Bloomer

@Tiredmommaj are you having classic obs (blisters, sores) or just tingling and itching? Do you have both HSV 1 and HSV2?

Hey @Reoccurring! If you didn't have open sores or other symptoms of HSV it would be extremely unlikely for infection to occur. HSV can be transmitted even in absence of sores but you need to be actively shedding and contact needs to be prolonged and there needs to be friction. From what you've described I don't think there is a chance for your child to be infected.

Honestly this doesn't look like HSV to me @Tiredmommaj. Did you try to swab those red spots? Itch can be from lot of things. It could be allergy, neuropatic itch, irritation from clothes softener etc. It can be from HSV too but this doesn't look like HSV. Imam not trying to dismiss your claims but just want for you too consider some other possibilities.

Hello @Keely1! Your partner should be tested by blood test. He must ask for type specific test not combined. If he cheated, my advice to you would be to get full STD panel including HIV and hep B ( unless you are vaccinated) and hep C. Since you have genital herpes you have bigger chance of getting HIV so it's good idea to be tested.

Hey @Tiredmommaj! I remember you. 🙂 Are you sure you infected your kids? Did you have an open sore while kissing them or just tingling? It is hard to transmit HSV if you don't have open sore and you are kissing someone who's skin is intact. General recommendation is not to kiss someone while having active/open sore on your lips. If you had only tingling chances are really small of infecting your children. How old are your kids if I may ask? I understand panick and fear completely, I too have small child and fear of infecting him is always present. You didn't ruined your children lives, no way. Even if they get HSV orally they can still have perfectly normal and happy life. So you didn't have much success with ozone therapy? So sorry for your condition, sometimes it's really hard to live with this infection but I can assure you that you didn't do anything bad to your kids. Your kids love you and need you no matter what infection you have.

@devilsorchidso you had only blood test? Not swab? Do you have a history of cold sores? Did you have oral sex days before outbreak? If your blood test is positive then this is an established infection which means that you are infected several months ( it usually takes 3 months after infection for igg test to be positive) or longer.

Lot of people who have genital HSV 1 infection have only one outbreak or seldom outbreaks because HSV 1 doesn't prefer genital area. Of course you can take antivirals and lot of people use antivirals while in relationship in order to reduce chances to infect their partner. As I said before once someone has established HSV location in one location it is almost impossible to be infected on other location so if your partner has history of cold sores it would be exremely unlikely to infect him genitally. Caution is needed if your partner is immunocompromised. I can assure you that you can have totally normal sexual life and that lot of people will accept your diagnosis and will be interested in realationship with you especially if you educate them about transmission rates etc.

Hello @Starshine42and welcome! How were you diagnosed with genital HSV 1? By blood test or by swab? For how long have you been infected? How often do you have outbreaks? I agree with you that stigma attached to genital herpes is totally unfair but you have ethical obligation to inform your potential partners that you have genital herpes. Good news for you: lot of people have HSV 1 orally and once infection is established it's almost immpossible for them to get genital HSV 1. There are lot of ways how to disclose to potential partners, you can find topics about disclosure on this forum and see what works for you.

It's not unusual for outbreaks to appear on different locations. Unfortunately you can't do nothing about that. As Seeker1960 already wrote HSV resides in sacral ganglia which means that you can have outbreak anywhere in your pelvic area and down to your inner thighs. Some people have outbreaks always in the same area and for some people outbreaks change location often. Some people never get outbreaks on genital area, only on buttocks or on thighs for example.

HPV and HSV act differently and manifest in different ways. If you had HSV positive swab this means that you have HSV for sure. If your boyfriend is testing negative for HSV 1 then you can infect him genitally so the best way to protect your boyfriend is to use condoms and avoid sexual intercourse while having outbreak. Antivirals won't affect or cause fertility problems so don't worry about that. But if you are hesistant to take antivirals, you don't have to take them. Lot of people never take antivirals even when they are having outbreak. It's up to you.

@Seeker1960I forgot to ask you do you ever have symptoms of urethritis or trouble urinating?

Hey @Bluenic and welcome! So you were diagnosed with genital HSV1. How were you diagnosed? By swab or by blood test? It's up to you when it comes to taking antivirals. Doctors usually recommend taking daily antivirals if you are having six or more outbreaks per year. But some people fir example take antivirals even if they have outbreaks rarely because they want to reduce their risk for transmission to their sexual partners. Does your partner have HSV 1 orally maybe? You wont be feeling this way forever. Getting herpes diagnosis can be emotionally challenging at first but with time comes acceptance. Lot of people have genital herpes and still manage to have great sex life and live happy.

That's a good idea. Don't stress to much over this. The most important thing is that you disclosed your status to your partner.

Has he ever been tested?

