Hand Herpes?

[MWatson84]

Hi

I recently came down with mononucleosis and was very ill. I had severely elevated liver enzymes and bilirubin levels. I was held in the hospital for 6 days due to this.

I tested positive for EBV after getting the antibody test. From my understanding, EBV is a form of herpes. I have also, since childhood suffered from cold sores and I had a very bad one during this recent bout of mono.

It has been 8 weeks since I came down with mono and I feel great aside from very itchy skin and hives. I have also had a couple blisters form on my hands recently. I am wondering if this is a form of herpes and if I should be worried about transmission to other areas, specifically the genital area. I have attached some photos in my profile.

Thanks!

[MWatson84]

Howard-

Thanks for all your insight. I noticed the blister you're referring to last night. My hand was itchy in that spot at the time I noticed it appear.

I took the photos about 8 hours ago and all I've done since has taken benadryl. The white raised area was sore to the touch earlier today, when I took the photos.

The white area is completely gone now, the skin is flat and just pale pink. No soreness either. It definitely didn't pop/leak anything.

For the past 2-3 weeks, after getting mono I have had extremely itchy skin. So itchy, it wakes me up out of a sound sleep. When I would scratch, hives would appear. I am still very itchy, but the hives have gone away. I read online mono can leave you with a lasting rash. I have never had anything like this happen and have not changed my diet, so I assume this itchiness/hives are attributed to the EBV. Would you assume the samel?

I also had a really odd rash on my neck that made the skin rough and dry like sandpaper.

If the spot on my hand were herpes, it would have to go through a crusty process similar to a cold sore on a lip right? I am not sure if the benadryl fixed it or not. I took benadryl last night and it was here today. I am extremely confused...

[HowardH]

Although normally I don't look at skin photos, I cheated on my own rule. I have to say that the one between your thumb and forefinger looks like a typical herpes-type lesion. Probably it is shingles. You should immediately see your doctor or a dermatologist for exam and testing of the lesion for VZV and to be safe, maybe HSV as well -- follow your doctor's advice. If your doctor(s) suspect shingles, they probably will want to treat you with valacyclovir or a related drug, otherwise it could quickly become a lot worse quickly.

I'll be interested to hear the outcome after you have been professionally evaluated.

[Life360_Dave]

Hi, hand herpes (Whitlow) is another herpes strain different than EBV. They most appear on the fingers however and are most often contracted in the Dental profession of the hsv1 strain. They can be a single blister but are most often in clusters and often appear in the same spot with old infection, not on both hands. Only swab testing would confirm what these are but really dont appear as whitlow.

[HowardH]

There are 8 or 10 viruses in the herpesvirus group. EBV is one of them and in that sense is "a form of herpes". However, it is an entirely different virus from herpes simplex virus (HSV) types 1 and 2. Varicella zoster virus (VZV) (sometimes called herpes zoster virus) is the cause of chickenpox and shingles, or herpes zoster. Only these -- HSV1, HSV2, and VZV -- cause infections that include skin blisters. EBV does not cause skin lesions of any kind, nothing at all like HSV.

It is very unlikely your hand blisters are due to either mono (EBV) or herpes (HSV). Shingles (herpes zoster) might be a possiblity, and can be triggered by illnesses that transiently suppress the immune system, including mononucleosis. But if this problem worsens, of if the blisters persist, you should show them to your doctor and follow his advice about it.

HSV transmission from one body part to another (called autoinocuation) is rare and occurs primarily during a person's very first HSV infection. It doesn't happen more than a few months after initial infection. There is no risk of transmitting it to your genital area.

In the long run, I don't think you need be worried. All this should clear up entirely and you will return to normal health with no long term problem at all!

The volunteers on this forum don't look at posted photos of lesions, rashes, etc. And I think MedHelp doesn't allow personal profile pages to be used for that. They'll probably take them down.

But I hope this has helped. Good luck.