can one outbreak trigger another

[curious90]

My husband and i have it. if one of us has and ob can it trigger the other to have one? and since we both have it do we have to be as careful??

[daisy315]

Are you talking about HSV1 or HSV2 ??? when you say you both have IT .....

[curious90]

ya i am althouh we haven't been officially diagnosed with an IgG test. also can a test show how long you've been infected??

[gracefromHHP]

no the blood test doesn't show how long you've been infected.

has your partner been tested?

grace

[curious90]

he was "diagnosed" but  not blood tested. and the thing is the more i think about it the more i doubt it's hsv1 or 2. because if it is that hten i got it 3 years ago and haven't had an outbreak since then untill the end of june! ah!

[gracefromHHP]

so neither of you have had blood testing done yet for herpes?

did your husband receive a visual diagnosis of herpes or did he have a lesion culture come back +?

grace

[curious90]

just a visual disgnosis. and every site and doctor journal and everything swears that it can't live longer than 6 months without shedding at least once. but i hadn't had ANY in the three years.

[gracefromHHP]

There is a difference between shedding and the obvious lesions.  I think perhaps you are confusing the two?


At this point you both need to seek out better testing so that you know who has what.  

grace

[curious90]

yes i'm really new to this stuff. but what would be the most common thing to be misdiagnosed as herpes?

[gracefromHHP]

it can be fungal or bacterial for starters. Lots of things out there which is why proper testing is the best course of action.

grace

[curious90]

thanks i just dont see how this could be herpes without showing some sign in the three years that i've supposedly had it. and the doctor also said that if it was then my husband would have gotten it the first time we had unprotected sex, and he's never shown signs until now. so i'm confused

[gracefromHHP]

so 3 years ago you were diagnosed as having herpes or you just assume you probably had it first because of symptoms you had 3 years ago?

if you have hsv1 genitally, it hardly ever reoccurs.

Even with hsv2, most folks aren't getting painful and obvious recurrences which is why igg blood testing is a good idea periodically.

grace

[curious90]

no i'm just assuming. and that would make sense that it was just hsv 1. because the first ob was very painfull but this last one i hardly noticed.  and my friend told me that my first partner got it by oral. and i've only had two partners, him and my husband. but i guess i do need to get a blood test. i'm goingto next time i visit my obgyn which is really soon.

[gracefromHHP]

At this point all you have between the two of you is a lot of unanswered questions. Both of you getting the type specific tests are a step in the right direction to figure this all out. You don't have to be seen to get the blood tests done, just give your regular doctor a call and ask them to order the blood tests for you both.

grace

[curious90]

about how long does the blood test take? i thought it was really stupid of the derm to "diagnose" it as hsv 2 without a specific test. isn't the doctor supposed to reccomend a test if he/she suspects something that serious?? and my husband thinks this guy knows everything, but i just dont know.