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Could a small round red spot be Herpes?
Hi,
For as long as I can remember I have had cold sores. I never knew they were “Herpes” until recently. In October I burned my lip on coffee and woke up the next morning with a swollen upper lip. When I get cold sores they are always on the bottom corner lip. I treated it as a burn with puttin bacitracin on it. The next day flat little whit blisters showed up and I continued applying bacitracin. At the time I did not know but I have lichen sclerosis which can cause genital burning, itching, etc... I had an itched and rubbed with my pants which irritated the skin and gently scratched the area with the finger I had been applying the bacitracin without knowing to wash my hands. The next day the blister were fluid filled and yellow so I went to my Drs office and was seen by an available dr. He seemed very afraid of me and basically said it was Herpes. He did check my mouth and no sores and said that my mouth looked good other than I had a tonsil stone. I left paranoid and went home remembering I had touched the irritated skin on my genitals. I returned to my PCP who I asked to swab the oozing sore. He said he didnt recommend that but the igg/igm blood test. It came back positive for for hsv1 IGG out of range 4.0. Hsv2 IGG came back < 0.2. Hsv1 IGM weak positive. Hsv2 IGM Positive* *=Abnormal. Before I saw the test results my dr called me and left a voicemail telling me I was positive hsv1 and hsv2 and to schedule a follow up appt. I was in shock as I have never had Genital sores or any symptoms other than burning itching. I did an internet search looking for answers driving myself crazy. I had an appt in just a couple of days with my Obgyn and fell upon lichen sclerosis and immediately knew I had it and with a biopsy it was confirmed. That explains why I have had itching and burning. I also forgot to add I take medication to suppress my immune system. I picked up my results over the weekend and believe it is a false positve/ negative. I took my results to two selarate Drs who said it was negative for hsv2. With my follow up I just made it clear there is no way I have hsv2 as he said I recently contracted it and my partner and I have been together ten years and his test results came back negative for both. I don’t know if I should retest and if so when? In my heart I believe I do not have hsv2 but I suffer anxiety from all of this. What are the chances I spread hsv1 to myself? For my lichen sclerosis I am applying clobetosal ( steroid cream) to my Genital area and trimmed my pubic hair with hair trimmers not razors and I noticed a non irritated red spot above my vagina after applying the clobetosal. My skin is very different from normal people so nothing looks 100% normal but not horrible as my LS is mild. Could that red spot be Herpes. No blisters, pain or tingling. Please help I am just at a lost with all of this.
For as long as I can remember I have had cold sores. I never knew they were “Herpes” until recently. In October I burned my lip on coffee and woke up the next morning with a swollen upper lip. When I get cold sores they are always on the bottom corner lip. I treated it as a burn with puttin bacitracin on it. The next day flat little whit blisters showed up and I continued applying bacitracin. At the time I did not know but I have lichen sclerosis which can cause genital burning, itching, etc... I had an itched and rubbed with my pants which irritated the skin and gently scratched the area with the finger I had been applying the bacitracin without knowing to wash my hands. The next day the blister were fluid filled and yellow so I went to my Drs office and was seen by an available dr. He seemed very afraid of me and basically said it was Herpes. He did check my mouth and no sores and said that my mouth looked good other than I had a tonsil stone. I left paranoid and went home remembering I had touched the irritated skin on my genitals. I returned to my PCP who I asked to swab the oozing sore. He said he didnt recommend that but the igg/igm blood test. It came back positive for for hsv1 IGG out of range 4.0. Hsv2 IGG came back < 0.2. Hsv1 IGM weak positive. Hsv2 IGM Positive* *=Abnormal. Before I saw the test results my dr called me and left a voicemail telling me I was positive hsv1 and hsv2 and to schedule a follow up appt. I was in shock as I have never had Genital sores or any symptoms other than burning itching. I did an internet search looking for answers driving myself crazy. I had an appt in just a couple of days with my Obgyn and fell upon lichen sclerosis and immediately knew I had it and with a biopsy it was confirmed. That explains why I have had itching and burning. I also forgot to add I take medication to suppress my immune system. I picked up my results over the weekend and believe it is a false positve/ negative. I took my results to two selarate Drs who said it was negative for hsv2. With my follow up I just made it clear there is no way I have hsv2 as he said I recently contracted it and my partner and I have been together ten years and his test results came back negative for both. I don’t know if I should retest and if so when? In my heart I believe I do not have hsv2 but I suffer anxiety from all of this. What are the chances I spread hsv1 to myself? For my lichen sclerosis I am applying clobetosal ( steroid cream) to my Genital area and trimmed my pubic hair with hair trimmers not razors and I noticed a non irritated red spot above my vagina after applying the clobetosal. My skin is very different from normal people so nothing looks 100% normal but not horrible as my LS is mild. Could that red spot be Herpes. No blisters, pain or tingling. Please help I am just at a lost with all of this.
Feeling undone thank you for your input but how do you know humira is not enough to weaken my immune system to self inoculate?
