Just got diagnosed with GHSV1

[dmd16]

Hello there,

I just got diagnosed with ghsv type 1 today. I am having a really hard time dealing with this. I've been with my boyfriend for three years. Both of us have been 100% faithful in the relationship. It just doesn't make sense why I got diagnosed with this.

Here's how it all started: I was starting to have a really bad hemorrhoids. I bought OTC preparation H. It was not getting any better. I went to the doctor to get something stronger. She saw 3 small papules on the perineum and she swabbed it for hsv. I wasn't even in any pain. I thought it was just a little irritation from the  OTC cream.  She didn't think it was hsv but she wanted to double check. She thought it was contact dermatitis. It came back positive for type 1 hsv. I've had bad yeast infections, UTIs, and hemorrhoids in the past. I've gotten tested for all STDs on the panel but everything came back negative.

Could I have been misdiagnosed for yeast infections/UTIs/hemorrhoids and it was herpes this whole time? I am going to tell my boyfriend to get tested for hsv1 just be sure he doesn't have it. What are the transmission rates for ghsv 1? I don't want to get him infected if he comes back negative. If I take Valtrex daily and use condoms, what are the transmission rates? Thank you so much!

[mr_hopp]

Hi @dmd16! Great questions. You most likely got genital HSV-1 through oral sex (more than 1/2 of all new genital herpes cases are via oral cold sores being spread genitally). Most people have oral herpes and aren't aware that it can be spread that way. If you want a definitive herpes test for him to take, definitely get him a Western Blot since the other tests (IgG, IgM) are notorious for giving false negatives/positives. Genital HSV-1 is actually the hardest to pass to your partner genitally since HSV-1 prefers the oral area (download this e-book & handouts for the breakdown on shedding rates). 

[dmd16]

So glad to hear this! Thank you!