Herpes on my finger.

[Rain]

True, it's just I want to know if it is a herpes... also hearing that it cannot spread once you've had it for years just leaves so much doubt in my mind, also I would love for it not to be... but then again all the doctors I've talked to say it can spread.

[2Legit2Quit]

Not w all those antibodies built up after all these yrs, unless you had abcut on your finger and was putting it in your mouth. It's possible to spread it, but not really after antibody build up. You won't know what it is, unless they swab you and no doctor can visually diagnose and shame on them for doing so. It should have been swabbed. You're just going to have to wait until it happens again and have it swabbed.

[Sil88]

@2Legit2Quit yes exact same location, even though it originally entered through a hangnail at the tip of the same finger.

[2Legit2Quit]

So you never got it on your tip? You got HSV 2 though on your finger right?

[Sil88]

Originally it was bruising around a hangnail, then months later I had a few blisters on the knuckle closest to the nail, then months later I had a few exactly where Rain's are. I haven't swabbed them but I think it's quite a safe assumption. Next time I will.

[2Legit2Quit]

Yea, please let us know what the results are. It makes me so paranoid now, because I often get hand nails on my ring fingers and for a girl, there's a lot more touching of our fingers on our genitals on that part, when you're using tampons... Hopefully now that I have had this awhike now, I won't have to worry about that.

[Rain]

if it is a herpes on my finger, it would make more sense that its a new infection?

 

maybe its type 2?... i recently did a blood test for type 1 and 2 and was negative for type 2, im guessing its too early for it to be detected?

 

this is what im reading from a doctor on Medhelp.

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/STDs/Contract-Herpes-Whitlow/show/477021

[Sil88]

Not a bad summary from the doc, but I would disagree with "you can't catch hsv1 whitlow from fingering someone with genital herpes." Since about half of new genital infections are hsv1, and I think I read months ago that whitlow is more commonly hsv1. I'd imagine you've had it as long as you've had oral herpes, and maybe you sucked your finger or bit your nail at the time. It's easy to not notice minor symptoms, or the virus couldve skipped an OB or laid dormant for all this time. I wouldn't worry about it though, just be careful whilst you're having outbreaks... The skin is pretty thick on your hands and fingers.

[2Legit2Quit]

Yup.. Many use their teeth to rip off hang nails and that's all it can take, for it to infect your finger. I learned a lesson last yr the hard way, to never rip off a hang nail. I did that and it bked and left quite an opening. I developed cellulites, which left untreated can get in your blood and kill you. My finger felt like it was going to burst open, it was so swollen . I was filling it in bactine to try and nunv it and taking like 2000mlga of motrin for the pain and it didn't help. One night it was hurting so bad, it woke me from my sleep. I was so desperate to relieve the pain, that I took a needle and lanced it myself. It hurt so bad that I suddenly got nauseous and almost passed out. I have a high tolerance for pain too, so that should say something. At the same time as the ous spilled out, I got a sense of relief, but did have to take antibiotics for ten days to make the infection go away. I will never pull a hang mail again and especially not from my mouth,which is full of bacteria. Have you ever ripped off a gang naik w your teeth?

[Rain]

ive been doing some heavy reading from experts and from what i read its very rare for it to spread once you have the antibodies... this gets me think that maybe this outbreak from my finger is from when i first got my initial outbreak, i remember not washing my hands and could have spread it around... only thing that makes sense to me.

[Rain]

i also have this tiny little dots on the same finger, i dont think they are related but i keep them covered, ill take a pic of them and post them

[Rain]

There the size of needles, it's 3 of them around the nail and some more further down.. They look like tiny blister that do hurt to the touch, feels like I have a tiny piece of stick in my skin... Didn't think it was related but maybe.

 

http://postimg.org/gallery/2yb86face/5a272d61/

[2Legit2Quit]

Hmm.. yeah.. I'd be suspect at this point. If the blisters still exist, I'd go to Planned Parenthood asap and request they be swabbed.

