Would valtrex stop ALL flu and OB sympt? Do oral blisters and lesion always hurt

[SoSoConfused]

4 weeks since exposure to HSV2, engaged with woman using my fingers and potentially rubbed their bodily fluids on a different body part and licked it. Before things went further, she mentioned prev. partner had HSV2. I stopped, washed my hands with 90% alcohol and soap and water, did not use mouthwash, did floss. Later, engaged with a condom on my fingers and then took the condom off my hand, made full contact with mouth and then touched my genitals (potentially had their bodily fluid on other parts of hand). Partner got PCR swab 2 days later and was POS. for HSV2, first outbreak. Doctor 3 days after exposure, put me on 1 gram of valtrex twice daily for ten days. Next week I noticed cold and flu symptoms, lots of aching flank pain (under ribs, on sides) and back pain, mildly irritated and painful spot in esophagus(not tonsil pain, distinct point in throat, migrated to both sides), sneezing, feeling run down,shooting pains in hands, arms, legs, buttock, NO noticeable fever, but could have been elevated. Mouth feels raw and tastes metallic under tongue and around mouth. Blood tests were NEG., and no active signs of lesion. 2 weeks after exposure, cold symptoms reduced, but persistent localized throat/esophagus pain (mild yet noticeable and felt irritated and hurt when swallowing). 3 weeks after pain in throat, worried about esophageal herpes and some cold symptoms return, sneezing, feeling sick, pain in arms and legs. 3 and half weeks, mouth is feeling raw and tastes metallic, ulcers on gum behind molar, less than a MM and grey. Little to no pain and not red, other small ulcer spots on cheeks and lip appear(all small and little to no pain, not red), notice either painless blisters or cysts in bottom inner lip. Got PCR swab at a urg. care that day. Results NEG. but 10-20 mins prior to PCR swab I used a Listerine strip, could that cause false NEG? If ulcer was 2-3 days old, could that cause false NEG? Would mouth blisters and ulcers hurt

[Terri Warren]

I am confused here. So are you saying that four weeks after an encounter with someone who is HSV 2 positive, you had an encounter with someone else and they came out PCR positive for HSV 2 with a confirmed new infection? Had they recently had sex with someone else or were they sure this came from you? The mouth ulcers sound like canker sores to me – have you had them before?

Terri

[SoSoConfused]

I was running out of space and cut down on the wording, I see how it got confused. There is only one partner in my story, what I am describing is that 4 weeks ago (turns out its actually been 6 weeks), I engaged in sexual activity with a woman who 2 days after our encounter turned out to be having their first G-HSV2 outbreak, this was confirmed by a PCR swab. During our encounter, I touched their genitals once without a condom on my fingers and later with a condom on my fingers. During the interaction my hand made contact with my tongue, mouth and genitals. Yes, I have had canker sores before, so it is not impossible, but never so many and not on the gums behind my molar and not on the fleshy part of my lip right on the boundary where it goes from outside the mouth to inside the mouth. My questions are, if i used one of those alcohol based Listerine breath strips 10 mins before the PCR swab, could that have given me a false negative on the test (I’d been off valtrex for a 4-7 days at this point)? If the ulcer on my gums was 2-3 days old would swabbing it not show virus, because it is too old and no longer shedding enough virus to detect? Would taking valtrex 3days after my exposure, (1gm twice daily for 10 days) have stopped all first outbreak symptoms ie. the cold and flu symptoms I was feeling, the aches and pains, nerve and muscle pain, sore throat. I can imagine that it would stop lesions, I didn’t get any the first few weeks, but curious if I still could feel other symptoms, but possibly a milder form, including prodrome? Do lesions and blisters from HSV2 in the mouth and throat always hurt? Everything I have read says they hurt a lot, but I am wondering if that is always the case. I can upload a picture of the ulcer if that would help. I am sorry for so many tedious questions, I just want to know if I need to be on high vigilance with partners and people around me as we share a lot of personal hygiene products. I don’t want to accidentally give it to someone.

[Terri Warren]

I don’t feel that your contact with her represents any real risk of acquiring HSV and I don’t think that the Listerine strip would cause a false negative.
But the bigger question is this: If she had her first outbreak of HSV 2 two days after having sex with you,why are you not worried that you infected her? Had she had sex with someone else just days before that would account for new herpes? I’m still confused here.

Terri

[SoSoConfused]

Ahh alright, that is good to know. She had disclosed after I engaged with her that the previous month she had been engaging in unprotected sex with someone who had HSV2 for many years. Her previous partner stated that they hadn’t had an out break in a long time and she wasn’t aware of asymptomatic shedding. She had been having a lot of pain and discomfort in that area along with other symptoms for the past week. I have been abstinent for 5 months prior to our encounter and my blood test that I took days after my encounter with her all came back negative, IGM and IGG. So most likely the cold sores I were canker sores as herpes lesion/cold sores/ blister etc. in the throat or mouth are always very painful? What are your thoughts on my questions about my Valtrex usage and other symptoms?

[Terri Warren]

That much Valtrex should not interfere with the testing.
Herpes lesions orally are very often painful or at least tender.
The testing you did right after the encounter should be considered a baseline test – there wasn’t enough time to have made antibody if you were looking for that.

This is your final post on this subscription. If you have more questions, feel free to renew

Terri

• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by Terri Warren.

[SoSoConfused]

Hello,
I purchased the 2nd level of questions and I am very confused by my tests. I got retested 5 days ago and got a positive IgM. Which is confusing cus my PCR swab was NEG. Below is a timeline of my test/results and medication intake, let me know what you think and if you think it is a true POS. test result and if I should start daily suppressive therapy.

4-11-2018 I had the exposure discussed in my 1st and 2nd posts.