Good to know about the antibiotic ointment. Yes my boyfriend has been tested and he is negative for both. I am now aware of it and am scared to spread it to him. I hate this virus. You didn’t mention anything about a weakend immune system though. I take a humira shot every other week that suppresses my immune system and from what I read there is a risk
3 Comments
Of self inoculation
That's not enough to weaken your immune system to be an effective means of auto inoculation. When a weakened immune system discussed it's advanced aids...etc not being run down or on humira. Wellinformedperson is spot on. You really shouldn't be concerned
I still think the odds of self inoculation are very low because the virus, once outside of the body, quickly loses viability. This is why hsv1 and hsv2, in order to be transmitted, require a penis, along with vigorous rubbing and friction, be inserted in a mouth, an anus or a vagina. Casual contact or mutual masturbation,even with the infected person fluids will not transmit the virus.
If you avoid oral sex when you feel a outbreak coming on and obviously when you have an outbreak, the odds will be very low that you will transmit the virus. If you take antivirals, this probably would further weaken the virus during asymptomatic shedding. But, if you have infrequent outbreaks, you probably do not have much asymptomatic viral shedding.
Also, people's lives are not ruined by herpes. Most adults have herpes, and if they are not leading fulfilling lives, it is certainly not due to herpes. I know tons of people that have hsv1 and hsv2 and they are quite happy, and for the most part the virus really does not factor into their lives. People with hsv2 meet people that love them for who they are without regard to a very impersonal virus. They always disclose to potential partners that they have the virus, and let that person make the decision. It takes courage and vulnerability, but this is what builds trust and intimacy and makes relationships worthwhile.
If you avoid oral sex when you feel a outbreak coming on and obviously when you have an outbreak, the odds will be very low that you will transmit the virus. If you take antivirals, this probably would further weaken the virus during asymptomatic shedding. But, if you have infrequent outbreaks, you probably do not have much asymptomatic viral shedding.
Also, people's lives are not ruined by herpes. Most adults have herpes, and if they are not leading fulfilling lives, it is certainly not due to herpes. I know tons of people that have hsv1 and hsv2 and they are quite happy, and for the most part the virus really does not factor into their lives. People with hsv2 meet people that love them for who they are without regard to a very impersonal virus. They always disclose to potential partners that they have the virus, and let that person make the decision. It takes courage and vulnerability, but this is what builds trust and intimacy and makes relationships worthwhile.
Your PCP was WRONG. It is obvious your PCP does not stay up to date and informed on herpes. The IgM test is worthless. It is too unreliable. Trust your IgG test.
You can not spread your oral herpes infection to your genitals because you are already infected with it orally, and you will be immune or in the very least, highly resistant to a new infection anywhere else on your body.
In addition, there are two strains of herpes that are relevant when talking about genital herpes, and those are hsv2 (which normally causes genital herpes) and hsv1 (which normally causes oral herpes). Hsv2 can infect the oral area but rarely does. Hsv1 can infect the genital area and does so more often than hsv2 infecting the oral area.
That said, if someone catches hsv1 from oral sex on their genitals, it does NOT mutate to hsv2. It stays an hsv1 genital infection. This is important because an hsv1 genital infections tends to cause much less recurrent outbreaks after initial infection and asymptomatic shedding is much lower than with an hsv2 infection. Also, if someone is infected with hsv1 genitally, he/she can still become infected with hsv2 genitally.
You can not spread your oral herpes infection to your genitals because you are already infected with it orally, and you will be immune or in the very least, highly resistant to a new infection anywhere else on your body.
In addition, there are two strains of herpes that are relevant when talking about genital herpes, and those are hsv2 (which normally causes genital herpes) and hsv1 (which normally causes oral herpes). Hsv2 can infect the oral area but rarely does. Hsv1 can infect the genital area and does so more often than hsv2 infecting the oral area.
That said, if someone catches hsv1 from oral sex on their genitals, it does NOT mutate to hsv2. It stays an hsv1 genital infection. This is important because an hsv1 genital infections tends to cause much less recurrent outbreaks after initial infection and asymptomatic shedding is much lower than with an hsv2 infection. Also, if someone is infected with hsv1 genitally, he/she can still become infected with hsv2 genitally.
2 Comments
Thank you for your answer. I have done a lot of reading about hsv1 and hsv2. I do my pcp was wrong and am in the works of finding a new one. My boyfriend has tried to calm my nerves and tell me that the antibiotic would of helped to kill off the virus thus making itm harder to contract genitally for just a second of lightly rubbing. I have read with people with weakend immune systems that it is possible to autoinnoculate yourself. That is what I aworried about. I used a hair trimmer to trim my hair and put the steroid cream on my vagina and then noticed a round oval. I have read that you can have a red area without irritation and I believe I have that. I see no blisters and have no pain. I suffer from being fatigue but that is almost everyday. I’m just scared and do not want to infect my partner and ruin his life if I did pass it down to my genitals.
FYI: That antibiotic cream did not kill off the virus. However, the chance you auto-inoculated yourself is very, very unlikely. It just does not happen with someone like yourself that has had a longstanding infection.
Also, has your boyfriend ever had an IgG blood test. At least half of adults are infected with hsv1, so he may already be infected and may not know it. If so, you could not infect him again.
If he is not infected already, you both need to know that you can transmit your hsv1 infection to his genitals via oral sex. It is uncommon, but possible.
Also, has your boyfriend ever had an IgG blood test. At least half of adults are infected with hsv1, so he may already be infected and may not know it. If so, you could not infect him again.
If he is not infected already, you both need to know that you can transmit your hsv1 infection to his genitals via oral sex. It is uncommon, but possible.
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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.
