a few questions

i have a few questions regarding genital herpes...

1. how rare is it for herpes to appear as one single painless lession?
2. can herpes reapper different places (i.e. between thigh, next month on penis, next month on butt, etc.)
3. can herpes appear 'under the skin' as a zit apposed to 'on the skin' which it is known for
4. can herpes appear and never form a blister or open lession, just retreat into the skin?
5. does herpes ever cause deep dark scarring?

[kristocat]

I don't think herpes causes scarring, from everything i've read. I've had scarring from ingrown hairs that have left what look like dark pimples....before i got herpes. As to your herpes questions, herpes can appear in different places but usually appears at the area where it entered the body. And open sores don't necessary appear. Sometimes nothing appears!

Look, go get tested to be safe. My boyfriend just gave me herpes and never knew he had it! The only signs he ever showed as occassional redness, and he thought it was from masturbating. wouldn't have caused anyone alarm, but let me tell you.....he passed it on to me, and my first outbreak was worse than anything i've experienced.  GO GET TESTED!

[waringblender]

Didn't you ask this on the doctor side of the forum? I'm not sure a bunch of Internet yokels can do a better job of answering this question than a medical professional.

[gracefromHHP]

1. how rare is it for herpes to appear as one single painless lession?

It's not rare at all. It's actually more common than it appearing as a cluster of lesions.


2. can herpes reapper different places (i.e. between thigh, next month on penis, next month on butt, etc.)

Yes.  About 1/4 of folks who have hsv2 genitally get symptoms in various places in the 'boxer short' area as we commonly refer to it as.

3. can herpes appear 'under the skin' as a zit apposed to 'on the skin' which it is known for

Herpes appears differently in different people.

4. can herpes appear and never form a blister or open lession, just retreat into the skin?

If you are having symptoms like this - you need to go see your doctor. This could be herpes but then again it could also very easily be something else like a bacterial skin infection or something.

5. does herpes ever cause deep dark scarring?
Usually not though sometimes lesions on the buttocks and thighs will leave marks for awhile.

grace

[slacker101]

Grace, When you say a single lesion, could you describe what this might look like in enough detail to speculate that it might be herpes?

[gracefromHHP]

Herpes looks differently on everyone. It's best to see your doctor for an exam and testing.

grace

[slacker101]

Grace,
     I wrote Dr. Hansfield in the STD Room about his standing on herpes lesions on initial infection tends to be commonly multiple lesions and you say it is common to be a single lesion. He deleted my posting and never answered it. Who is right? Him and Dr. Hook stand on the multiple lesions and you say single.

[gracefromHHP]

The issue with saying there will always be multiple lesions is - if you have hsv1 orally previously you probably won't. Same as if it's not really a newly acquired herpes infection but just your first obvious recurrence of a previous infection you won't get multiple lesions either. Since studies have found that over 50% of presumed newly acquired herpes infections really aren't - I totally stand by what I say.  "classically" indeed there would be multiple lesions.  Since the vast majority of folks aren't having "classic" primary genital herpes symptoms - I don't like to say that if it's only 1 lesion it's not herpes.  

Even in myself - I only had single lesions at a time for the first year or so of being infected - then I had the ob from hell with multiple lesions everywhere. Even today I still sometimes get ob's that involve multiple lesions in multiple areas. If you go strictly by the "classic" presentations - you miss the reality of what genital herpes is about :(    Of course my herpes has never followed the book either but in the 8 years I've been doing the herpes boards now - a good many of folk's aren't having textbook herpes infections.  

