If she has not been diagnosed with herpes then no I would not be taking the antiviral. The best thing to do is seek and follow your obstet's advice and do not depart.
I do believe taking antivirals over the course of the last 4 weeks of pregnancy is fairly standard practice for women with genital HSV2. Again you must seek advice as to the situation here with no confirmed genital infection.
thanks and we wont be. last question. is it true that you shouldnt take acyclovir until your at the 36 week mark and having an outbreak? Is it dangerous to take now
Believe me you do not want too many opinions. Find a doctor you trust and respect and stick with them. A man with more than one clock never knows the time!
Her 36 week point is 8 weeks away, that will be the next IgG blood test. As mentioned above, you should cease sexual activity... well involving your penis anyway. To ensure no infection from here to birth.
oh trust me, she's still going to get it checked but I just wanted to see what you guys thought by looking at it. Still hearing alot of mixed thoughts and now she's thinking that there maybe is no use of getting it checked until 4 months from now. Do you agree if none of her blisters have bursted and its just a bunch of lil clusters?
That's not really recommended. You cannot be diagnosed by pictures or even first hand visual inspection. Only testing will reveal the true nature of the condition.
Remember that HSV2 is very, very unlikely to cause a whitlow infection.
can you post pics on this site? if so then how? she took some pics that I wanted to show and see what you guys thought
ok, I need some real help again. My gf just called me and told me that her obgyn looked at her hand and said right off the bat that its not herpes. He said that if she had it then she would know because of blisters, puss, and sores. He told her he cant do a culture because hers arent like that. Then he said he doesnt want to do a blood test because its going to come back positive. He said they nearly always come back positive because of chicken pox as a kid and so on. He said the only way you can test is if you are having an outbreak, the blisters bust, and then you test the blister.
Im hoping she doesnt. Again, some things were weird. Like I saw my blister at night, and then she had it on her hand the very next morning. Thats possible but it usually takes longer than overnight, although maybe I was shedding before that? Then she did oral on me but people say the chances of infection that way are very low. We did intercourse but I made sure to wear a condom although I couldnt remember if I or her touched the blister and then touched her vagina. She had no open wounds on her hand as we know of so maybe it wasnt it. Also bad skin runs in her family and some have been scratching as of late but it just seemed like a huge coicendence that I finally have a breakout and she starts getting that stuff on her hand the next day and her wrist a couple of days later.
I thought it looked a lil like herpes but her doctor said it doesnt. Then he says its going to come back postive. Ugh, this is so frustrating. Now you can tell that my gf is even hoping that I dont have it and is telling me that I got the wrong info but Im 99.999999% sure that I do. There is really no doubt in my mind. I just hope she's fine. She's about 28 weeks pregnant. He said they did all the blood test on her when she first came in a few months ago and nothing was wrong. He also said if she wants then he can test her again at 36 weeks but he has alot of women who are pregnant with herpes and he knows that is not herpes. His assistant agreed
This is terrible man. I feel for you, but you should have disclosed from day 1. Did you really think you could go a whole lifetime without ever disclosing you have herpes? I mean she couldn't see your sores on your penis when performing oral? Wow.
What you did was straight up wrong, but now you can only go forward and not backwards. If she doesn't want you in her life then that's something you have to deal with. Having a child makes this situation extremely more tough and sensitive. But as a man, own your mistake and acknowledge you messed up big time. Be there for her in every way and show her you love her regardless.
Best of luck.
thats what I was doing. 2 times a day every day for 3 years and not one outbreak. Then I get a new doctor who says that he disagrees with the other doctor and that I should not take any until I feel an outbreak. 6 months later I have an outbreak and infect my gf. it sucks. I used a condom for sex but she did give me oral unprotected.
Just take the meds to avoid outbreaks and reducing shedding.
for me, yes. I talk about receiving the call in my 3 part post.
But did the swab come back positive for hsv2?
you mean the one I had 3 years ago? I know for a fact I did a swab but I also think I may have done blood. I actually was going in for std testing but they werent going to do the herpes one because they said that is a seperate blood test but fortunately I was having a outbreak at the time and the doctor saw it. He said that it looks like herpes and wanted to test it.
I told him "what, this"? I told him that its just a rash that I get from my boxers every so often. It never crossed my mind that all this time I had herpes
Hi, what test did you have to confirm hsv2?
OK, I saw you posted on the herpes opportunity site too which is a great idea, that site is really good for helping you through tough issues with herpes.
So here is the thing, I am going to be frank....
You made bad decisions as a teenager and you are continuing to make bad decisions as an adult.
I know they were done out of what you thought was love or losing your love and so that makes us do silly things sometimes. I am guilty of that as well. A lot of people are.
So you've made mistakes, big ones, but it seems like now you are trying to take responsibility and ownership for them which is part of growing up and being a man. So embrace this difficult situation as a test of your manhood and your ability to find out what true love really is.
You have a child, a woman you love and now its time to take ownership for what you've done and figure out how to move forward for everyone. What does that entail? AN APOLOGY....a sincere one.....a heartfelt one.....take the beating she will give you and tell her you will still be around when the shock wears off. That you want to love her and your child and you are committed to doing everything you can to help and support them.
