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Help with possible Herpes infection
Hi,
I have a somewhat complicated question. About 5+ weeks ago I had some type of infection "outbreak" on my vagina. I had never experienced anything like this so I went to the doctor. She clinically diagnosed me with Herpes and took some swabs. The swab results were all negative for both types of Herpes. This week I gave blood to test for Herpes antibodies and the IgG HerpeSelect test was negative for HSV-1 (.51) and HSV-2 (.14). Again, this test was performed about 5 weeks after the "outbreak" and 11 weeks after last sexual activity. My doctor has been fairly adamant about the clinical diagnosis of herpes.
Here is why this is complicated. About 5 months ago I came down with a flu-like illness which was accompanied by very high fevers among other symptoms. The illness came back and went away several times and I eventually ended up in the hospital for a week for a fever of unknown origin. While in the hospital I was tested for everything under the sun....including Herpes. A PCR test for herpes was performed and I was negative for both HSV1 and HSV2.
Between the time of the in-patient test and my outbreak I had sex ONE time with my boyfriend of over 6 years. He has never had any type of outbreak on his penis and I have absolutely no suspicion that he has been unfaithful to me.
I never received a diagnosis for what caused my illness that put me in the hospital and while I am mostly better now there have still been some funky lowgrade fevers and questionable bloodwork. Could this outbreak of sores been something other than herpes? If so, what causes a similar type of sores? My doctor keeps saying things like "herpes can slip in the back door" and that she thinks my immune system may have been compromised thus letting herpes get in....I just don't know where it would "get in" from!
Do I need to be retested since the HerpeSelect test was done only 11 weeks after last sexual exposure or does this negative test combined with the negative swabs (and negative PCR test from November) seem to suggest that my infection was due to something other than Herpes?
Sorry this is so long. Thank you in advance for any help you can give me.
I have a somewhat complicated question. About 5+ weeks ago I had some type of infection "outbreak" on my vagina. I had never experienced anything like this so I went to the doctor. She clinically diagnosed me with Herpes and took some swabs. The swab results were all negative for both types of Herpes. This week I gave blood to test for Herpes antibodies and the IgG HerpeSelect test was negative for HSV-1 (.51) and HSV-2 (.14). Again, this test was performed about 5 weeks after the "outbreak" and 11 weeks after last sexual activity. My doctor has been fairly adamant about the clinical diagnosis of herpes.
Here is why this is complicated. About 5 months ago I came down with a flu-like illness which was accompanied by very high fevers among other symptoms. The illness came back and went away several times and I eventually ended up in the hospital for a week for a fever of unknown origin. While in the hospital I was tested for everything under the sun....including Herpes. A PCR test for herpes was performed and I was negative for both HSV1 and HSV2.
Between the time of the in-patient test and my outbreak I had sex ONE time with my boyfriend of over 6 years. He has never had any type of outbreak on his penis and I have absolutely no suspicion that he has been unfaithful to me.
I never received a diagnosis for what caused my illness that put me in the hospital and while I am mostly better now there have still been some funky lowgrade fevers and questionable bloodwork. Could this outbreak of sores been something other than herpes? If so, what causes a similar type of sores? My doctor keeps saying things like "herpes can slip in the back door" and that she thinks my immune system may have been compromised thus letting herpes get in....I just don't know where it would "get in" from!
Do I need to be retested since the HerpeSelect test was done only 11 weeks after last sexual exposure or does this negative test combined with the negative swabs (and negative PCR test from November) seem to suggest that my infection was due to something other than Herpes?
Sorry this is so long. Thank you in advance for any help you can give me.
The igm herpes test is a bad test fo rherpes and we don't recommend it to be done. http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/248394 is a terrific prior post by HHH on the expert forum on why it's a poor test for diagnosing herpes in general.
grace
grace
wow thats some wierd ****! Sorry to cuss but your symtems mimic the herpes virus. I dont get it. Just to be safe though i would retest in about 3 months to make sure your totally negative. Some people take up to 6 months to fully subconvert of over to postive antibodies.
Thank you for your response. I now have the IgM results and they too were negative for HSV 1 and 2. I talked with my doctor again and she also says that it was not likely to be herpes but that if I have recurring symptoms to come in again.
Thank you for taking the time to reply to my post!
Thank you for taking the time to reply to my post!
This is unlikely to be due to herpes since you've tested completely negative 11 weeks after the last time you had sex. Even the best providers who see genital herpes all the time still mistakenly diagnosis it with a visual diagnosis about 1/3 of the time which is why follow up testing is so important. Should you get a return of symptoms, go be seen but this isn't likely to be genital herpes going on.
grace
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.
