Scared about contracting HSV 1 and 2

[Lizlemonade]

Hello. Here is a brief medical history. I am a African American female in my mid forties. I have Type 1 Diabetes. I am also in early menopause due to a partial hysterectomy a few years ago. The last time I had been tested for STDs, including HSV 1 and 2 was in December of 2013, of which I was negative for both.

I will try to give you as much detailed information as possible so that you may formulate a fully informed opinion.

73 days ago (July 20 2014) I had unprotected vaginal and oral sex with a Caucasian male in his early 40s whose STD status is unknown to me. We both performed oral on each other, and the vaginal sex was without ejaculation. He penetrated me twice in a one time session. He had no noticeable sores. A couple of days afterward, I started to experience tingling in my vaginal area. Also, I experienced some mild itching. However, the tingling and itching have not been a recent issue.

15 days post exposure I got a lone, small blister that had a whitehead on the upper, inside area of my right thigh. It was painless and it went away within a 14 hour period without incident. 44 days post exposure, I had an outbreak of what looked like raised pimples on the same side as the aforementioned lone blister, but they were located higher up near my groin. There was about 8 -10 of them. They were scattered, painless, not itchy, and they had no fluid. They looked flesh colored. No pimples were on my genitalia, just nearby in my groin area. I thought that within hours that they would surely blister and ulcerate, but they dissipated within about 8-12 hours. A couple of days later, in that same area, I experienced some mild itching. Then a faint rash appeared. The area had some redness. A day or two later, the rash dissipated. I did not get a chance to get a doctor to look at that outbreak when they occurred, but I took photos of the area and 2 doctors who viewed them said it was possibly folluculitus.

Other random symptoms I have had have been intense vaginal itching a month post exposure that lasted what seemed like a day or so. No unusual discharge was experienced. I have had a dull, aching pain in my groin on the left side that started about 39 days post exposure. The pain has been sporadic, intermittent, random. I felt in the area and did not notice any swollen lymph nodes. Random pains in my armpits, but no swollen lymph nodes.

48 days post exposure, I got a small, lone blister with a whitehead on my philtrum. It was painless. I popped it without incident. However, 62 days post exposure, I got another similar blister in the same area. It too was painless. Again, I popped it without incident.

I got a mild sore throat 52 days post exposure. No swollen lymph nodes were noticed. The soreness went away after about 4 days. Last week, I noticed some small red dots on the inside of my cheek. They were painless. They went away within a day or so.

Now, my uvula is somewhat red. My throat is not sore currently. Doc did a strep culture on this past Monday that came back negative. My tongue has started to feel some mild irritation near the tip. I have also noticed that on my vermillion lip border, it looks like a bump maybe sprouting. No pain as of yet. And finally, on this past Sunday I got another small, lone blister on the upper, inside area of my left thigh. It’s painless and is still there but has not progressed to an ulceration.

Okay, I know all of these symptoms seem all random and all over the place. But to me, they all seem like symptoms of HSV 1 and 2. My questions are 1) do all these symptoms collectively seem like it could be oral and/ or genital herpes? , 2) Can herpes symptoms (as mild as these may seem) present themselves in such a random, non-classical way? , and 3) since I am a type 1 diabetic, and have had no previous HSV infections, would I be more likely to have the classic symptoms like swollen lymph nodes, muscle aches, flu like symptoms, etc..considering I have an autoimmune disease?

[Terri Warren]

So you’ve not tested subsequently to December of 2013? Are you waiting for four months to pass for accurate herpes testing? When enough time has passed for accuracy, I do think you should test again, and not just for herpes but all STI’s just to be certain since you have had unprotected sex. Is it possible to talk to this person to find out more about their sexual history? Perhaps you have?

