ksurter77

Hi. In my research, I found that the following article was really helpful. Check out the link below..it's a long article but definitely worth it. Dr. Leone is one of the leading experts on HSV and has been featured in the NYTimes significantly on this topic. The quote regarding GHSV1 that I think would pertain to you is this. It goes in more detail about this, so I highly recommend reading the entire article. "“I’ll be honest with you," he continued, "I even question whether or not you need to disclose that you have genital HSV-1 to someone. If you’re not having an outbreak [of genital HSV-1], you’re probably not shedding, and you’re not going to be transmitting it to somebody else. And we don’t think that genital-to-genital transmissions are very common, so why are we telling folks to disclose? You may feel obligated and think that ethically, it’s something you should do. I would encourage you to do it if you feel that way. But from a biological standpoint, I’m not really sure we can make any recommendations around your need to disclose.”" http://thehairpin.com/2013/11/how-i-found-out-i-didnt-have-the-herpes-id-been-living-with-for-four-years

Hi WCSDancer - Reporting back. The blood test (iGG type specific) came back HSV1+ on a 7.38 value with .90 being the breakpoint. So it's a very high value and I'm not sure if it signifies anything in particular? I did some digging in my past testing history, and in January 2013, I was tested by a service which DID do HSV1 & 2 along with the standard suite of tests, and I was negative then. This past August as part of my annual blood work/checkup, I was tested by the local doctor, but..surprise surprise, no HSV was tested. So basically I have a time period of 2 years where I could have contracted HSV1. My questions I'm hoping people here can help with :) 1) I still want to be 100% positive about HSV2, since it's only been about 5 weeks, what is a good amount of time to wait for a retest? Also, now that im confirmed for HSV1, does that lower my risk of contracting HSV2? 2) Since im very confident that I have oral HSV1 due to the cold sores on the inside of my lip, I want now to be confident about whether I may have GHSV1, and any way I can figure this out without an outbreak there. I've read that GHSV1 doesn't OB very often at all, so it may be impossible to determine without that? Due to the bumps I noticed on my penis a couple days after my mouth sores, I am worried that I somehow got HSV1 in both locations, or managed to transmit it to my genitals when the sore was open (when urinating for example). Is this possible or at all likely for me to get HSV1 in both locations at the same time? The reason I'm asking so many questions here is that, while I can do research on the medical sites, they tend to list every potential chance of everything as a possibility, EVEN if the chance is remotely small (sub 1% here) for certain things. I understand why this is necessary, but it's just not realistic for most people, and causes unwarranted angst. Help here would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Yep that makes sense. I agree with the blood test. I'll report back here with the news. Thanks again WCSDancer :)

WCSDancer - Thank you for taking the time to respond to my post, I appreciate it! You're right that it's just an inconveniently located skin condition, and my attitude towards it has changed now that I am educated and informed. I will admit that prior to any of this I did think that Herpes was worse than what it really is. I think it's the fact that it's "lifelong" that freaks everyone out. But knowing what I know now, I wouldn't mind being with someone who has it as long as everyone is honest up front and discusses things. I actually got Valtrex from my dentist who had mentioned they help canker sores at a previous checkup, so I got the prescription phoned in. By the time I realized I should go to the doctor, it was around Christmas Holidays and I wasn't able to make it in (bad idea I know). If it weren't for the bumps on my penis I noticed a few days later, I don't think I would have ever worried about it at all. Your information is very helpful though, as it is incredibly unlikely that H2 would be on my mouth, and also very unlikely that I contracted Genital H1 when using a condom (though we did rub around genitally for a bit before using one). I do think there's a chance I got H2 along with a coincidental mouth sore/outbreak that had been starting before I had sex. I wish I could upload a picture of the bumps from there! Either way I won't know I guess until the blood comes back, but it's a long time to wait 3months for the antibodies. Thanks!

Hello Everyone, The purpose of my post is two fold: 1) to get some people's perspectives/knowledge on my potential HSV, and 2) to offer a perspective I've gained since I first thought I have might have it and how it's changed me! 1) I believe I had a primary HSV outbreak on my mouth a month or so ago. This coincided within a day or so of me sleeping with a new person, so due to the timing I'm a little worried about whether I have Oral HSV1, HSV2, both, or Oral and GHSV1. You guys perspective would be greatly appreciated here. My Symptoms: Prior to sleeping with the person, the week leading up my gums were slightly swollen and I had some pain urinating (nothing major, but definitely not normal). I didn't think anything about it, until later that week. I slept with a new girl on the weekend and after some brief nude rubbing, used a condom - but neither of us performed any oral sex. Early on the next morning I woke up with chills and a fever and increasingly sore mouth (about 6-7 hours after we had sex). Still no outbreaks that I am aware of anywhere. Sunday night I noticed I had several canker/cold sores beginning to form on the top inside part of lips, and my gums were more swollen and painful. I still had the fever, though advil definitely helped me feel better. On Monday I got some valtrex and started taking it, and by this time my fever had gone away, but my sores were painful, my gums were really bad so that I couldn't barely even eat, and would even bleed if I tried to do too much with them. At this point I start researching, and the symptoms for Herpes seem to match up pretty well for a primary outbreak. But then I start getting really paranoid about whether this was something that was happening prior to sleeping with the girl, or if it was causal - and more specifically - if I had anything to be concerned about with my genitals. I did notice I had a single pimple on the front shaft of my penis and a couple other red bumps on the back side, and then this started me to really become concerned. I had recently shaved so I thought it could also be razor bumps. It didn't look like the traditional pictures of HSV2 from this site, nor did it cause me any pain or itching, but again I had been on valtrex for a couple days by this point so I wasn't sure if that was helping me. The sores and my mouth sores both had gone away within the next few days, so both under a week (but that was with Valtrex). Note: I have never had any other readily apparent herpes symptoms before in my life. My question: Do you all think this sounds like Oral HSV1, Oral and Genital HSV1, or something different, potentially hsv2? I will go for a blood test, but I need to wait the sufficient amount of time. 2) My new outlook: So I'm obviously hoping that I only have Oral HSV1, but regardless of what happens, my search into this has revealed that this truly is something that is stigmatized and overblown. My perspective towards the infection, as well as those who have it has completely changed to something that, while should be protected against and informed about, is not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. Good medication exists to help treat and prevent the virus, and the more people are open about this and talk about it, the more understood and accepted it will become. Thank you to everyone who responds in advance, and goodluck!