Username

I suspect my husband is an asymptomatic carrier of 1 or 2. I had a visual diagnosis and then tested IgG negative so the assumption is that I got this from my husband and the outbreak was from a recent exposure, hence the negative IgG. If our assumption is correct that would mean it took 15 years of lots of great oral and vaginal sex, NEVER once with a condom, before I got it. And truth be told, I'd do it again because my husband is awesome and our sex is great! I can definitely say I had fun contracting herpes. It's better than celibacy, that's for sure!

I recommend undressing first then turning the water on and testing it with your hand. Once the desired temperature is reached turn on the overhead shower. Double check the temperature using your hand before entering. Step in and wash as necessary. Just kidding, but in all honesty just shower as normal, being gentle with any lesions. You don't need any special soap or anything. There is a slight theoretical risk of HSV being passed via damp towels so maybe don't share towels to be extra extra safe, but I haven't been able to find a documented case of transmission that way.

First of all that is a low enough value that it very could easily be a false positive. Second HSV2 is not likely to transmit through oral sex. Maybe someone with more experience can chime in about that. She should get a western blot HSV test done, it is rather reliable. Did they culture (or even better run PCR) on a swab from her genital lesions? Lastly, please don't let the stigma of HSV break your heart and do anything you can to let your daughter know many people will love her with or without HSV. It really isn't a big deal. It's super common and rather innocuous.

Following. I'm about to start training for a half marathon and I'm curious if HSV will have any impact on that. I've ran a lot of half marathons and one full but never with HSV along for the ride. I also mountain bike and am hoping HSV won't cause any issues.

For me it was education. When I first suspected I had HSV and saw the doctor I was a mess. My biggest source of pain was my children. I felt like I had failed them. I knew nothing but the stigma of herpes. So I read a lot and spent time educating myself. It didn't more than a few weeks to learn two critical pieces of information. 1) that HSV is not a big deal and 2) sex education is seriously lacking.

I realize "dumfounded" spelling is subpar, I think that's a testament to how dumbfounded I really was when I first signed up. I have been wanting to change my name for a bit now. Not because of the spelling error but because I am no longer "dumfounded." So here's my new name and my complete story. After having sex with my husband for close to the twelve hundredth time (that's a guesstimate) I went pee, and while wiping, my left labia majora felt sore. I assumed it was from his whiskers and went on with life. A couple days later that spot hurt like hell when pee got on it. I grabbed a mirror and with one leg on the counter I saw what looked like a very small canker sore. Again, I thought whiskers. A couple days later it stopped hurting so a checked it (same way) to confirm healing and noticed a small cluster of tiny blisters next to where the canker was. I FREAKED! my relationship is solid and never would I thought my husband cheated but I had to ask. After all neither of us have ever had any symptoms of HSV, including cold sores. We put the kids to bed and I sat my dear husband down. "Did you cheat? I think I have herpes." My husband was dumbfounded, like me. Of course he didn't cheat and he reassured me of that. I had to have been wrong about what I saw. So, with the kids asleep and the door shut we got a flashlight. I was bent in half trying to get a good look while my husband manned the flashlight and moved in close enough for a look of his own. He's never been that close to my lady bits without the intention of sexual pleasure. Even childbirth didn't warrant such proximity. "yep, I see blisters," he said. Nooooooooo! But he didn't cheat so it had to be on odd presentation of shingles. Since shingles occurs on just one side of the body this made good sense...until it didn't. Two days later another cluster appeared and my butt (where the sits bone is) on the other side. Another freak out and more googling. It turns out herpes popping up 15 years into a monogamous relationship isn't that strange at all. In fact my doctor explained that it's more strange so many couples come to her dumbfounded (not dumfounded) that they got herpes out of nowhere. Talk about poor sex education. After a visual diagnosis (no culture was done) and a negative IgG the assumption is, in the absence of a false negative, that my husband is an asymptomatic carrier and it took 15 years for this to become my lifetime buddy. After lots of what/why/where/when my husband remembered a possible cold sore ONCE as a child. We both have a very short history of previous partners (especially me) and since we have more oral sex than anything else it seems reasonable this came from what maybe was a cold sore 33 years ago, but who knows. We haven't cared enough to get my husband tested and I probably won't bother until my next annual appointment. At first, I fell apart. I couldn't eat or sleep. I thought I failed my children (I didn't), and wondered how I could possibly be a good role model for them (I can). I worried my husband cheated (he didn't) and that I'd never want to have sex again (I do, several time already since this started in December). The three things that turned this around for me: my amazing husband and his laid back demeanor towards all of this, education and learning how innocuous this virus is, and this forum (particularly the veterans). So from "dumfounded" spelled wrong to something less emotionally charged like "username" that's my story and here's to one more awesome person joining your community of enlightened folks with better sex education than most. If you're still reading you are a rockstar! Thanks, herpes opportunity!