Can HSV1 just show up in genital area?

[basketcase99]

50+ year old female.  Married high school sweetheart.  Never had any other sexual partner. Had cold sores since teenage years.  Recent high level stress situation (family death).  Had 3 cold sores back to back on lips.  Shortly after, noticed pain, itching and blisters right inner buttock area, near rectum. I thought shingles brought on by stress. Doctor said herpes!!!  Did a swab for PCR (?).  No results yet.  Doctor said I had "cold sores" on my butt! Started antiviral. Due to family stress situation, have not had sex in some time.  Can the virus that causes cold sores just show up on the butt?  Trying to educate  myself thru online sites.  Any help or thoughts would be greatly appreciated!  Thanks!

[TooHip1973]

HSV1 and HSV2 are two different strains of the same virus. HSV1 is the usual suspect of oral cold sores. Once someone has an established HSV1 infection, usually something they acquired in their youth, the body builds antibodies that offer protection from getting same strain in a different location at a later time.
HSV2 is the usual suspect of genital herpes, though HSV1 can be passed genitally via oral sex from someone with cold sores.
One of the big trigger for hsv outbreaks is stress, so having an outbreak during a particularly stressful time is not surprising.
Wait and see what the swab results show. It’s good that your doctor did a swab instead of just diagnosing visually. It could be something completely unrelated. Good luck! Let us know if there any other questions.

[basketcase99]

Thank you for your response.  I'll try to be patient.