Runny nose, congestion and cough

[Chugarhodes]

I may have exposed my boyfriend to herpes.  We are usually very careful, but he was gone for a long time and we were not as careful as we should have been.  I was just coming out of an outbreak, these lesion was healed, but we had sex unprotected on the 15th of February, on the 16th we used a condom, but it came off and on the 18th  and the 24th we used a condom that worked both times.  On Tuesday March 4th he started having symptoms of head congestion, a runny nose, coughing and sneezing.  He has no fever or muscle aches and so far has seen no bumps or blisters.  I am losing my mind wondering if those flu-like symptoms that he does have could be the beginning of more flu like symptoms with blisters to come.  Have any of you heard of common cold symptoms being symptoms of the herpes virus?

[BeeBee49]

After 15 years of being with my husband I have finally contracted HSV from him. I found this site after googling "cold symptoms herpes" because over x-mas I noticed that I had a tickle in my nose and was sneezing. After 3 days the sneezing stopped but during this time I felt a prickly sensation in my pubic area. Almost like a piece of the plastic price tag string was still in my undies. And then one area began to feel like I was sticking my figernail into my skin when I touched it.
Since then I have been treating (topically) what look like leasions with garlic and coconut oil and adding black seed oil to my oolong tea.

[gracefromHHP]

this is a very old post. odds are the original poster is no longer checking in on it.

some of your statements are also not correct.  

valtrex has been proven to not only reduce shedding and reduce the number of ob's you have if you take it suppressively but it has also been shown to reduce transmission of herpes to a partner.  

yes indeed having hsv in one location helps protect you from contracting infections with that same type of herpes in another location. If a partner has hsv1 orally and the other has it genitally, it's incredibly unlikely that they'd contract it in another location.Just avoiding sex during obvious genital symptoms in the partner infected with it genitally is all it takes.  Yes you can have either type in either location and have more than 1 type in 1 location. Having multiple strains of the same type of herpes though has no bearing on anything according to research. it doesn't give you "worse" ob's and it won't trigger you to have more ob's or anything of that sort.

plenty of posts by the experts on this forum on all of this for more reading. the 3 experts we have here on medhelp are heavily involved in  herpes research and really do know what they are talking about.

also please be aware when you call the CDC hotline, you get folks who are not medical professionals reading off of approved information lists too.

grace

[greeneyedblonde1]

HSV 1 and HSV 2 are NOT LOCATIONS.  They are the severeness of the infection.  Ignore the one that said no protection if you both have HSV 1.  That is ridiculous.  There are hundreds of strands of both 1 and 2 and you still have to protect yourself.
YOU BOTH should be tested or retested.  Retest for him and you can go get your original test results and see what type you are but remember:  it's not a location.  So if you have HSV1 your a stronger potential of breakouts (but you can also go without) and HSV2 is less severe.  You can have both in both locations.  Call the Centers for Disease Control if you question anything not a doctor.  You put 10 in a room and they will all tell you something different.
Valtrex is only to LESSEN the legnth of the outbreaks and not to prevent anything.

[waringblender]

Jumping Jayzus, you're really missing the point here. The biggest issue you have is that you are taking Valtrex for herpes and you don't even know which type you have. If you have type 1, it's entirely possible your boyfriend also has it and then you wouldn't need ANY protection.

Get off the flu and cold bandwagon and go get yourself tested. Tell him to get tested too. Talk about missing the forest for the trees.

[veryconcerned77]

Is a cough generally associated with a herpes recurring ob in oral herpes?  I know the flu-like symptoms and sore throat can be, but I'm not sure if the cough is also associated with an ob?

Also, for someone with a primary ob of genital HSV 1, how long would the sore throat typically last?  And for future ob's, would the sore throat, fever, aches also recur?


Thanks.

[gracefromHHP]

Well if you don't know what type you have - isn't it time to find out? did your bf get tested for herpes before you started having sex too to know his status?

grace

[Chugarhodes]

I really don't know which one I have, I was diagnosed in 1989 a young girl in college and I am pretty sure that it was some type of swap test.  Yes I am on daily Valtrex.  I really appreciate you clarifying that for me.  We were both hoping that it was just the common cold and like I said it has been such a long time that I went through it, I simply did not know.  I really did a lot of research when I was initially diagnosed, but there is a whole lot more information as well as forms of treatment available to us now.  
Thank you again for the information, I was just a little confused about the flu-like symptoms

[Singleredhead49]

Hi i have had herpes for about 7 years now and i can tell you that you can absolutly have cold symptoms maybe miss grace has never had them but i have ! I am certainly not trying to worry you but unfortunitly my herpes outbreaks cause almost every symptom ,i get extremly fatigued i mean its horrible i am an energetic woman and this puts me down i want to sleep all the time i get a congested nose like a cold i dont get a cough but honestly i feel like i am dying! I get anxiety nausea ,aches ,pains ,headeaches,my eyes feel like i have pink eye it insane i think i get every stinking symptom ,so please just keep an eye out on your bf do not listen to ignorant people who have not had these symptoms everyone is completly different good luck u can get through this!singleredhead49.

[gracefromHHP]

I meant it as in - these aren't the type of symptoms that we mean when we say "flu like" symptoms that go along with a newly acquired herpes infection. these are symptoms of the common cold so no need to worry.

Do you have hsv1 or hsv2? Do you take suppressive therapy to help reduce your bf's risk as well as reduce ob's so there's less avoiding sex because of them?

grace

[Chugarhodes]

I know that they are symptoms of the common cold, I am just concerned that they may also be symptoms of the flu.  (All the websites say flu-like symptoms).  It's been almost 20 years since my primary outbreak and I simply don't remember whether or not I had those symptoms as well.  I remember the fever and the aches and chills before the lesions.  Thank you so much for your response.

[gracefromHHP]

Those are not flu like symptoms - those are symptoms of the common cold.  

grace