Anyway, let me address you symptoms. To me, they do not sound like herpes. I would guess that most everyone gets bumps on the thighs, at least everyone I see at the clinic, from time to time, gets a little pimple or irritated hair follicle in the boxer shorts area. Often these are a result of irritation from clothing or underwear. But if you had genital herpes, I think your symptoms would be far more focused on the genital area and not the thigh area as you describe. RECURRENCES can show up on the thigh and buttocks, and commonly do, but that isn’t your concern here, it is first infection. I do think that most people with some sort of autoimmune condition have more marked symptoms with a first infection, yes. This just doesn’t like herpes to me, and I have a pretty good gut about these things after 32 years. But my gut isn’t flawless, and just to be sure, I think an antibody test (and other STI tests) would be good about November 20th. Now if you can get in touch with this person and share your concerns and ask him to be tested (and I would offer to pay for it since it is your concern and likely not his), that would certainly help. If he is negative, then the chances of you being positive for anything drop way down, right?

Also when you describe a blister, a blister has clear fluid inside. A pustule or pimple has cloudy fluid or pus inside. Are you able to make that distinction with your own skin conditions?

Terri

[Terri Warren]

So you’ve not tested subsequently to December of 2013? Are you waiting for four months to pass for accurate herpes testing? When enough time has passed for accuracy, I do think you should test again, and not just for herpes but all STI’s just to be certain since you have had unprotected sex. Is it possible to talk to this person to find out more about their sexual history? Perhaps you have?

Anyway, let me address you symptoms. To me, they do not sound like herpes. I would guess that most everyone gets bumps on the thighs, at least everyone I see at the clinic, from time to time, gets a little pimple or irritated hair follicle in the boxer shorts area. Often these are a result of irritation from clothing or underwear. But if you had genital herpes, I think your symptoms would be far more focused on the genital area and not the thigh area as you describe. RECURRENCES can show up on the thigh and buttocks, and commonly do, but that isn’t your concern here, it is first infection. I do think that most people with some sort of autoimmune condition have more marked symptoms with a first infection, yes. This just doesn’t like herpes to me, and I have a pretty good gut about these things after 32 years. But my gut isn’t flawless, and just to be sure, I think an antibody test (and other STI tests) would be good about November 20th. Now if you can get in touch with this person and share your concerns and ask him to be tested (and I would offer to pay for it since it is your concern and likely not his), that would certainly help. If he is negative, then the chances of you being positive for anything drop way down, right?

Also when you describe a blister, a blister has clear fluid inside. A pustule or pimple has cloudy fluid or pus inside. Are you able to make that distinction with your own skin conditions?

Terri

[Lizlemonade]

I am not in contact with the person I was with. But I do worry because I know him to be quite promiscuous. I was planning to get tested at 16 weeks. None of the outbreaks I mentioned before had clear fluid. They were all whiteheads with the exception of the 10 scattered pimples that were more flesh colored. I was thinking since I do have a suppressed immune system due to the diabetes that I would definitely present severe classics symptoms. The way my symptoms have presented seem very irregular. I hope you are right about it not likely being herpes. The waiting is killing me, but I do want the most accurate results possible. I will follow up after I am tested with the Herpeselect brand ELISA test in November. I do thank you for your time and input and for the good work that you do in helping people going through scary moments like this.

[Terri Warren]

You are most welcome, and please, get back to me if you have questions about your test results or anything else.

Terri

[Lizlemonade]

So I was tested after 17 weeks and here are my results:
HSV 1 IGG TYPE SPECIFIC AB 0.16

HSV 2 IGG TYPE SPECIFIC AB 0.30

I have been assured that this is a conclusive negative result. I am happy and relieved. I must say that even though the last four months have been an agonizing time, it was also a learning experience for me as I didn’t know a lot about Herpes or how it is spread. It is a cautionary tale in that I will be more careful and vigilant in protecting myself and I hope that others will do the same. HSV 1 and 2 should be a part of any standard STD Screening and all sexually active people should have this test, along with the others done regularly.

Thanks Terri for educating me and others. Good luck and safe sex to everyone.

[Terri Warren]

Great news, I’m very happy for you and agree that these are solidly negative results!

Terri

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