4-15-2018 I was started on 1 gram of valtrex twice daily for 10 days to stop potential outbreak.

4-15-2018 I got tested. Negative for all stds, but my HSV-1 and HSV-2 Ab, IGM was: .93 equivocal ,(Ref Range and Units: 0.00 – 0.90) and an HSV-1 IGG: <0.01 and HSV-2 IGG: 0.18 ,(both with Ref Ranges and Units being <=.89)

4-26-2018 I saw a different doctor who said they saw no symptoms on my hands or mouth, I had been off of valtrex for 2 days at this point. My results were HSV 1&2 Combo Abs IgM:.32 (with ref range and unit: <=.89) and my HSV 1/2 Combo IgG screen: .75 (with ref range and units being: .89 or less = Not Detected; .90 – 1.09 IV = Indeterminate; and 1.10 IV or greater = Detected)

5-07-18 I noticed a non-painful lesion on my gums and had it swabbed for a PCR test that day. At the end of the visit I got a 3 day prescription of valtrex 500 mg and took it that night and the next day, but was told to stop by another herpes specialist, because they were worried it would suppress antibody expression. So I stopped taking it. The PCR test turned out to be negative, which was surprising, though I am wondering now, if that was to do with the alcohol based breath strip or the fact the lesion could have been up to 3 days old.

5-16-2018 I went to the first clinic I went to and got blood work. My results are HSV-1 Ab. IgG, Glycoprotein: <.01 Negative(ref range & units <=.89); HSV-2 Ab, IgG, Glycoprotein G: 0.19 Negative(Ref range & Units <=.89); HSV1 & HSV2 Ab, IgM: 1.22 Positive(Index value greater than 1.09)(Ref Range & Units 0.00 – 0.9)

[SoSoConfused]

I guess, I am really disheartened by all of this because by your telling and every other doctor I saw, my risk of contracting with no oral or vaginal sex was really low. I was also wondering if you could tell me about any vaccine trials that you thought were promising or had open clinical trials or any experimental vaccines that were under way but were facing a financial hurdle, as I am involved with a group that is trying to raise funds for promising vaccines that are lacking funding in their various clinical phases. At this point, I am noticing another small painless lesion on the roof of my mouth that appeared today. I plan to be intimately involved with people that are HSV free and I am wondering what the daily viral shedding rates are for oral HSV-2 with and without daily suppressive therapy, because this is the only thing that I think I could have. Also, is there any way for me to send daily swabs of my mouth and genitals to a lab to get a more solid number on the days that I am shedding virus in these regions? Also, since I had so many reassuring negative tests, I have transferred saliva from my mouth to my hands, genitals, rectum and nose through various ways without thinking. What are the chances I have spread the infection to other parts of my body? If I do have it on my mouth, genitals and rectum, if I am showering should I avoid washing those areas and then touching other parts of my body, and when drying myself, should I dry those areas separately from the rest of my body, so as not to transfer it else where? I know they recommend infected people to not share towels and other hygiene products. Do I need to disclose to my roommates if they touch the same door handles, utensils, brushes, controller and other things as me? I am sorry for asking so many questions, but normal MDs seem very uninformed about the details of the virus and the way it can spread. Also, has anyone’s immune system ever fought the virus off completely but still shown antibodies?

[Terri Warren]

The IgM test has many false positives – in my experience, 85-90% of IgM tests, or more, that are positive are falsely positive – that is, the person never goes on to make IgG antibody which is the definition of infected. The CDC says never to use IgM. It is highly unfortunate that someone decided to order this for you as it has confused you more. Pay attention to the IgG test only. You have jumped out WAAAAAY ahead of yourself here – raising money for vaccine trials? don’t go there yet! There is no reason to believe at this point that you have herpes! You could certainly get the thing in your mouth swab tested if you want to. Let’s talk more about transmission reduction strategies if and when you confirm as positive for hSV 2 – so far, you aren’t even close! HSV 2 is a sexually transmitted infection -it is not something to worry about with household members unless you are having intercourse with them

I feel that you are completely carried away here due to a lousy test that should never have been ordered. If you want to know if you are infected, stop taking Valtrex and retest at 12 weeks post exposure. I agree with whoever told you to stop taking the medicine.

Terri

Terri

• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by Terri Warren.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by Terri Warren.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by Terri Warren.

[SoSoConfused]

Thank you so much for getting back to me doctor. I think either way I will continue my efforts to raise funding for herpes research, after this ordeal I empathize greatly with the people who are dealing with this. I will get retested at 12 weeks and I just wanted to mention that as of a few days ago, it has started to burn/hurt a bit when I urinate. It isnt agonizing, but definitely noticeable and happens every time I pee. I am not sure if this could be a urinary tract infection as I have had no vaginal or oral sex since my encounter and am not prone at all to getting them. In regards to the IGG tests I posted the results of. They did go up a bit, though they were still well in the negative range. Is negative just negative or do slightly elevated levels mean anything. In regards to my IgM test that was a .93 equivocal, I noticed that it was 4 days after my exposure. Does IgM ever increase so quickly after initial infection, granted that if I was exposed it was during my partners first outbreak? How soon after infection do you start to shed virus. If I was exposed and days later I used saliva to manually stimulate myself, could I have spread it genitally? Can genital hsv-2 only present in the urethra?

[Terri Warren]

The change in IgG values has no meaning
If you have pain with urination you should see someone to be evaluated in person.
IgM goes up and down and most has nothing to do with new infection.
If infected newly, you would shed virus right away.
Saliva is not going to give you this genitally, no
It would be highly unusual to have this in the urethra with no genital lesions.

This is your final post on this subscription.
Please don’t post on other people’s message – it’s rude and unnecessary. Your urgency for responses does not warrant this tactic.

Terri

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