herpes whitlow?? need help!

[worried nonstop]

I am a 20yo male in college. I had unprotected sex with a girl who I also fingered. I had a hangnail on my left middle finger that got red and swollen and developed 4 small satellite blisters about 2weeks before. I went to a dermatologist who took a tissue sample and it came back positive for HSV. I’m beside myself with worry now. The dermatologist said it would come back often and have me Valtrex 2x per day for 10 days. No idea which type but probably type 2 since that is what seems to be the more aggressive of the two. Anyone on here have whitlow diagnoses from years ago? What is my prognosis? So far I have no genital symptoms but will I / did I get it on my genitals? I am absolutely sick over this and regretting what I did. How will I ever deal with this? Will I always be wearing bandaids on that finger? The doctor said it’s not contagious without an outbreak but I worry about that anyway. I want to get married and have children and don’t want to always be worried about touching them. Anyone out there who has had this, please help me. Thank you. 

[worried nonstop]

Sorry all, Symptoms on finger developed 2 weeks after exposure. I'm currently 3 1/2 weeks from exposure and nothing on genitals thus far. 

[mr_hopp]

Hey there! Sorry this is a stressful time for you, bud. I hope to alleviate that stress for you via dropping some facts on ya ...

Herpetic whitlow tends to not recur for most people with healthy immune systems after the body has had enough time to build up adequate antibodies (around 6 months). The reason is because herpes (especially HSV-2) prefers mucous membranes as a primary site of infection. Any thicker skin isn’t ideal for the virus to come back.

In this initial 6 month period (and especially when you’re having an active outbreak on your finger) avoid touching other parts of your body so you don’t auto-inoculate. After you have antibodies established, then auto-inoculation is rare.

Ask your doc which strain it is because it could be either HSV-1 or HSV-2 and they will have different shedding rates. HSV-2 is actually less aggressive on the finger since it is highly preferential to genitals (99% of HSV-2 cases are on the genitals). 

And really, no worries, herpes in general doesn’t change the course of your love life unless you let it by believing the BS stigma and shame stuff out there. I have genital and oral herpes and haven’t given it to my wife or 3 year old son. Life goes on. This can truly be a blip on the radar. Just get educated and hold the paranoia at bay. 

[worried nonstop]

On 4/4/2020 at 3:01 PM, mr_hopp said:

Hey there! Sorry this is a stressful time for you, bud. I hope to alleviate that stress for you via dropping some facts on ya ...

Herpetic whitlow tends to not recur for most people with healthy immune systems after the body has had enough time to build up adequate antibodies (around 6 months). The reason is because herpes (especially HSV-2) prefers mucous membranes as a primary site of infection. Any thicker skin isn’t ideal for the virus to come back.

In this initial 6 month period (and especially when you’re having an active outbreak on your finger) avoid touching other parts of your body so you don’t auto-inoculate. After you have antibodies established, then auto-inoculation is rare.

Ask your doc which strain it is because it could be either HSV-1 or HSV-2 and they will have different shedding rates. HSV-2 is actually less aggressive on the finger since it is highly preferential to genitals (99% of HSV-2 cases are on the genitals). 

And really, no worries, herpes in general doesn’t change the course of your love life unless you let it by believing the BS stigma and shame stuff out there. I have genital and oral herpes and haven’t given it to my wife or 3 year old son. Life goes on. This can truly be a blip on the radar. Just get educated and hold the paranoia at bay. 

Hi mr_hopp, I really appreciate your response! I read it over and over. I will ask my doctor what type it is. When she called with the results I was so she’ll shocked that I couldn’t think of anything to ask. I’m so angry with myself, disappointed, and sad over this. I’m praying this never comes back, and scared that I’ve passed it to myself somewhere else. When I initially went to my primary doctor, they thought it was a bacterial infection from a hangnail and put me on antibiotics. They told me to keep it open to air. That was before the blisters started. I went back the day after the blisters and they said they thought it could be bacterial and viral and they poked at it and squeezed the hell out of it and then put a bandaid in it. I started covering it from then on but no one said how contagious it could be. So now I’m worried I could’ve gotten it somewhere else? How will I ever know? Do I have to wait another 20 days from the time the blisters showed up on my finger to know if I have it on my mouth and or genitals? I’m reading 80% of people have herpes and don’t know it -so I could have it on my genitals and never know. Do I just wait for an OB that hopefully never comes? Does this mean I have to disclose I have herpes to anyone I kiss or touch? I don’t know if this is like a cold sore that is on my hand? Are people with cold sores supposed to tell anyone they kiss that they have herpes? Is it possible  that I contracted it on my hand and no where else during the the sexual contact? Is HSV 1 a worse diagnosis that HSV2 in this case? I know this is a lot of questions. Thank you for helping me through this!

[worried nonstop]

One more thing, Is there anything I can put on these blisters to make them disappear sooner?   I've read of magnesium sulfate paste to dry them out and also about apple cider vinegar, but not sure and don't want to make things worse. My finger looks awful as the blisters are now becoming darker- almost like a purplish red color. Not sure if that's part of the expected process? Thanks!