Then this is an established infection and since you have it on genital area this protects you from getting it orally unless you are immunocompromised. Even then there is really small chance to get HSV on other location after having it for several years.

@AlliKat12for how long have you been infected with genital HSV-1?

@tweetsoc I didn't have WB, only standard blood test in several different clinics so I can't really tell what result would be if I take WB. Thing worth mentioning is that standard blood tests miss 25 percent od HSV1 and 8 percent of HSV 2 infection according to statistics. Did you try to take PCR swab while you are having redness? Be careful with taking steroid creams because if taken for too long, steroid cream will make more damage than good. What you are describing is some sort of neuropathy (of pudendal nerve). Did you discuss with your doctor how to treat symptoms you have?

Hello @tweetsoc! I am one of those who are testing negative on standard blood tests but had two positive PCR swabs. I have a long standing infection but still testing negative after all those years. What was your exposure exactly if I may ask?

Hey @Better and welcome! So sorry for your situation but let me assure you that you will be better. First outbreak is usually the worst and takes much longer to subside. Lot of people have great success with antivirals so if you notice that you have frequent outbreaks you can start taking antivirals daily in order to reduce number of outbreaks. Some people take antivirals only during outbreak and some don't take antivirals at all. It's up to you. Luckily most of the people have mild symptoms and get seldom outbreaks and maybe you will be one of them. Since your husband cheated on you it would be a good thing to get tested for other STD's if you didn't already.

@newtothis22visual diagnosis of HSV can often be misleading. The best way to know for sure is to get a PCR swab of suspicious sore/blister. Blood test won't tell you location of infection unfortunately. It's possible to be infected on both location at the same time, it is rare but it does happen. When you say you has spots/irritation on your genital area what exactly do you mean? Can you describe spots?

@Seeker1960if I remember correctly, you can contract GHSV1 after having a longstanding OHSV1 but apparently only if you are immunocompromised. I remember reading about this long time ago but can't remember where I've read it.

@Seeker1960 I contracted HSV in my twenties and still had serious issues so God knows does age of contracting HSV plays some role in severity of symptoms. I tried almost everything under the sun in order to put my symptoms under control. At the end the most helpful thing was native propolis which apparently works like immune booster and antiviral and taking St John wort but in liquid form and very high quality which I was ordering from France. I must point out that you need to be very catious with St John wort since it's forbidden to take it if you are already taking antidepressants or birth control pills for example so it's good idea to consult your doctor before taking any supplements or herbal remedies especially if you are taking medication regulary or have chronic health issues. My wish is to try ozone therapy and glutathione infusions since they are used for treating neuropathy caused by diabetes or neuropathy of unknown origin. There is one member here on this forum who had success with ozone therapy and I've read several other testimonies about ozone therapy being helpful so I am willing to try. I am not advocating alternative tratments and natural remedies, I am a big believer in standard medicine and medication but unfortunately in my case standard antivirals didn't help me so I was forced to explore natural remedies in hope they will relieve my symptoms. If you ask me, Pritelivir is the only thing that has a chance to be approved. Unfortunately it will be available only to those who are immunocompromised but I believe that will time it will be available for everyone. It's curently in phase 3 of clinical trial and from what I've read this phase will end in 2024. At first they planned it to be finished in 2023 but they had trouble with recruiting participants. Don't lose hope, you've already had tough time with this virus and had resolution of nerve pain. This time will be the same, it just takes time in order to nerves calm down.

If I remember correctly CMV can also cause neurological symptoms but usually in people who are immunocompromised. The best thing for you would be to check this with infectious disease doctor or immunologist if you can.

@Seeker1960 luckily I didn't experience gastroparesis but I had feeling of electric shocks through my whole body, had severe burning on my lips and mouth, pin and needles in my hands and legs, severe pain in my sacrum and severe weakness in my legs and then I developed symptoms which are consistent with pudendal neuralgia. I never had those symptoms before contracting HSV. At one point my neurologist thought I was having multiple sclerosis but that was ruled out. I must say that my giver had mild course of HSV infection, unfortunately I wasn't that lucky and that's why is really important to disclose because we never know how HSV will impact others. Luckily most people who are HSV positive will have really mild symptoms and seldom outbreaks. I had really hard time with HSV related neuropathy and it was really life altering experience for me which affected every aspect of my life. Even though it was really hard to live with that amount of nerve pain I managed to pursue career and I am still working. I think it's really important to stay active even though we are in pain. With time I learned what is helping me and how to reduce levels of pain so I managed to live life and be happy despite this shitty neuropathy.

No need to thank me. We are here to exchange our experience and to give support to each other. I know exactly what you are going through. I am dealing with these atypical symptoms over a decade and I completely understand fear and desperation that comes with this condition. As for standard antivirals, they didn't help me either so for the last few years I turned to natural remedies. Glad to hear your symptoms are improving. This is a good sign. 🙂