Did my bf give it to me?

[Catlady12]

So I recently was diagnosed with hsv (not sure if it’s 1 or 2 yet) but this would be my initial outbreak. I was curious as to how I contracted it as I have been with the same partner for a year now. I know you can not determine whether one has hsv or not without any tests but I do have a few questions...

1) I was tested a year ago before meeting him and came up negative. Is it possible it was a false negative and I have been dormant with hsv? 

Or

2) Since being with this partner the aftermath of sex has been very strange. (Sorry if graphic) I would constantly get yeast infections and even was diagnosed and treated for BV. Not sure if that has anything to do with it, but my outbreak occurred after a night of rigorous sex. Initially I thought it was a tear, which I’ve experienced before, but the pain just got worse. Is it possible he transmitted hsv to me during this time? 

 

Any answers are highly appreciated. I have no idea how to break it to him or how to ask him to get tested as I do believe he may have it, but I am extremely nervous that he is negative and that this has been dormant in my body for years. 

[mr_hopp]

Hi @Catlady12 and thanks for reaching out and sharing.

Sorry to say, but it'll be hard to nail down a definitive timeline for exactly the reasons you note. If your test was an IgM, I wouldn't trust anything from that. If your test was an IgG, those tend to give better results, but still have been known to give false positives/negatives. Western Blot is best, but most people don't get that test out of the blue as a routine STD test. 

To your question, yes, HSV can lie dormant for quite a while in some people (I didn't have a first outbreak for many years). It's more rare, but it happens.

Another possibility is he gave you herpes if he was unaware that he had it.

What strain of herpes do you have HSV-1 or HSV-2? Has your boyfriend been tested yet?

[Catlady12]

@mr_hopp hi! My boyfriend hasn’t been tested as I haven’t notified him yet. I just got a culture swab and am awaiting results on whether it is 1 or 2 but am taking valtrex 3x a day. I have been with this partner for quite a while and I read that if not dormant, the body reacts to it 2-20 days after being exposed. If he does have it is it possible that I just caught it during viral shedding?