. The bumps were located in my public area above my genitals. I was given Imiquimod to treat the infection. Toward the end of the treatment I developed itchy blisters at the treatment site. I went to my doctor and he said it appeared to be herpes. He swabbed the fluid and had it tested. It came back positive for the herpes virus but he said he did not type the sample and it could be HSV1, HSV2, or zoster
. He prescribed valtrex and everything healed up. I've since had 2 blood tests and both have come back negative for HSV1 and HSV2. I read that Imiquimod may cause symptoms similar to herpes or secondarily reactivate the herpes zoster
you wouldn't have gotten a + herpes culture if it wasn't actually herpes.
odds are it's hsv1 genitally if your blood tests are coming back negative. you can talk to your provider about getting a herpes WB test to see if it picks up on the infection since other blood tests aren't.