hope27

Thanks for sharing your experience. These kind of positive experiences helps us to get motivated and look into the positive sides.

I am a new bee here and got detected by blood work. Still haven't had any proper ob or may be I had a mild one which I didn't realize. Going by data % of people having frequent obs are very less actually. 80% of the infected people are unaware that they have it. Out of 20% of the infected people who gets obs average obs for ghsv1 is one ob in 1.5 yrs and for ghsv2 4 to 5 obs in a year. For one it can be dormant for years and then be active all of a sudden due to some major changes in the body and start having frequent obs . I will say thinking too much about it won't do any good rather may make the situation bad by increasing stress. Instead try not to disturb your inner peace, eat healthy, exercise, stay fit, increase immunity level and most importantly be happy and give a damn to this virus.

Well its just draw of the luck I will say. I never got lucky in winning a lottery but got lucky in getting herp by one unprotected encounter 🤷‍♂️

Well first thing you should do is know your igg value. If it's between 1.1 to 3.5 then it is advisable by CDC to do a retest using a different method preferably western blot as it can be a false positive. Since your igg value is showing as positive and considering it is not a falsse positive, it means you have it for sometime at least more than 3 or 4 months. Based on what you have mentioned looks like you have met this second guy within two months or so. In that case you have not got it from him. Now there is no other way to findout from whom or when you got infected. It could be your ex husband or any of your previous partners or even this regular guy if you are meeting him for say more than 3 or 4 months. The right thing will be to tell your recent partners if you are confirm you have it. Also you should ask them to do a complete 10 panel std test.

Also I will try to find out status of the girl as well if possible. If she is also negative then I will not be worrying much.

Well this virus is weird, everyone has different symptoms and experiences. So I will not be trying to figure out if I have it or not based on the symptoms. Instead I will go and get myself tested for a complete 10 std panel test if not already done. If everything is good I will move on.

Well if she is not getting any ob then only way to find out is through blood work. Igg antibodies take time to show in blood report generally 4 to 6 months. But again it varies from individuals to individuals. Some has reported positive even after an year. There is another blood work not very recommended though, hsv igm. It will show positive if tested with 7 to 10 days after exposure and remains positive for a month or so. But then it has it's downside, like it can give false positive if the body contains any other viruses from the herpes family like chicken pox or mono. Since you have hsv1 and hsv1 is so common in US she may already have it and not known about it aka silent carrier. Probably she can do an igg blood work now to know her prior/current status. But doctors will be the best to suggest if she should get tested or not. Since you were under medication its very unlikely you will pass it. But then at the end its draw of luck.

Well since hsv is passed by skin to skin contact so by theory yes it can be. But then depends on lots of other factors like are you under suppressive therapy, were you having any prodrome symptoms. What I understood is its a draw of luck.

Sorry I thought your igg was greater than 0.9. Since swab is negative and igg is also less than 0.9, I will say you are good. But then your doctor will be the best to suggest. If his visual diagnosis is also saying no then I won't be worrying much. Itching can be due to many reasons.

Well igg anti bodies takes time to form in our body. So if you have got recently infected say within last two to three months then your igg count will not be high. That's why they have recommended a retest after few weeks. If in actual you are infected the igg count will increase. You are right as per cdc anything between 1.1 to 3.5 needs retesting. Western Blot is a gold standard test.

What's your exact igg value? Swab tests are more accurate. Have you got tested for herpes earlier or it was your first test? If your swab is showing negative but igg positive it means these pimples are not herpes but you already got infected in past and already have the virus in your body. Igg value takes time to show in your blood work, 12 yo 16 weeks generally. You should do a type specific igg blood test to know which type it is. Being said that igg can also give false positive. If it's between 0.9 and 1.1 then it's equivocal. Though >1.1 shows positive if its between 1.1 to 3.5 then retesting should be done by another test method as western blot.

As far as I know herp doesn't weaken your immunity system.

If you have an open sore then they can do a culture or pcr test by taking sample from your sore. Otherwise they will order for type specific blood test hsv1 and hsv2 igg. Igg antibodies take time to form, generally 16 weeks from exposure. So if you got infected very recently then it may come as negative

I have made a question on this few days back with subject "Herpes transmission rate" and Adrial, founder of this forum have given a detailed explanation of it. May be you can refer to that thread.

< 0.9 non reactive 0.9 - 1.1 equivocal > 1.1 reactive If its equivocal then retesting after few days is recommended as it's neither positive nor negative. As per CDC if it's low positive between 1.1 to 3.5 through ELISA test then should be confirmed by another test like biokit or WB.

@MsSweets the risk is there if one if you is having ob or shedding virus

Yes I read the same on a site rewiewing side effects of lysine pills as a suppressive therapy

Yes you can.

If you were completely okay in giving him oral and not expecting anything in return it would have been a different scenario. But you have your expectations from him. To me it sounds like he is okay to get oral from you and get his pleasure but when it comes to giving back he is not ready yet since you have this. And that is completely uncool. The pleasure should be from both ways. You should try talking with him directly on this and find out his intentions. If he needs more time that's okay. But then he should not take advantage of that and get share of his pleasure.

@Diane stress is one of the prime factor for trigerring obs. What I have learnt so far is good diet (more lysine, less argenine), less stress, proper sleep plays a key role in controlling obs.

@Diane @Lovenhope I am also very new to this and slowly learning how to live with herpes. Not sure if you got chance to look into the videos by Adrial (founder of this platform) in youtube. You can search with herpes opportunity and you will find all the videos. The videos are really good. Also do you have any local support group where people meet?

@mr_hopp Thanks Adrial for sharing this. It's still my first month since when I have found out I have got this new companion for rest of my life and trying to make peace with it. And you know better than all of us how this life changing experience can be. And last but not the least, thanks for creating this platform. This is the only place where I can come and share my feelings, ask questions and educate myself. This platform has been a true life saver for me. I really don't know what I would have done if I haven't found this forum. God bless and more power to all of us 🙂

If you are not having any outbreaks then the risk of transmission through oral is low but still risk is there as you may shed virus without any outbreaks. Usage of dental dams are advisable.

Statistics says when we are not having any symptoms that time we are having virus shedding for 10% of the time. Also transmission rate without any medication and protection is 8-10%. With antivirals it becomes 4% and with protection 2% for male to female and 1% for female to male. But then most of us had got infected by a single unprotected sex. So are we the unlucky ones to fall in this low rate of transmission category or the statistic is not as authentic as it claims to be?

I also thought so. But few researches have shown semen may also contain hsv. This virus is so so weird. Below is a link showing 27 virus that can be present in male semen. https://www.healio.com/infectious-disease/stds/news/online/{3529847e-e103-41c5-a8bd-7cfad478fa34}/researchers-identify-27-viruses-that-can-persist-in-semen