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2nd Opinion
Someone I know as recently diagnosed with HSV-1. The doctor gace several answers to the many, many questions but I feel a 2nd opionion is always best.
1. If you only had sex with one person and you started with all the symptoms of HSV - is it at all possible that the one partner you had sex with is not a carrier? They claim they never have had any symptons so are questioning if they even have it. Plus a condom was used every time, but from everything we have read - it is possible to contract the disease even when having safe sex.
2. Swabs were done of the legions and the test came back positive for HSV-1 - is there any possibilty it could be Shingles since that too falls within the Herpes family and this person did have a Shingles outbreak when they were a child. Should a blood test also be done as a soild confirmation?
3. Valtrex was perscribe twice per day and all symptoms have gone away. Daily suppresive therapy was suggested for future outbreaks - 1 pill daily. First off is this safe and is there a maximum time frame a person should be on this medication - ie: years?
This diagnosis came only 1 week ago so all of this is so new and scary. Trying to digest all the facts.
1. If you only had sex with one person and you started with all the symptoms of HSV - is it at all possible that the one partner you had sex with is not a carrier? They claim they never have had any symptons so are questioning if they even have it. Plus a condom was used every time, but from everything we have read - it is possible to contract the disease even when having safe sex.
2. Swabs were done of the legions and the test came back positive for HSV-1 - is there any possibilty it could be Shingles since that too falls within the Herpes family and this person did have a Shingles outbreak when they were a child. Should a blood test also be done as a soild confirmation?
3. Valtrex was perscribe twice per day and all symptoms have gone away. Daily suppresive therapy was suggested for future outbreaks - 1 pill daily. First off is this safe and is there a maximum time frame a person should be on this medication - ie: years?
This diagnosis came only 1 week ago so all of this is so new and scary. Trying to digest all the facts.
no adverse health affects to taking valtrex suppressively.
recurrences of herpes won't be like the initial ob she had either!
recurrences of herpes won't be like the initial ob she had either!
We also were wondering if it is healthy for her to be on Valtrex if not necessarily needed. Will she be more prone to illness if she is on suppressive therapy?
I forgot to mention that this outbreak did occur in the genital area. First it was misdiagnosed as a yeast infection, but as the symptoms kept getting worse, she went to a gynecologist who did the swab. She was less devistated that it was HSV1 and not HSV2 and is hoping for minimal outbreaks over the rest of her life. We were just questioning if a year of suppressive therapy was really necessary - thought it might be a little too extreme - but she explains that the initial outbreak was so extremely painful that she does not want to ever go through that again, so that is why I think her doctor recommended 1x day Valtrex.
I assume this is hsv1 genitally?
A lesion culture of symptoms will not confuse shingles with hsv1. No reason to doubt that a hsv1+ culture is really hsv1 genitally.
daily suppressive therapy isn't really recommended for hsv1 genitally. it doesn't shed often and doesn't reoccur often and it's really not cost effective to bother with suppressive therapy unless you turn out to be part of the few who get recurrences more often. About half of folks never get another hsv1 genital ob. of those who do, the average is 1 additional ob the first year and 1 ob every other year after that.
typically hsv1 genitally is transmitted from oral to genital sex. It can be transmitted from genital to genital sex but the risk of such is very, very low.
grace
A lesion culture of symptoms will not confuse shingles with hsv1. No reason to doubt that a hsv1+ culture is really hsv1 genitally.
daily suppressive therapy isn't really recommended for hsv1 genitally. it doesn't shed often and doesn't reoccur often and it's really not cost effective to bother with suppressive therapy unless you turn out to be part of the few who get recurrences more often. About half of folks never get another hsv1 genital ob. of those who do, the average is 1 additional ob the first year and 1 ob every other year after that.
typically hsv1 genitally is transmitted from oral to genital sex. It can be transmitted from genital to genital sex but the risk of such is very, very low.
grace
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You are reading content posted in the Herpes Community
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
