Worse ob ever

[ericab187]

I contracted herpes maybe 2 years ago. I had an out break with one cluster on the left/outside of my v and the nurse said around my anal area. Since then i have had one about, every 6 months and it usually occured in the same left side spot. Not as bad or irritating as the first. About 1 month ago i had an ob and it was on the right/outside area if my vag. (A new spot) And right now i am having the worse ob i have ever had, 10x worse than my initial. But also, before this ob i have been sick
About 4 weeks ago i was diagnosed with diverticulitous, and had an infection in my intestine. I was on flagyl and citpro(i think) immediately after that infection cleared up i had a bad case of strep throat , which lasted 8 days (unusually long)and a cold sore on my lips(which i never get), they gave me a penicillin shot, which done nothing, 3 days later i got another antibiotic and pain meds and a pack of pills where i took 6 the first day, 5 the next, 4 the next etc(maybe a steroid).. The pills had a note on it saying it may inhibit your bodys ability to fight infection. Now, a few days after my strep goes away i have this terrible break out, blisters everywhere, my anal area slightly swollen, and i feel like i have a bad yeast infection too.
I am really concerned, and i am wondering if it is possible, that me being so sick caused my immune system to be weak and caused this horrible ob. Or should i be concerned that something else may be going on.? I got the doctor to call in a valtrex prescription, but im wondering should i do more?
Also, i heard that bacterial vaginitis could onset this, i am very prone to getting bv and yeast infections. But i have been prone to it so not sure if it is a contributor
I also thought once u have herpes in a certain spot, that it couldnt spread to new spots?
And ive read that there is new research and hopes for a cure, how true is this?
Thanks so much.

[Terri Warren]

That’s an easy easy question. You were on a declining dose of steroids. Those medicines are designed to reduce inappropriate functioning of your immune response and also to reduce inflammation. They are most definitely associated with the occurrence of more severe and prolong herpes outbreak. I recommend to my herpes patients that if they are prescribed a steroid medicine that they take significant doses of herpes antiviral medicine at the same time because you NEED a full immune response to deal with your herpes.

I think a cure is way off but I think more effective medicines are just around the corner.

Terri

[ericab187]

So is the ob, one month before, possibly due to me being ill? Before tue stereoids..
And are there other medicines (off the top of ur head) that can trigger an ob??? Ao i can be more prepared. And thank you for putting my mind ar ease. I jave a gyn apt on the 19th and willl get a full std screening. But i was very worried. But i got meds yesterday and i feel 75% better now.. It was just awfull!!

[Terri Warren]

No, steroids are about the only medicine (aside from things like chemotherapy) that would make an outbreak much worse. So glad you are feeling better. Just be prepared next time if your clinicians feels steroids are appropriate. They do a great job settling some things down but this little downside is important to remember.

Terri

[ericab187]

Okay thanks a lot..
One more thing, when are you most and least likely to spread herpes? Before during or after an ob? And are there any topical creams that u can use before or during sex to reduce the chances of transmission, for example surgical scrubs, alcohol, cleaning agents claiming to kill those types of viruses on contact? And do you have any suggestions on some good informative sites on the subject, and or studies, maybe even who may need participants. THANKS AGAIN

[Terri Warren]

When you are shedding virus varies greatly from person to person. Fifty% of shedding occurs somewhere around an outbreak and 50% occurs randomly. There is no evidence that any cream used in the genital area reduces viral shedding to reduce transmission no. You can look at clinicialtrials.gov for research studies in your area. You can look at PubMed for research articles and of course, I recommend my own book, The Good News About the Bad News as a good resource for you as well as the Updated Herpes Handbook which is free and on this website.

Terri

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