Solving my mystery

[JohnDoe1879]

Hi Terri.

There will be two parts to my post. Here goes;

15 weeks ago today (day 0) I had unprotected sex with a new partner. On day 4 I had flu-like symptoms, itching and tingling in my urethra. Day 7 I discovered a ulcer on the shaft of my penis and had a swab test done (discovered later was HSV2 positive along with Non-gonococcal urethritis.)

On day 8 I called my new partner who said that she’d also experienced symptoms typical of GHSV from day 2 onwards. I drove her to the clinic but did not go into the consulting room with her. She came out and said that they had said highly likely HSV given she’d told them about my symptoms. She then left the country to take a new job so I don’t think she got results but simply relied on my diagnosis and both our symptoms together. She said she had never had anything like it before and this was her first experience of it.

How unusual it is for two partners to have their first outbreak almost exactly at the same time and also transmit from one person to another with no obvious symptoms at the time of sex? I am trying to work out whether I already had it or did I get it from her? She admits to having unprotected sex with her previous partner 1 month prior. I had unprotected sex with several partners over the years with no symptoms.

(I am in the UK and HSV screening is not part of the usual testing)

Ok next part…

I have not had a breakout or symptoms since despite this being the most stressful period of my life. Is this what I can expect from now on?

Our UK clinics do not recommend supressive therapy unless a person is symptomatic. Do you recommend it to keep partners safe? I was also advised that the body builds up its own immunity more effectively without the assistance of supressive therapy?

I fooled around with a girl this week which involved her touching my penis and then her genitals, and vice versa. If I am asymptomatic, what is the risk? I am yet to tell her about my status.

[JohnDoe1879]

To continue and regarding the fooling around part;

As I said she touched my penis and I may have touched my own penis and subsequently her genitals. Im worried she also may have touched her own genitals at some stage.

Id like to query what the odds for infection would be in this manner in both symptomatic and asymptomatic conditions?

Today I have some sensation in my penis but I am wondering if I am just hyper conscious of a potential outbreak due to the above. I can see no visual sores at the moment but I would like to know the odds if say I had one in the urethra that I didn’t know about or if one was about to appear.

The incident was 48 hrs ago as I type this.

I did not see any breaks in the skin on her hands etc.

[Terri Warren]

I do not feel that the contact that you had most recently presents a risk for transmission
The only way to know if you infected your previous partner or she infected you would have been for both of you to obtain antibody testing at the time of your first symptoms. If the antibody test was negative and the swab test was positive, that would indicate first infection. You have virus present on your skin causing a lesion but not enough time has gone by to make antibody yet. That would be a new infection. Now that that time has passed, the opportunity to make that determination is gone.
Daily antiviral therapy reduces transmission by half and I highly recommended when having sex with someone who is HSV2 negative as one method of reducing transmission along with regular condom use

Terri.

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