I think you have several things going on at the same time.
1st off - your dryness issue down yonder/vulvodynia. Has your gyn ever prescribed topical estrogen cream for you to use? might be worth looking into regardless of your age. Sometimes it's hard convincing them that you need it if you are young but vaginitis can cause irritation and thinning of the genital skin in us gals and pain. topical estrogen can help quite a bit for some women.
2 - tea tree oil. At this point I recommend stopping use of it and also the boric acid. Both can be incredibly irritating ( esp undiluted TTO ). I love TTO myself but it's a major allergen for many folks. It's hard sometimes because it can help irritated skin and it can also cause it. Leaving a cotton ball soaked in it in place for so long was a pretty bad idea to be honest. At this point since you don't know what is going on, I'd stick to just lukewarm baths for comfort.
3- neosporin. Usually not a good idea for the genital area. It too is an irritant in the genital area for many folks. I would not continue using it on the genital skin unless specifically told to do so by a medical provider.
4- herpes. You already have hsv1 and we'll assume it's oral at this point. Your risk from oral sex would've been hsv1, not hsv2. You have significant protection against contracting hsv1 genitally thru oral sex. I wouldn't even consider herpes at this point. If you've had other partners and genital sex with them since you were tested in january you can get another blood test if you want it but if not, don't bother.
5- chelitis. It can be caused by many things. sometimes what is causing it orally can also cause genital lesions too. If you are using a toothpaste that is more than just a run of the mill plain ole toothpaste, switch just in case that is the culprit ( no cinnamon or "bold" flavorings either ). If it reoccurs, see your provider to make sure it's not an oral fungal infection going on causing it.
It really sounds like this is all due to the TTO. In the future, use it sparingly, don't use it as a compress for any length of time either and don't use it undiluted.
grace
Thanks for your detailed reply.
It seems the plot has thickened now. I was sore in the area to the left of my vaginal opening and now it is swelling and feels like a big cyst is forming. I'm fairly sure I'm developing a bartholin cyst. :(
Today I didn't experience any burning--just noticed it got sore over that left barth gland. Interesting that the genital burning goes away just when I'm about to start my period any day now. Hmmm......
I can still see the one sore on my clitoral shaft but I can barely see the sore on my labia. It's only been about 4 days since I noticed them. The one on my labia doesn't hurt when I press it anymore.
I'm scared to death to see my doctor tomorrow. On the other hand, with all this stuff going on, I'm scared not to.
TTO is a member of the turpentine family. I'm sure you irritated the heck out of your skin dear :(
Like I said, it's not likely to be a herpes issue.
grace
Just a follow up comment:
A few hours after my last comment, the burning started again. Very intense, some prickly sensations. Prickly sensations happen with both herpes and vulvodynia, BTW. I had a miserable night.
Today my gyno swabbed my two sores. She called them "ulcers". She said they could be herpes, but because they are perfectly round, they could also be from the tea tree oil cotton ball. As Grace notes, undiluted tea tree can be caustic on sensitive skin/mucus membrane. I will get my results back in one week.
While I was there I took a blood test for syphillis and HIV. I asked the lab tech to also order the herpes blood tests. The doctor didn't order that, BUT I felt that if the culture of my sore was inconclusive (since they are nearly healed) I might still get an answer from the blood test. Of course, if it showed up negative I would take one again in a few months.
I'm not optimistic. I'll let everyone know the results soon. If negative, rejoice. If positive, my story might be helpful to someone else with questionable/mild symptoms.
Today, the paper cut and reddening around the corner of my mouth is completely gone! It's like a miracle. Also, zero symptoms down below and sores are gone. I haven't even put anything on either place today. It's rather coincidental that both areas look and feel healed on the same dang day. Since cheilitis can be from yeast infection, now I'm leaning toward thinking candidias or some fungal infection is the issue above and below.
BTW, doctor confirmed that the sore on corner of mouth was not herpes.She thinks it's from my braces shifting my bite. I disagree. I believe it is fungal. I should have insisted that she scrape and culture it for candidias.
I'm in better spirits today because I feel so much better everywhere.
drooling profusely from braces can cause rashes in the corner o fyour mouth too.
glad you are feeling better in general :) One day you will be able to laugh about this I'm sure when sitting around talking about goofy things you've done with your gf's ( you should hear my home armpit waxing story....lol ).
grace
LOL.Yes, the conversation will go something like, "Remember that time I went cross-eyed looking on the Internet at other people's crotches to compare their sores to mine while dreaming up diagnoses and letting my emotions bounce around like a schizophrenic ping pong ball? Ha ha! Pass the fifth of liquor!"