I wish you the best; I am in a rough predicament myself and I can really sympathize with you. But with our decision to have sex, comes responsibility and now its time for you to show that.
dont apologize. I deserved that regardless and more
I got lost about 3 pages down and didn't realize there was more to your novel.
Sorry about my harsh reaction. All you can do now is be there for her. And that's what she has to have now.
Wish I could answer your questions. It's probably worth paying for Terri's feedback.
Tell her you have HSV. Quit being a *****.
What you're doing isn't fair to her and if anyone I knew ever infected my little sister or my nieces after they knowingly had sex without disclosing id break both his knee caps and deal with the consequences gladly.
You know what could happen to your child if she's infected while pregnant??!!
PART 3
I feel so bad. I wish I could have it all back. The 3 years. The 3 weeks. People are so scared to say anything but then they end up having to say something anyways when its 10x worse because you have now infected them which is the one thing you wanted to avoid and could've avoided if you would've told them sooner. If she had known then it would've been her decision. That's what she keeps telling me. I decided her life for her and its not fair. She is so right and everything she feels now is how I felt when I got diagnosed. I told her I already went through that but its not a death sentence and it really doesn't change anything in your life but you can tell that she doesn't want to hear that from me of all people. Im the one guy she doesn't want to hear it from. I don't think we will get through this. I will never forgive myself. Im a great person and Im of age now at 34 yet I managed to do something so selfish, so immature, and so repugnant to someone who loves me so much. Can someone please help me atleast by answering some of the following questions:
1-Did I definitely give her hsv 2 and nothing else?
2-Is it possible that she only has it on her hand/wrist and not her genitals or does it still mean that it definitely started In the genitals?
3-is it possible that its oral hsv2 and not genital?
4-if its went away and came back multiple times in a short span, does that mean its still the 1st outbreak or are these already reoccurring? I just want to make sure that its done spreading so her antibodies can build up and she has no risk of getting it anywhere else, especially the genitals
5-Is all herpes dangerous for your baby during pregnancy or is it strictly if you are having a vaginal outbreak at the time of birth? I keep hearing mixed things on this? Like is my baby still at risk if its only on her hands/wrist and or oral?
6-if it doesn't spread anymore during this outbreak and its not on her vagina, does that mean it will be impossible for her to get it on her vagina in the future since she will have built up the antibodies?
7-Ive heard some say that when you have hsv2 in areas like your hand that its less likely to reoccur or atleast reoccur often while others have said that it will happen more often than the normal kind. Do you know?
8-I use to hear that if you take the meds every day like you are suppose to then chances of you infecting someone even with unprotected sex is very low but it seems like on here that you guys still sound like its 50/50 if you are taking meds every day.
9-It seems like her blisters maybe really contagious and even I feel like Im about to get rashes in some areas but then they never come. Is it possible that she has some kind of herpes that I still can get in other spots or is it just trying to maybe do stuff to me but my antibodies wont let it?
10-will a vaginal hsv2 outbreak always hurt and if she does have it on her hands/wrist with painful itching and scratching, would she also get that same itch on her vagina if she had it down there? Again, she hasn't had any symptoms down there and Im hoping she doesn't.
11- Can she transfer it to her eyes? She's been messing with her eyes alot. Some of it maybe allergies but Im still scared that she is spreading it to them.
All of this was very long and Im sure there will be some things later that I wish I would've added but atleast I hope I get some answers. She will be going to the doctor soon to get all the answers even though she wants me out of her life now. Her mother will know soon which will be hell to deal with but I deserve it all. Thanks for the help either way
Literally, the very next day she showed my a rash on the back of her hand that was itching and it looked exactly like the herpes blisters that I get on my penis except smaller. I was so confused but at the same time knew where it came from. We also had sex the previous 2 days unprotected but I didn't have open sores. It made me wonder a lot of things. I was always told that Herpes took atleast 2 days to show up so how can she get the signs just 12 hours later. Then I read that in some rare cases they do showup the next day. Then I wondered did I maybe give it to her the other previous 2 days? Was I shedding before I had sores and didn't know it? I was wondering how did she get it when I had a condom on? Is it because she grabbed my penis and went down on me? Everything I read said it was very low risk for that. Then I thought maybe I had rubbed my penis on her vagina or close enough to it. Maybe I touched my infection and put my hand between her legs but I couldn't remember. I thought maybe after intercourse, I took the condom off too soon to hide it from her and maybe some fluids got crossed over. I just didn't know.
I was so upset. I hated my doctor for telling me to go off my meds. Even moreso I hated myself for not being man enough to tell her that I was having an outbreak. Why let her go down or me or have sex? I should've thought of something quick? Im a lowlife piece of crap. That's how I felt. It just all happened so fast that I froze. What about her? What about my baby? How could I let this happen? Why did I stop taking my meds? Why didn't I leave on time? Oh yes, I got off track earlier in my story but I meant to say that I was only suppose to be there 10 days but I changed my flight and had it pushed back another week. Literally the very next day after I was suppose to go back is when I had an outbreak. I only stayed for her and it backfired because I gave her herpes but maybe I gave it to her a couple of days before that anyways? All of this was running through my head. I still didn't have the guts to tell her. I went and got more meds the next day. I was still having sex with her. Each time with a condom that she didnt know about. I pushed my flight back 2 more times and have been here for another 3 weeks.
