meya

I just experienced my first herpes outbreak about 2 weeks ago (will find out in a few days if it's HSV 1 or 2). It's pretty much cleared up, except I can still see 2 faint blisters and I have minor irritation in general a few times a day, particularly at night. One question I have, and it may sound strange, but how do I know when it's all cleared up? Will it be obvious? I feel like I'm so hyper-aware of my body right now and I can't imagine I'll ever feel "fine" or not think I will see/feel redness, or at least for a long while yet. Is there a time when I will feel like I can be sexual again? Taking all precautions, of course, but is there a general time one should wait after having the first outbreak? I thought I read somewhere that one should wait 30 days after your first outbreak. I know that must be a generality, but is that true? Hope this makes sense.

Hi SunnyDays, Thanks for writing back. Yeah, the thing is I don't think I really had those "classic" symptoms of an initial outbreak this time, except I was extremely fatigued for one day. I actually don't know what kind of tests they were! The first one that I got (at about 7-8 weeks) was a test I got in NYC by one of those STD clinic places where they expressly test for herpes. The second one I got was while I was in Belgium, and when I look at the lab results it just says "Herpes IgM and Herpes IgG - negative" - I'm not sure if that qualifies anything? Anyway, I guess I have to have the talk with the "new" person, and I'm a bit terrified. I don't know how to basically tell someone they may have given me herpes. I know there's a lot of literature on how to tell someone you have herpes, but - yes. It will be tough. I also am waiting on my final results (on whether it's HSV-1 or HSV-2) to tell him so that I feel like I have more information to give him. (Or should I tell him now? The earlier the better?) I'll find out in about a week.

Hello! First of all, I want to say I am new to this forum, and I'm so grateful for finding this website. Already I've learned so much, so I thank you in advance! I'm currently experiencing my first OB (as far as I know! And the Doctor said it looked like an initial OB), and I have a question regarding when I could have been infected. About 2 years ago I had unprotected sex with my then-boyfriend, and after becoming paranoid from what I thought was a yeast infection (and the Doctor said so, too), he went to get tested and discovered he had HSV-2 (symptom-free). I got tested about 2 months later and then 7 months later (blood tests), both of which returned negative. Fast forward to the present, I had unprotected sex with a man I've been seeing (about 2 weeks ago), and on pretty much the next day I felt like I had a UTI and a couple days after that I started feeling extremely fatigued. It is then that I discovered a growing blister on the inside of my labia, and needless to say, 1-2 days later I noticed several more (itched, burned). I went to the Doctor the next day and she indeed said I was having a herpes outbreak, she took a swab of one of the lesions, and I will find out in about a week and a half if it is either HSV-1 or HSV-2. My question is = Is it possible that I was infected from 2 years ago and never experienced any blisters until now? Or is it more likely I was infected by this new person (who, as far as he thinks, does not think he has it, though I know he had unprotected sex one other time between testing). Could the blood tests I took have been wrong? Thank you so much to anyone who can offer feedback. I'm just confused because I've heard different things - that it can lay dormant, and then I've also heard that I wouldn't have the kind of outbreak I'm having after so long of it supposedly being dormant. I would like to have as much information before I tell this new person about my OB.