Today I went for a nice long hike to take my mind off things and it really gave me perspective. I was having such a lovely time and it just reminded me of the richness and joys of life that are not contingent upon having herpes or not.
I had a feeling they had my test results back today so I called the office. A nurse called me back. Here's my results:
Syphillis blood test--Negative
HSV I and HSV II blood tests--Positive for HSV 1, Negative for HSV II
Culture from swab of sores--Negative for HSV 1 and HSV II
I'll go back and do another blood test in a few months.
I'll stay celibate and then do another blood test, that is......
I can understand wanting to cover your bases since you did have a new partner recently.
feeling better down yonder overall?
grace
Much better, thanks. For weeks I've been hurting from head to toe. My lips were cut on the corner, inflammed, and sore, my aorta above my belly button was hurting and throbbing, and I was burning and irritated down yonder. After seeing a chiropractor, doctor, gynecologist, and acupuncturist, I feel normal again.
Also, talking to you here has been a tremendous help in staying level headed. Thanks for that. :-) I will post results of my next test in a few months just in case it helps someone else out to read this conversation thread.
at least I don't charge as much as all the others do :)
amazing how it all just hits at one time sometimes eh?
grace
I said I'd come back and post results.
I tested for HSV 1 and HSV 2 last week of December.
I'm positive for HSV 1 and still negative for HSV 2.
I think I can put this to rest now.
I want to update this thread. Bad news. :-(
Earlier this month, I started getting sore in that same spot I felt sore in back in August (to the left of my vaginal opening). I immediately called my gyno to get it cultured. She couldn't see me, but another gyno did.
She swabbed the teeny, tiny break in my skin (like a paper cut). It was barely visible. She said she thought it was a blocked moisture gland and she'd be "very surprised" if it were herpes.
BUT...results came back from the culture as positive for HSV-1.
I thought I should update this thread to make people aware that HSV-1 genital can be very, very difficult to confirm!! It took a lot of persistence on my part to confirm it. Doctors and nurses kept telling me they didn't think it was herpes. After my negative culture, I was told to put the idea of herpes to rest. I didn't listen, and now I have discovered I have HSV-1 genital. :-(
well certainly not the news you were expecting but at least now you know at least 1 location for your hsv1. Did they give you oral antivirals to keep on hand?
Even though typically hsv1 genitally doesn't reoccur very often, it can in a small percentage of people. considering all the the issues you've had in general down yonder, you might want to consider having the supplies at home to do home pcr swabbing and if the next time you get symptoms similar to this, you can swab it and if it's also hsv1 genitally, perhaps discuss daily suppressive therapy to see if you can get your genital issues down to a dull roar in general.
grace
"you can swab it and if it's also hsv1 genitally"
Did you mean "also hsv2 genitally"?
I believe it's type 1 only because I've had 2 blood tests, both negative for type 2. The last blood test was several months after my last sexual partner and was negative for hsv2. And this last culture is negative for hsv2. But there may be a piece of information I am missing?
The gyno gave me a prescription for Acyclovir. I felt much relief after only a day and a half of taking it.
no I really did mean hsv1 genitally as in see if some of the various issues you've been having that led to you being diagnosed as having vulvodynia were actually hsv1 genitally.
Oh, I see what you are saying now. I just assumed the vulvodynia was caused by the undetected HSV, but you have a good point. It very well could be two separate issues. Thanks.
I am also wondering if severity of outbreaks has anything to do with the numeric blood test results (ie, does a higher number mean more infection, hence worse outbreaks?)
My first blood test in Sept. was HSV-1 positive and the result was 1.58. Then the one in Dec. was lower--something like 1.28.
nope, no correlation between igg results and severity or anything of that sort.
Thanks. That's good to know.
I have read here that HSV-1 asymptomatically sheds about 3-5% of days.
I've read here that Acyclovir reduces genital herpes shedding by 50%. Some studies said more than 80%. Are they also talking about HSV-1 genital here, or is it only HSV-2?
we don't have info on suppressive therapy and hsv1 genital infections. just not enough as easy to study it as hsv2 since it shed so infrequently and doesn't reoccur very often.
grace
Darn. Well, at least I know that the Acyclovir does help me feel better during my outbreak. Thanks again for the information.