Whats the big deal with genital hsv 1?

[Andi45]

Hello all,

A little about myself. I am 22 years old and I have been diagnosed with genital hsv 1 :( I was told that it is not a big deal and it is up to me if i want to disclose or not being that oral hsv 1 is much more contagious and obviously more visible to everyone. I am afraid to tell my parents espiecially my mom. Shes always giving me speeches about STD's and I felt I have let her down. I was given the virus through oral sex by my bf who denies having hsv 1 through a negative blood tests. I know I got it from him as I have been faithful and sexually active with him only. Here are some questions I would like to be helped me:

1. Do I have to tell my parents? I know Im at a age that I can make my own decisions but Im scared they will find out since we all live together :(
2. Im afraid of passing this on to my siblings through toilets or eating utensils. Is this possible?
3. Will I get ocular herpes or anything else related to oral herpes assuming that I also contracted this too? I have never had cold sores or itching on my lips or anything but what are the chances.
4. I am not with my boyfriend anymore. How do I tell future partners about my hsv 1 without sounding like im a leper because this is how I feel right now :'(

This has been hard for me to deal with as this is constantly on my mind and I am constantly checking my vagina for sores or cuts. I was diagnosed through culture by the way. I am scared that I will spread this to myself or my eyes or to someone else.

Can someone help me please :'(

[MM810]

Hi! Can you email me at ***@**** I was just diagnosed with hsv1 I'm having a hard time and i read all your posts and i think it would help to talk to you

[sarahsfocus]

I just seen your post.can you please tell me what meds you were talking about?

[graul56]

I found a medicine that will prevent the outbreaks of cold sores (hsv-1) instantly.  As soon as you recognize the symptons of an outbreak you just take this medicine and it will prevent it form coming out of your body like in fever blisters and then cold sores.  I have been testing this medicine for years and it works.  I have the virus and since taking this medicine I have not had an outbreak in over 10 yrs.  It works.  I still get about 3-5 times a year the symptoms of the virus about to come out but every time I feel this I take my medicine and no sores around the lips.  The best thing about it is that this medicine is safe to take for ages 6 up to adulthood.  Another thing it costs less than .40 cents/outbreak.  e-mail me at ***@****

[Life360_Dave]

Hi, this is a very old post but you can send her a private message if shes still active.

[hellothere11]

hey girl. i was just diagnosed too. i am super sad. but we have to find ways to deal. who did u contract it from and where is that person in your life now? did they dump u?
hang in there. be strong. you will be ok.

[hellothere11]

hey girl. i was just diagnosed too. i am super sad. but we have to find ways to deal. who did u contract it from and where is that person in your life now? did they dump u?
hang in there. be strong. you will be ok.

[heidybaby]

Thank you giys so much for this I really. Eeded this I was jist diagnosed w the same thing and I've become suicidal becauseI just can't believe I'm gking through this not only rhat but alone :'(:'(:'( I'm 20yrs old suffering.. the tragedy

[seekingcompassion701]

Recently diagnosed w/ hpv1. No outbrks. Dont no how long I've had this. Duz it make h hav difficulty urinating? Wat can I do2prevent ftom having an outbreak? Can u catch this from sharing drinks?

[gracefromHHP]

Herpes is not routinely tested for and it's never a reason to keep you from landing a job.

already discussed the issues with testing in a prior reply. scroll back up and read it again :)  you know your partner gets cold sores. he has hsv1 even though it's not being reflected on the blood testing he is getting done. If he needs to confirm it in his own mind, his next cold sore he should be seen within 48 hours of its appearance for a lesion culture and typing, preferably a pcr swab if he can get it done.

[Andi45]

Also, does hsv 1 usually come out negative in the blood tests? My ex called me the other day and told me that he did a repeat blood test to be sure that he wasnt the one to give me his hsv. He said he tested negative for both types. How is this possible? My doctor said he has it and is not testing for it or he is lying to me just so that I can feel bad. He had a visible cold sore the week after I broke out and had the flu. His son also developed a cold and had a fever of 105. Im 100% sure I the hsv 1 from him. I was negative for everything before meeting him. How is this possible.

Also, are genital hsv 1 detected on blood tests? I know that it comes out negative sometimes for people but if they have a lesion swabbed then the negative blood tests means nothing right?

[Andi45]

Thats how I got infected. I made the mistake of shaving before intercourse and the next day I had developed a sore :-( I regret that so much.

Has hsv interferred with someone wanting to look for jobs like when they do screenings for immunizations and all of that stuff?

[bobrope45]

The virus needs to be massaged into the skin and find a break in it to actually infect cells. Therefore a plain liquid sitting on his stomach won't do it.
The same thing applies to saliva. You might find the virus in saliva in oral infections, but saliva itself won't do the work.

[Andi45]

:( So since its on vaginal fluid lets say if I cum on my boyfriend and some falls on his stomach will he develop an hsv 1 rash? Is it in sweat and saliva? Assuming that someone spits in your face.

Sorry for being so nasty Im just scared and want to take every precaution possible.

