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1. The PCR swab of my genital lesions came back neg for HSV DNA. I noticed the sores/burning in the evening on my labia minora and the next day in the afternoon it was swabbed in less than 24 hours of me noticing any symptoms/redness. At the time of swab the sores were open, red, and raw and oozing fluid a hurting/burning. The provider swabbed all of the red sore/open cut areas and it did hurt during the swab procedure so I figured she scraped a good amount and got a decent sample. The result came back the next day. Do you think that this could be a false negative? What are the rates of false negatives on genital PCR swabs for HSV-1?
2. I had been taking valtrex 500 mg BID for at least a week or more prior to the PCR swab for treatment/prevention of the oral HSV-1. Is it possible that the valacyclovir made this result a false negative despite the sore being fresh (nonhealed)? I think the timing on the swab was good as my ulcer/sore became less painful and started improving after following day and was swabbed at it’s worst. It took about 4-5 days to heal. No crust or scabbing but it was itchy when it was healing.
3. Yes, I have had oral sex done to me at the age of 20 (I started having classic cold sores on my lip when I was 13 or 14 years old (probably got it from my mother who had cold sores) but didn’t have anyone do oral sex on me until I was 20 years old. I was focused on school and did not really kiss or have sex with anyone until 18 years old. So, my HSV-1 oral infection was definitely well established by the time I had any oral sex or sex in general. Is it possible I could have gotten gHSV1 from the oral sex in my early 20s and just never had an OB until now… 15 years later?
3. Do you think I could have infected myself as a teenager by autoinoculation (carelessly touched my cold sore and then my genitals) in the 4 month span after my primary HSV-1 oral outbreak? I was not careful and I didn’t understand anything about HSV at that young of an age…