skin looked like it was pealing. I’ve kept a pretty close eye on it and it never seemed to develop into anything that looked like typical herpes blisters.

[Terri Warren]

The rash that you describe does not sound like a herpes infection to me, no

Terri

[confirmationneeded]

Hello again Terri,

It has now been about 8 weeks post any potential exposure but I can’t help but being a bit nervous. I’ve read that it takes a certain amount of virus to actually transmit from person to person. So if my partner was on valtrex, and there was minimum if any genital to genital contact (although if there was momentary contact with my thigh or buttocks would that still be a transmission risk?) I should probably not be worried, correct? Would you recommend getting tested at 12 weeks? And would singular bumps (definitely not clusters) that scab over on the outer thigh be indicative of infection or just more likely a follicle thing? Thanks again for all your help!

[Terri Warren]

I would agree that you should not be worried here yes indeed. I would guess that many many people get single bumps on their thing that are not herpes, right? Clusters, yes, would be more concerning but you don’t have that. And yes, him being on Valtrex is certainly good. Because I don’t think your contact was in any way high risk, I would say that you don’t need to test again at 12 weeks unless you just can’t put this behind you without a final lab test to prove it.

Terri

[confirmationneeded]

Hi Terri,

For the last few days I’ve had what felt like a uti, got it checked out, it was a uti and then there was weird stabbing pain on the right side of my outer vaginal lip, where the hair grows. Today there seems to be a raw patch of skin, almost like a cut or something. I’ve read that herpes can look like a cut but I’m really confused because the interaction I had a few months ago was my last sexual interaction. There has also been some similar pain between my butt cheeks but I don’t feel anything there. I’m trying really hard to remember if there was any direct gential to genital contact but I don’t think there was. What do you think is going on? Should I be worried about this?

[Terri Warren]

I think the UTI is unrelated, probably. If you have a raw patch of skin, you might want to have that checked out, but in terms of your recent risk, it just seems likely incredibly low risk to me. How many weeks out are you now from the encounter?

Terri

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