worried about herpes

[gardenvariety]

In the last week, I noticed one side of my inner labia was very swollen and itchy. This morning, two canker sore looking things appeared. They do not look like any herpes pictures I've seen on the internet, but only the worst case scenarios seem to be posted. Could this be herpes? What else might it be? There is also a milky white and thin discharge just under the labia on both sides. I have an appointment, but the wait is just giving me more time to worry about it.

[gracefromHHP]

Glad you got answers :)  Should your symptoms return within the next 2 months or so - return to the doctor to get retested for yeast and bacteria again to make sure it didn't come back. Sometimes those suckers can be pesky :(

Go bottomless around the house for the next couple of days too. Cool drying air helps to halt fungal overgrowth too.

grace

[gardenvariety]

grace, I can't thank you enough. I went to the doctor, and she said that it was a very clear and severe yeast infection. She sent me home with one pill, and said that most of the symptoms would be gone by morning.

Thank you so much. I was really scared to go, but you definitely helped me muster up the courage! We discussed testing after the infection was cleared up, but she said there was no evidence of herpes.

Thank you! I hope anyone that reads this will be somewhat less hesitant to go get treatment out of fear for the worst.

[gracefromHHP]

I advise you to also get a baseline herpes igg blood test while you are there.  If it's been less than 3 months since you last had sex you should repeat it in a few months if it's negative unless of course you also get a + herpes result from a lesion culture before then. Cover all your bases.

Let us know how your appointment went?

grace

[gardenvariety]

Thank you again. I am still so scared to go into the doctor today. I am going to, of course, but it's scary not knowing. The little canker sore looking things are gone already, but the skin where they were seems to have turned a bright red in spots, and purple in others. And it is so dry! I am reading all the things to do, and most say to wear loose clothing to let the sores sry, but I am sure it can't get any drier right there! Will they still be able to test or tell by sight?

Thank you, grace.

[gracefromHHP]

Yes they can. They irritate the skin and can cause ulcerations in the skin because of it as well as redness and pain. Don't underestimate those pesky lil vaginitis fellows :(

grace

[gardenvariety]

Thanks. I have never heard of bacterial or yeast infections causing sores of any kind. Is that possible? I am definitely keeping my appointment tomorrow morining! Thank you!

[gracefromHHP]

You should follow up on this tomorrow to see what is going on. You need examined plus tested for yeast infections and bacterial infections. If you've had unprotected sex with a new partner since the last time you had std testing you should repeat that too just to err on the side of caution.

grace