Paper cut symptoms- has anyone gotten confirmation that theirs was an outbreak?

[anne0314]

Hello All! Not new to this site, I've had ghsv1 for about 6 years now. In the whole time having it I've had 3 noticeable outbreaks. None have been severe luckily, and passed pretty quickly. However, given that my ex boyfriend gave it to me, I never really gave other mild symptoms a thought because I just didn't think it was herpes/didn't care because I couldn't pass him something he already had. 

Fast forward now- my ex and I broke up after 7 years. He's apparently bisexual...go figure. Anyway, now I'm stuck merging into the dating world for the first time since being diagnosed, and am super paranoid about symptoms/possibility of passing it to anyone I may date next. 

Every outbreak so far has been very obvious, but about 2-3x per month I get these two little papercut type things in the same exact spot. I'm just now realizing this may be herpes....but I find it odd that it would happen that often? I always thought I was essentially asymptomatic but now I'm thinking that I'm actually symptomatic pretty often. Has anyone had a similar occurrence/gotten these swabbed or confirmed as outbreaks? Could these cuts be something else? 

Thank you to anyone who can help! I'm feeling very overwhelmed trying to imagine dating again because I guess I do have to navigate this whole disclosure thing after all. I can't stand the thought of passing this to someone else.. 😞

[annalove]

Your symptoms pretty much mirror mine, although mine aren't quite that regular. My outbreaks are always paper cut like lesions in almost always one of three places. My "outbreaks" are so non-herpes like that when I was initially seen by a doctor for the sore she said "I will test you for herpes but this doesn't look like herpes". I will also say I have HSV2. Are you taking daily anti viral medication? I am not and I typically have an outbreak once every three-ish months, sometimes longer sometimes shorter. I am not regularly sexually active so for me personally, I'd rather not pump my body with antiviral medication. Especially since my outbreaks are relatively mild and not super painful. But if you're wanting to test to see if these cuts could be herpes related maybe start taking an antiviral every day, see if it alleviates you're symptoms. Good luck! 

[anne0314]

Hi @annalove thanks for the reply! So I actually seized on the opportunity to go get it swabbed by urgent care because I caught in the first day or two that it was happening. I know I had an open "cut" when she swabbed because it was uncomfortable- test ending up coming back negative. She recommended I see a Dr because it could be related to something else but it doesn't seem like its herpes. Swabs aren't usually false negative situations- so I do believe that it's accurate. I don't currently take antivirals but I may start just to see if it stops the cuts just in case. They just happen so frequently that I'm having trouble believing that it is an outbreak given my outbreaks are typically more obvious when they occur. I've only had 3 total in 6 years so...who knows. I'm still paranoid even though the swab was negative lol guess that just comes with the diagnosis. 

[akirn]

Hi @anne0314! I had something very similar to this that you may have seen me post about. I ended up going into the doctor and having her swab me, as well. Swab results came back negative for both types of HSV, but she also tested the swab for candida, as she felt it was probably from a yeast infection. Turns, out she was correct! I'm still paranoid, as well, but like you said, I figure if it was really was a herpetic outbreak, the swab definitely would have picked it up. If you haven't already, next time it pops up, maybe it's worth asking your doc to do the same. Hope that helps!

[Confused12]

I also had a paper cut like sore that I had recently swabbed a few weeks ago. Initially was diagnosed with hsv2 by sight, but the only thing that helped it was antibiotics. Swab came back for E. Coli. Sorry you are going through this!