[gracefromHHP]

return to be seen again for the itching issue to find out what is causing it.

hsv1 genitally tends not to reoccur much so daily suppressive therapy isn't routinely recommended for it. treating any recurrences with antivirals however is.

yes herpes can be present in body fluids but urine on the seat isn't a transmission risk. it's always polite to wipe any urine you dribble of course :)

[Andi45]

I think the itch i have is irritation. Im trying to to touch it because then it will itch more. I called my doctor and she said that im fine that im over thinking things and to just relax. How long is this itching suppose to last? I am not on medication do you think I should get on it to stop the itching? I wash everyday and change my underwear a lot. Its the area where my pubic hair is not exactly on my vagina

[Andi45]

Thank you Grace your so helpful! I wish you could be my GYN!! I feel like everytime I call my GYN she thinks oh heres this crazy girl again. Im always asking her questions and her response is always its so common and almost everyone has them and shrugs her shoulders whenever I ask her a question.

The bf and getting to know situation is whats getting to me. No one seems to want to date me because of that. The two guys i was talking to dumped me because of it. One of them was my high school bf and the other I met in college and both have not been answering my calls and have blocked me from everything. Its hard not to feel disgusting and unwanted :(

I always read the forums to get a little resurrance. I know theres more to me than this its just so hard that people are so ignorant.

For the pregnancy thing, I read a forum that said that doctors sometimes dont prescribe medication to patients with ghsv 1 because its little to no recurrence. Does this remin true?

Also I saw on another forum that hsv is in semen and vaginal fluids is this also true? Would leaving a little pee by accident on a toilet cause someone to catch hsv?

I've grown a little paranoic and have been looking at everyones lips to see if they have sores and have had no luck :( This is taking me more time then I thought of getting use to.

My GYN did an HIV blood test and called me with the negative results after a week. Is 2 months from exposure enough? MY GYN said HIV is symptom less and takes a while to appear. Im going back in July to retest for everything. Its just so scary because my body feels different and no one is telling me whats wrong with my arm :(

[gracefromHHP]

yes it is true - it's an overall 3% risk of having a baby that has a birth defect and less than 1% having a baby with herpes. it really is that low of a risk.

depends on which hiv test as to its accuracy 2 months post encounter. you'd have to ask about the one you had on  the hiv forum.  it's very low risk in general that you would get hiv anyways thankfully.

it's just herpes ,, no reason to be disgusted by it . if this is the worst thing life ever hands you, you should consider yourself very blessed. Give yourself time, really dealing with it will get better :)

[Andi45]

Im so depressed right now. Dealing with this is so hard. Ive heard that transmission from a mom to a baby is less than 1% that the risk of having a baby with deficits and other things is more is this true? Im so afraid of going into a new relationship. The guy i was talking to dump me because he said this was not something he wanted to deal with even though i told him out of anger that he will end up with it anyway as he got older. I recently started talking to another guy and he brushed me off once i told him. he said he has never been exposed and has stopped talking to me completely.

I feel like im setting myself for rejection with this I feel so hopeless. Can someone give me tips to better deal with this. I have my days when Im ok then other days i feel disgusted with myself.

[Andi45]

Hi Grace,

Is an HIV test reliable if taken within 2 month of last sexual encounter? Mine was negative but Im freaking out because my body feels so weird. My left arm has been tingling ever since i was diagnosed with hsv 1 and ive been to a nuerologists and she tested my nerves and said everything looked fine. Ive been going to physical therapy and it hasnt been helping the tingling is still there. I feel it more when the cold hits my arm :( Is this suppose to be happening? I was reading on PHN and it says it cant be that.

[gracefromHHP]

it's normal to get the blues when first diagnosed as having herpes. give yourself some time and if you can't move forward with it on your own within a few months, seek out the help of a counselor or therapist. An infectious disease provider wouldn't be appropriate for this and frankly many of them are only good at testing for herpes, not giving education and support :(

Keep yourself busy so you don't have time to fixate on the IDEA of having herpes. it's something you have, not what you are - there is soooooo much more to you than just a virus that by the time we retire, 80% of the population in the US alone has.

[Andi45]

Thanks grace your awesome! I was thinking of meeting with an infectious disease doctor or a therapist because I feel like my self esteem has gone down a WHOLE LOT from what it use to be. I have my days when Im with family and Im sitting on the couch just staring into space. Then I have my other days when Im my normal self laughing making jokes and everything. I know im still normal its just hard to think that i now have something in me thats sleeping and will come up to remind me of how I got it.

[gracefromHHP]

no, we don't test for herpes through urine.

no, urine left on the seat isn't a transmission risk.  Of course it's always polite to wipe up any left there but other than that - not a problem :)

[Andi45]

So can someone contract hsv from my urine if i left some on the toilet seat? not thsat I do that because I always clean it after I use it but can someone catch it like that?

I know when I went to my GYN she took my urine but she didnt tell me if it was to test for hsv or not.

[gracefromHHP]

you can have herpes in your urine but it's not transmitted that way ( for instance urine left dribbled on a toilet seat or participating in "water games" ).

even if a partner doesn't have hsv1 himself, it's not likely that they'd contract your genital hsv1 from you. Hsv1 genitally doesn't shed much so it's very low risk of genital to genital transmission.