Sound like hsv?

[worried808]

• I made out with a girl I’m seeing on Dec 18.
• toward the end of the month tip of tongue feels weird/uncomfortable and is a bit red at the tip. I do not see any sores or marks etc
• once or twice a felt sting sensation at the tip of the tongue it was slightly red. Went away same day. I inspect for lesions and don’t see any
• Do a video call with my Dr who says maybe it’s hsv
• for past 8 weeks varying degrees of feeling dry tongue or uncomfortable. I wake up in the night with tongue feeling dry (I don’t sleep with mouth open)
• drinking more water doesn’t help as much, but chewing sugar free gum makes my tongue feel normal temporarily normal. I’ve cut out tea and sweets out of my diet to see if any of this was food related.
• I visit dentist who say tongue looks normal and if I actually see a lesion to come back.
• I changed to a gentle toothpaste and well as hydrating gentle mouthwash. Both of which only offer temporary relief. Chewing gum seems to be the most effective.
• as of the last 4 weeks my throat feels uncomfortable on and off. It doesn’t hurt but just an uncomfortable feeling. Eating food feels fine.
• On day 40 after, I go to Dr get compete STI panel. Everything is negative including igg 1/2 and he’s not able to swab in the back since his swabs are expired. He says there is a red dot or two (hard to understand his English ) and it doesn’t look like hsv though. He says I have a bit of white in my tongue and to try an anti fungal mouth wash if it doesn’t work then maybe
• Girl gests herself STI check including hsv2 but NOT hsv1. She hasn’t ever had any history of cold sores.
• Tongue &. throat issues now are not always constant
• most mornings I wake up and seems under neath of top lip feeling puffy but goes away later in the morning. No visual signs of anything. Sometimes feels itching on my face or lips still no sores
• I am not coughing, no fever, no swollen lymph nodes etc.
Should I get western blot at 12 weeks?

[Terri Warren]

So no, I don’t think this sounds anything at all like herpes. Not at all. Your symptoms sounded pretty consistent for a while, at least one and off (glad they are better now). I just have no reason at all to think that this is herpes. And if you do decide to test again with the blot for greater reassurance, you should wait 12 weeks from the make out encounter, though I don’t think from a medical point of view you need one. But sometimes, peace of mind is worth more than anything. That needs to be your call.

Terri

[worried808]

I was skeptical. Surprised Dr even suggested it. He gave me hsv scare years ago about some red rash/bumps on glans/under foreskin years ago. I had done 3 igg tests over 6 months and WB 2 years after that + seeing several dermotoligst. All tests were neg. This lasted for months sometimes worse some times better until I tried all sorts of meds & only after fluconazole did it go away.

Lately ive seen this glans/foreskin irritation again. I am uncircumcised. None of this irritation has caused me pain other than scaring me & sometimes worrying me I have prodrome. Again this rash seems to go away or come back randomly.

We did not have any sex oral or otherwise but did cuddle without clothes. Not sure if hsv would cause that much glans/under foreskin irritation/redness from just that.

Only oral lesion (side of tongue) mouth ulcer I have seen during this all was one tiny small one after eating cereal which felt it irritated tongue. Went away in 2.5 days (only caused slight discomfort when touched)

I feel this Dr makes anything not super basic STI related… I would have thought any hsv in the mouth/throat woulda come with much more indications than what im experiencing.

Same with glans issue. Not sure why he throws diagnosis around and hands out pills like its candy.

I will get the WB. Am I allowed to post glans picture to ask if it looks like hsv?

[Terri Warren]

Cuddling is not going to give you HSV. I don’t like it that twice now, the issue of herpes as come up without your doctor doing a swab test (I know one was telehealth). It scares people to hear the word “HERPES” without offering anything good way to know if this is actually herpes or not.

If you use me to do the blot, when we have our appointment, you can definitely download a picture for me to review.

Terri

[worried808]

OK, my concern was maybe my penis touched her somewhere where she had it (although I don’t think much contact was made – and would not have expected under foreskin /glans issues only).

He was not going to swab I believe until I asked. His swabs were expired. I asked for full STI panel which he probably wasn’t even going to do. He asked the lab to swab PCR and wrote if not able to swab do blood PCR for HSV (I believe Blood PCR for hsv doesn’t make sense) although I did get him to do IGG for both type. This was 40 days post and all was negative.

