the only way to know if this was a new infection or an old infection just showing symptoms is to have had an IgG antibody test at the same time you had the swab test done of the lesions. If the antibody test was negative for HSV 2 and the swab test was positive, then you would know for certain that this was your true first infection – there was virus present on the skin but not enough time had gone by for antibody to have been developed. I would guess that if you took the antibody test now it would be positive, but you could get it anyway and see what it says. By three weeks from infection, 50% of those who are going to make antibody will have done so. If you are negative now, it would mean that this is your first infection. If it is positive, you can’t know if this was your first infection or not.
I am a little confused about the dates that you listed. You said you started developing symptoms in late December that you were diagnosed with HSV-2 via a swab test in mid January 2015. Did you have symptoms the whole time in between? can clarify that for me?
In terms of your most recent partners blood tests: The fact that he had six tubes of blood drawn doesn’t really mean anything in terms of what testing was done. My recommendation for you would be to ask to see his test results and try to determine if HSV 2 type specific antibody testing was done. In many situations, herpes testing is not included in a full STD screen. You’ll want to know this for certain. If he tests negative for HSV-2, then I would wonder when his last sexual partner was other than you and try to sort out whether he may have brand-new infection and infected you or if he has truly not infected. You asked about the timing of his testing and my response is that it would be best for him to wait 12 to 16 weeks after his most recent partner prior to you to be tested for greatest accuracy.
I don’t think you need to take daily medicine unless you are bothered by frequent recurrences or you are having sex with someone who is HSV 2 negative. If you are taking daily therapy, I wouldn’t really worry about infecting yourself in other locations. Autoinnoculation is not common and the medicine is working to keep the virus under control until you mount an immune response. However, as I said, if you aren’t having sex with anyone right now, you could just not take daily therapy for now and allow antibody to develop. However, if you take the antibody test and already have antibody, it really doesn’t matter because you already have built an immune response of your own.
And yes, if someone is the giver of oral sex to you who is negative for HSV 2 there is a small risk that they could acquire this orally.
You asked a lot of questions – I may have missed something so please ask me more questions if you have them.
Terri