owl355

Hey guys! So I was diagnosed with genital hsv1 about 3 months ago. I know everyone has a different experience, but I just wanted to see if anyone has had a situation similar to mine and ask some advice! So basically my first outbreak wasn't all that bad, just 2 small sores that hurt pretty bad but went away within a weak each. I had one a couple weeks later that was a good bit smaller and not painful, just tender. Now the outbreaks have gotten to the point where they are really tiny and don't even look like sores, just like the skin in that area has kind of shriveled together. I've also noticed that they don't burst and crust up like traditional ones are supposed to, they just kind of show up and then fade away. So that doesn't sound so bad, but the issue is I get them ALL THE TIME. And while they aren't really painful they are very uncomfortable - it makes the area really irritated, itchy, dry, etc. And almost everything triggers an OB, exercise (which I used to do daily, now it's become such an issue I barely work out), my period, sex (my boyfriend knows about the situation and is the one who gave it to me orally), wearing underwear/pants that are too tight, shaving, etc. Just things that are a part of every day life. The only time I've really had much relief is when I was on a week vacation and pretty much just laid around all day for a week and didn't introduce any friction. I went to my gyno a couple weeks ago and she gave me antivirals but said she didn't want me to be on suppressive therapy because the sores were so tiny. I've tried taking the antivirals for about a week when I first was getting outbreaks but it didn't seem to help much and would get another outbreak within a couple days. Does anyone have any advice for relief? Are there ointments or anything that may help? The sores themselves are so little that they don't seem like such a problem but the dryness and irritation is awful. Thanks!

I've been with him for about 4 months, and yes I'm almost positive I got it from oral sex with him, especially now that I know it's HSV1. He had a cold sore/fever blister a while ago and about a week and a half after that interaction I had my first OB. That's good to hear that if that's the case he has antibodies. I'll definitely talk more to my normal OBGYN when I go home to discuss if anti virals / suppressive therapy is a better option. Thanks for all your advice!

@WCSDancer I'm an out of state college student, so she was an OBGYN but the one on staff on my campus. While she gave me the diagnosis she gave me practically no information about how to proceed. All she did was write me the prescription for 5 days of Valtrex, I had to be pretty agressive about my questions to get any information at all. That being said, I am planning on going to my normal gynecologist at home when I go home for break in a few weeks. She knows more of my medical history and I presume will be much more helpful about answering my questions. (The school OBGYN basically told me nothing - she didn't mention anything about there being reoccuring outbreaks until I asked, didn't say anything about how to proceed with sex or disclosure, etc... Not very helpful after hearing this kind of news. Most of what I've learned has come from searching around on the internet and this forum). I've mentioned to my bf that he should get tested and he said he'd "get around to it", which I agree should be sooner rather than later. I think he thinks it's not that big of a deal (which I guess is good in a way because it lessens the negative stigma), but I agree that it's important for him to get tested to see how we should proceed.

Thanks for your advice! @WCSDancer2010 I was on Valtrex during my first outbreak, but my doctor said that she'd prefer not to give me suppressive therapy because she anticipated infrequent and fairly mild outbreaks, so I haven't been on them for 3 or 4 weeks. I am on birth control, but have been on it for close to 5 years and have never had a problem so I don't think that's the culprit. It may be a psychological thing, I'll try using lube and hopefully the problem will go away in time once I become more comfortable with the situation. Hoping it's not another kind of infection or issue!

Hi all, I was diagnosed with hsv-1 about a month and a half ago. I had a pretty mild outbreak that lasted about 2 weeks and haven't had an issue since. My boyfriend knows about the situation and we are proceeding with caution, but I've noticed that I've been having a problem with vaginal dryness in the last couple of weeks. I'll be aroused in every other way, but it just feels dry and raw in that area. Is this a symptom of herpes even though I'm not having an outbreak, or could it be something else? Thanks!

Hi everyone, I had a physical exam earlier this week was diagnosed with herpes. I'm still waiting for the test results back, but am obviously pretty freaked out at the probability of having herpes. My doctor gave me very little information while there - basically she just wrote me a prescription for Valtrex and told me they'd call me when the tests come back, so needless to say I've got some questions. I've done a lot of research on my own and so I know that everyone's experience is different, but I'm just curious about what I should generally expect? I'm still in the midst of my first outbreak which has been mild in comparison to many stories I've read - just one bump that eventually opened and then healed on its own, followed by a similar bump on the opposite side a few days later (the gyno said it was likely that the first bump infected the opposite side because they touch so frequently). I wondered if this was indicative of how the rest of my outbreaks will be? I read that outbreaks become less frequent and less severe over time, so does that mean I generally will not have too bad of outbreaks? Also, I have a boyfriend and am curious about how to proceed with our sexual life. I haven't told him about it yet because I've been waiting for the confirmation from the tests, and obviously have abstained from sex since the breakout started. While I know it's possible to have the virus in your system for years and it become active randomly, I feel that it's a strong possibility that I got it from him. He had a fever blister on his mouth a few weeks ago and performed oral sex on me, and about a week and a half later I noticed the first bump. If this was the case, is it possible for us to continue with our normal sexual activity, since we would both have the same strand, even though his is oral and mine genital? Obviously we would get him tested to see if he had the same type first. Sorry this was so long! Freaking out a little but trying to be optimistic toward the future. Very thankful for the support I've found from this forum so far.