Years ago with the glans bumps, he did not swab then either. He visually told me hsv likely and wrote up ointment. I requested blood tests and as I mentioned were negative since I doubted him. He had also requested IGM and argued that it was good for recent infections. I told him I will not pay for faulty tests (even IGM back then was negative).

Furthermore, in the prior case of glans issue I requested western blot to make sure igg wasn’t missing anything he was trying to tell me WB was not reliable and I should not do. I’m glad I didn’t listen then – otherwise I would have assumed I have hsv.

He also few years ago told me I might have urea/mico plasma during a 2 year period of abstinence because I said sometimes the glans area has a fishy smell and gave me antibotics…

His medical notes I viewed online state history of hsv and has written subsequent tests negative (I have taken 5 test since 2016 including WB). I’m worried this will bias any new Dr having a look at me to think I have the virus.

He’s worried me again this time. I am also getting a different Dr. Maybe he stuck on hsv since I asked for periodic testing during my prior scare.

How certain can I be after 12 week WB that I do not have hsv? Some Dr seem so wrong about this!

[Terri Warren]

You should be certain that you don’t have HSV.

Your doctor needs to change those notes. You have no history of herpes.

Terri

[worried808]

I went to a second Dr. with him was a student resident. My throat was feeling uncomfortable as well as tongue so I thought good time to get checked. I told them previous Dr views. Both said they my mouth and throat seem normal and there doesn’t seem anything to swab. I am getting referral to ENT.

Do these symptoms from above posts and below AT ALL seem like herpes somehow in the throat but not present elsewhere along with tip of tongue discomfort but no lesion on the tip of tongue or on lips? I don’t have lymph nodes swollen, no tonsils swollen, so sign of strep, or irritated throat, no coughing, not feeling sick, normal temperature/no fever. I just have a tongue that can feel irritated or a bit red at the tip or tongue in general feels dry along with my throat at times feeling uncomfortable when I swallow (not a pain and doesn’t feel sore.) I can eat fine and mostly feels good when eat food. Throat issue is not always constant.

I don’t understand how one Dr can start off looking at a red tip of tongue and call out possible hsv, where a Resident physician and Dr look and say they see nothing while im having symptoms. So I wonder what the first Dr was even planning to swab..His medical notes also comment weird things that don’t make sense.

Its been 2 months of the tongue discomfort in varying degrees of feeling (some days it won’t always be present). The throat discomfort has been around for a month and also not all day or always present.

Due to the timing of these issues starting with tongue ( 10 or 12 days after making out and the first doctor suggesting it) I am concerned I have hsv and somehow now its in my throat or spread there.

This is causing me a lot of anxiety

[Terri Warren]

The timing and duration of the tongue and throat issues definitely work against a herpes diagnosis.

Terri

[worried808]

I’ll have to wait until the toward the latter part of March for full 12 weeks for a western blot.

I know I can order the kit from UW ahead of time but

If I go through you and get a WB how long from drawing blood will you be able to email me results?

[Terri Warren]

Usually it’s about 10-14 days, but sometimes a little sooner, every now and then, a little later

Terri

[worried808]

Last question. Any thoughts on the glans issue I’m having?

During all this time at some point I felt underneath my foreskin be itchy. When I looked my glans and foreskin were red. I washed with water and basically next day it was gone.

Sometime later maybe weeks I saw redness and red bumps on my glans and redness under foreskin. The bumps didn’t have any fluid and didn’t hurt etc and I urinate just fine.

I washed the area with water and the next day it was basically gone. So I didn’t get to take a picture of that

Over all this time I notice my glans is sometimes very dry or gets red patches on it that don’t itch or feel anything and only way I’d know is when I pull my foreskin back (uncircumcised). Sometimes I see dry skin or note a fishy smell perhaps. These red patches go away by the time I look again in a few hours

I had something VERY similar like this glans issue happen 5-6 years ago and took several igg over 6 months and a WB 2 years after which were negative. This thing lasted several months (not sure now but each day seems different as it did back then)

This time I took a picture of red patch and it was totally gone by evening.

Only contact I had was from cuddling naked so perhaps it touched somewhere on her or her hand touching me. There was no sex oral or otherwise.

I’m wondering if after the encounter I had washed a bit too much and dried things out.

Does this sound suspicious?

[Terri Warren]

Often, with men who have a foreskin, fungi or bacteria can live under the foreskin and flourish there. it’s warm and moist and dark, the things fungi in particular love. The fact that it goes away right away after you wash under the foreskin leads me to believe it likely one of those things going on. Certainly herpes wouldn’t go away or even improve with washing.

Terri

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