Follow up qestions and confusion

Sir or Ma'am:

I had sex with a girl while intoxicated as was she.  Apparently she was too drunk to tell me that she was having an outbreak on her lower groin. there was no condom use

1. What are the chances of contracting herpes in this situation?

2.  Following about 7 days after this exposure I had a sore throat and an enflamed lymph node on one side of my neck but no lesions; it lasted for about 3 days and that was it.  The only thing is that I work in a casino and im exposed to thousands of people every week especially with flu season.  On top of that I kissed a girl that same week and the next day she had a 103 degree fever and was very ill but she didnt have a sore throat but cant sickness affect everyone in a different way? I know its not very typical for lymph nodes in the neck to be affected but in the groin area correct?

3. About a week later I started to have a tingling sensation on my glans (glands) penis but it didnt burn to urinate or anything it was just uncomfortable.  Another thing is that I had the urge to constantly urinate (especially when i consumed alcohol) but when i went to the bathroom there was either nothing or a few drops like a UTI but my tests came back neg for everything.  Also the more I drank water the better it became. would herpes be affected by my water intake? I also had a std panel done, no clahmydia, hsv 1 or 2, nothing.  But at this time I was taking creatine and the doc said that I could have been dehydrated and the lining on the wall of my urethra was affected and thats what caused the UTI like symptoms.

4.  At the same time I thought I had a rash on my penis but when the doc took a look he said it was nothing.  I dont know if it was anxiety creating the ALL of these symptoms or what but I was on the verge of a mental break down.

overall i havent had any lesions...I dont know what to make of this, any advice please? Thank you for your time.

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

Do you know that this girl had genital herpes?  She mentioned that she had an outbreak, but of what, do you know?  None of the symptoms that you describe sound like genital herpes to me.  Even if this girl had herpes, there isn't a 100% chance that you would have gotten herpes.  In fact, the risk of one exposure is relatively low.  I would suggest that you get retested in 4 months if you continue to be concerned about this issue.

You could certainly have contracted a mild case of flu that lasted a few days, it certainly is that season.  Try not to worry too much at this time, OK?

Terri

[invictus1110]

She did not mention she was having an outbreak but it was genital herpes she had.  So would the dehydration diagnosis be more plausible?

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

I'm skeptical about the dehydration theory, quite honestly.

Terri

[invictus1110]

then what would be a more plausible alternative?

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

Fungus, bacteria, overawareness of symptoms, friction, flu, there are many things
Terri

[invictus1110]

What is a better test to have done? iGm, iGg, or PCR? Thanks for your time.

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

The best blood antibody test is IgG, the best swab test is PCR

[invictus1110]

see i asked and the doc said that the PCR was the more sensitive blood test.  As far as a swab goes....I tried to have a culture done when i first had symptoms because there was a red area on my penis which tingled and such but the doc did a visual and said there was nothing to swab...could a rash be swabbed?

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

A rash could be swabbed, yes.
The PCR is a swab test (like a culture).  It looks for virus, not antibody.
The blood test looks for antibody, not virus.  
They are completely different tests, looking for completely different things, so comparing sensitivity of the two is not appropriate.  If you want more information about herpes testing or would like to share some up to date info with your doctor, you can order a terrific herpes testing toolkit from ASHA at ashastd.org

Terri