I was kinda happy for a sec because her hand bumps went away pretty quick but then it came right back again. At the same time she said she feels like she’s about to get a pimple on her lip. She said she can feel it coming. She told me to look and you can see it getting red. Sure enough it was but it never came. It went right away like her hand and never returned. Her hand came back though then it went away pretty quick again. Now it came back a 3rd time and this time she now also has it on her opposite wrist. I started to freakout. l I think my girl has a weak immune system and she’s not a fighter when it comes to things that itch. She cant help but to scratch it so I knew it would be hard to heal. I did a ton of research and had all these questions. I read that I cant give her hsv 1 if I only have hsv 2 so Im positive that's what she has. However, I wondered was it only on her hand & wrist but not her vagina since she had no symptoms there and I wore a condom? Everything I read said different things. I wondered could it be Herpetic Whitlow but those things seem like on the finger tips while her’s is on the back of her hand and on the wrist. I read about zolster but she’s already had chicken pox. I read that if its above the waist then its oral HSV 2. Then I read that its the genital one but it has spread. I was going crazy.
I was hoping that maybe she got it somehow only on her hand/wrist and nowhere else. That its not on her genitals. I was trying to tell her that she needs to stop scratching and it seems contagious. I told her that its spreading but she kept scratching and had no relief. We were going to have sex again, she put her hand between her legs and I got upset at her and told her not do to that right now. I wasn't mean at all but more concerned and she said that she’s fine, its just a lil rash but it got worse. I read that you cant spread herpes to other parts after the initial infection but this is her 1st one so I was trying to get her to stop before she does it more & more. Yesterday she told me she has some bumps on the bottom of her belly and it looked a little like it but wasn't sure. Im just so scared. I hinted to her a few days ago that it maybe herpes but you can tell she didn't buy that. We tried Benadryl spray, alcohol, and others to stop the itching but nothing worked. She’s been showing her family the rash which was driving me crazy. I even got crazy enough to where the last couple of nights I put some of my acyclovir on ice cream or a donut and gave it to her without her knowing.
After she started scratching so bad last night I finally confessed everything to her and she’s been an emotional wreck. We use to not get along a lot anyways because she has a bad attitude at times while Im a pretty laid back dude. Her mother is very all knowing and overprotective so we don't get along all the time either. I just knew everything was going to come to a head. My girl has gone back & forth from crying uncontrollably to then being violent and attacking me. She said I ruined her life. She said she would've never been with me if she had known. She never talks about what happened a couple of weeks ago with the sores and me letting her go down on me. Instead she focuses about me knowing for 3 years and never telling her. She said she would've never done that to me. She said no one is going to want her and she doesn't want to be with me again. She then breaks down thinking about our baby. She said that the baby is probably going to have it and even if she doesn't at birth, that she wont be able to touch her because she will be so scared of infecting her with her hand & wrist like that. She is so distraught. One time she says she doesn't even want the baby anymore but then she changes.
She also got mad at me for giving her the meds since she might cant even take them when pregnant. Then she read about the 1st outbreak stuff late in pregnancy and she is going crazy. I told her that everything she is saying is right. I feel like Im the worst person on earth. I take full blame. I do at times get so upset at that doctor for taking me off the meds but I say that if I didn't let her go down on me that night or would've just not had sex when I saw the sore then the doctor still may have been right and I wouldn't have passed it on so its all my fault but maybe I was shedding before then and gave it to her anyways. She still brings up the 3 years thing but I told her that I didn't find out until after we had already had intercourse and by that time I felt like you either already would have it or Im on the meds now so she wouldn't get it. She had test she thinks for herpes when she got pregnant and came back negative. I was so happy at that time and thanked god because it had bothered me for years but now I went and screwed it up right after that anyways at the worst possible time. Right when she’s pregnant.
HSV2 almost never causes infections outside of the genital or oral area. It was highly unlikely that the hand condition was herpes related.
Your doctor is wrong about the tests. They do not become positive due to chicken pox. Most people have oral HSV1 which may be what he is referring to as being positive. There is of course a type specific test for HSV2 that you must obtain no later than the 36 week point. Infection from here on in places the child at risk of being infected with HSV2.
I'm sorry but you need to cease sex for the remainder of the pregnancy. This is the only way to be sure the 36 week test will tell whether an infection is present. A c-section maybe a consideration between the two of you if there is an infection or you've weighed up the risks.
Of course the doctor who suggested coming off daily antivirals is plain wrong, never see that doctor again. Daily use of antivirals reduces shedding and transmission... full stop. There is a reasonable chance here that your partner is not infected and you can think about preventative options after the baby is born.