[Rain]

The pics that I posted with tiny blisters would be impossible to swab, they are very tiny, I don't even know if they are blisters ... I initially went to planned parenthood and they wouldn't swab it, they only swab sti stuff, also the doctor didn't see me there but a medical assistant though, he told me it didn't look it and not to worry.. he did go to the doctor and I guess described it to her also and it was a still no

[Rain]

im on day 30, the red base is gone but i can still see the blisters, ive been using the cream for 2 weeks now... i saw the doc today and she says it is getting better... i just thought herpes would be gone in 30 days?

[2Legit2Quit]

No telling. If the blisters are still there, shy wouldn't she swab it?

[Rain]

No telling. If the blisters are still there, shy wouldn't she swab it?

 

Insurance doesn't cover it.

[WCSDancer2010]

I'm not convinced that it's Whitlow --- given that it didn't really blister up, but if it is, it likely will disappear and you may never see it again. Most of it is in the area of the nail bed where hangnails and dry skin cracks make an opening where it can get in. The skin on the palm of the hand is so thick it's really difficult to get it there.

 

Not a bad summary from the doc, but I would disagree with "you can't catch hsv1 whitlow from fingering someone with genital herpes." Since about half of new genital infections are hsv1, and I think I read months ago that whitlow is more commonly hsv1. I'd imagine you've had it as long as you've had oral herpes, and maybe you sucked your finger or bit your nail at the time. It's easy to not notice minor symptoms, or the virus couldve skipped an OB or laid dormant for all this time. I wouldn't worry about it though, just be careful whilst you're having outbreaks... The skin is pretty thick on your hands and fingers.

 

The reason most Whitlow is HSV1 is that most is in kids, who get oral Herpes and then pick the sores ... and don't do a lot of hand washing/etc ....

 

 

[2Legit2Quit]

The. Go to PP to have them swabbed

[Rain]

The. Go to PP to have them swabbed

 

They said since it was on my hands I would need to seen by my physician to evaluate it, the doctors at the pp clinic wouldn't even look at it, I just spoke to a medical assistant I believe... Something about it not being a std.

[Sil88]

 

The reason most Whitlow is HSV1 is that most is in kids, who get oral Herpes and then pick the sores ... and don't do a lot of hand washing/etc ....

 

 

Yea I get that, I just meant to say that hsv1 can reside in the fingers too.

 

Whatever rain has shown in those photos is what I have too, and given the circumstances I'm convinced it was at least caught from fingering, if not hsv. (though I'm 80% sure it is)

 

 

[Rain]

This is how it looks today.

 

http://postimg.org/gallery/fzkmjbve/93840ccc/

[2Legit2Quit]

Don't know what else to tell ya, w put a swab. Is it very painful?

[Rain]

Don't know what else to tell ya, w put a swab. Is it very painful?

 

Not painful at all, even if I push down on it.

[NothingGoodGetsAway]

(Preface: this is the problem sometimes with a forum - no one should be diagnosing on here!)....but there are alot of other things it could be. I think that we tend to hop to "herpes!" often, and sometimes that could be preventing us from finding out the real culprit...

 

I just did a quick search and there's something like an eczema that isn't contagious, isn't serious, and is possibly an allergic reaction, and it appears on the fingers and the palms. Kind of even looks like what you've got, and the healing time is "usually 3 weeks." Would even help to make sense of why it's on different parts of your finger...

 

@wcsdancer2010 I hope this isn't against the rules (and I apologize if it is, but I wanted to share because I think this is helpful):

 

NOTE: I'M NOT SAYING THIS IS WHAT IT IS! Just an example of what else it could be, especially since whitlow *should* be less common with an established infection and *should* heal quicker than is happening here...

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyshidrosis

 

https://nationaleczema.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/DermatitisDyshidrotic_1.jpg