I've never met Dr Hook but HHH I have met and we sometimes don't agree - sometimes I'll even disagree publically on the board with him - other times I do it in emails privately. They both tend to respond with the info that applies to the most people so that they aren't causing everyone to panic and think that everything has just got to be due to herpes ( which isn't always a bad way to respond either ).  Put 10 different medical practioners who deal with herpes on a regular basis in a room together and you'll get 10 different answers every single time!  Absolutely nothing though can replace getting examined by an experienced practioner and getting tested!!!

grace

[slacker101]

That's interesting Grace. Let me ask you this; what did your lesion look like in the beginning? I understand medically it pretty much is a red base with a bump but what does the bump look like? I ask this because the bumps I see in pictures are those of Blisters and I think there is a difference between blisters and bumps no? Do the Blisters form on the Bump? Are the Blisters with the clear fluid in it fragile? This is all pertaining to Genital Herpes.

[gracefromHHP]

I never questioned my first 2 ob's - to me they looked exactly like a pimple. Popped them each time and thought nothing of it. Had never had a pimple in my genital area before then and have never had any since then but at the time - I just assumed that's what it HAD to be ( denial is wonderful! ).  Now my ob's usually start out as an itch and then progress directly into an ulcer in the skin.  

Read thru the boards and you'll see lots of folks have totally "non-classic" ob's. Many folks are diagnosed just thru cuts in the skin - not even any actual blisters as the literature says to look for.  

A blister is usually fluid filled and a bump is more solid.  HHH tells me that if you let a herpes blister go long enough without popping - it will turn from clear fluid to a milky/puss-like discharge but I've never seen anyone who's gotten that far.

The best thing is if you have anything unusual in the genital area - go be seen that day and ask for a culture. Nothing can replace that. With the incidence of bacterial infections out there too it's well worth follow up with a professional.

grace

[slacker101]

Let's say you get the itch and getting ready for an outbreak. How rapidly does your ulcer form? Also, if a bump isn't a blister and a blister is herpes, what are you looking for with a bump to consider it herpes? The only pictures I have found on the internet is ulcers and blisters but not bumps. I am curious what a herpes bump is.

[gracefromHHP]

The only way a "bump" is due to herpes is if it stops early on and never progresses to the vesicle stage.  Usually that doesn't happen unless you are on antivirals.  Hard bumps usually are not due to herpes.

I know it's really hard - you read the studies/articles, you read the online posts and you start thinking that if the sun rises in the morning - that's a sign of herpes!!!  That's why it's so often overlooked by both patients and medical professionals - because it's not always going to present itself so obvious as a herpes ob that even a first year medical student could recognize it as herpes ( trust me - 1st year medical students barely know the difference between a bruise and a birth mark!!! ). At the same time - there's a hell of a lot of other things that cause the exact same symptoms that have nothing to do with herpes!  It's important not to allow yourself to obsess over it all - there is only so much you can control about your body and illness.  If you have active symptoms - be seen within 24-48 hours of their appearance and get a lesion culture or pcr swab done of them. Consider a baseline herpes blood test if you've never had one and then repeat it in 3 months if need be.  Sometimes even the best thing to do in the meantime is to turn off the computer, turn off the tv ( which sucks anyways right now ) and go out and live your life.  Go volunteer in your community and give to others while giving yourself something to do to keep your mind off things.  Not everyone is a walking biohazzard no matter what the news media tries to make us think and should you happen to contract any sort of std - well join the crowd - 1 out of every 3 of us do have one of them at least at sometime in our lifetime.  Don't be surprised when you do get any sort of infection - be it sexual or even the common cold - they are a fact of life.  

grace

[slacker101]

Wow, that was very informative. So are you saying if you were NOT on Antivirals and a bump forms, it progesses from the bump to the vesicles, scabs? I had a bump a few months ago that showed up literally within hours and it wasn't red or anything and I put some calamine lotion and tea tree oil etc on it and it flattened out in about 3 days. The skin stayed pink for about a month with a wrinkley pink appearance. I never got blisters or ulcers or pains of any kind. What do you make of that? Dr. Hansfield says it wasn't a herpes lesion by my description and that I was basically a moron for suggesting it, haha. What do you think?

[gracefromHHP]

I agree that your description of things doesn't sound much like herpes. If you've been worrying about it this long - why not just get a herpes blood test in another month and then be done with it so you can move on?

grace