Possible Herpes Infection

[Jgirl79]

I recently got out of a 5 year relationship and since then I have had 2 sexual encounters with different men. My first encounter was on November 20th. We had unprotected oral sex, but not penetration. My second encounter was between December 7-15th. We also had unprotected oral sex and there was some penile/vaginal rubbing but no penetration.

The week of December 24th, I took a bath in what seemed to be not the best conditions. The tub was clogged, but I sat in it anyways. When I got out of the tub, it had to be pumped and a lot of really nasty stuff came out of it. Leading me to think perhaps this was not the best environment to be in. (I have always had a lot of sensitivity in my vagina ever sine I was very little. Very prone to UTI infections).

Starting on December 28th, I noticed a little tenderness on my right lymph node. On the 29th, I had major discomfort in my vagina. I noticed that I had a very white, watery, thin, sticky discharge. If I pulled the skin on my lips really hard, these tiny little bumps show, but I think those are normal and have always been there. I purchased a vaginal PH testing kit and my results were in the yeast/normal range. I purchased Monistat 7 and started treating what I thought was a yeast infection. I noticed that there was a  small bump on the right side of my labia minora, but it was painless and was not filled with any pus or liquid. I also noticed little finger like pieces of skin in a straight line leading to my vagina. The area was very red and I was experiencing some itching and discomfort. No buring during urination.

I currently do not feel any itching/burning, but the little bumps and skin are still present and there is still a slight discharge. The bumps are not filled with anything, no popping, no scabbing, and painless. Is it possible that this could be a herpes infection?

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

I'm so sorry, but I cannot help you with these very specific questions about clinical presentations.  If you can see something you should have these looked at by a clinician in your area.

This will be my last post on this thread.

Terri

[Jgirl79]

Hi Terri,

Yesterday, I woke up with what seemed like a red pimple on my top lip. My lip was very red and swollen around the edges. If I stretch the skin on my lip out a little bit, I noticed that I have 5 little white bumps on it. You can't see them if you look at it normally. I am going to assume that this is a cold sore. How long will it take it to start to weep? Is there anything I can do to make this go away faster?

I also started itching down below yesterday. It wasn't an internal itch, but rather itching on the top where the hair grows. It drove my crazy yesterday. I put some anti-itch cream and took a Benadryl and it helped. This morning, I woke up and have the same itch again, just not as badly. I had some discomfort with a pair of underwear that kept creeping into my vagina. Those bumps are still there, look the same, and don't hurt when I touch them. I'm concerned that the underwear was perhaps rubbing against them was causing the discomfort. Should I be concerned? If the bumps are Herpes, what would they look like before/after weeping/scabbing? How painful if any would they be? If I'm having an oral OB could I be getting one down there as well?

[Jgirl79]

Terri,

I've had what I always thought were canker sores. It is very possible that I've had what I thought were pimples but could have been a cold sore. I'm really not sure. It's been about 3-4 weeks since I started symptoms of something. The little red bumps are still present on my inner labia. I've tried popping them, rubbing them, and nothing happens. The white discharge is starting to come back now, but still not as bad as it was before. It's hard to think that this could be genital herpes because I'm sure something would have happened to these little bumps by now. I have had no pain associated with them at all.

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

I think the sore throat is a red herring in this situation.

Have you ever in your life had a cold sore on your lip?  It might be worth having the sore swabbed in your mouth to see if it is HSV.  When you say lip, I think maybe oral herpes.

Terri

[Jgirl79]

Hi Terri,

I recently just had a full STD test done this week. I have never had an STD test done for Herpes before this. I tested positive for HSV-1. My value was greater than 5. My HSV2 value was .11.

I have not seen a provider to be tested for other possible infections yet like HPV, yeast or BV.

I'm not sure where my HSV1 is located. I still have not developed anything blisters or lesions down in my genital area. The little bumps and finger like projections are still there, so maybe they are just normal for me.

My throat however has still been bothersome. I have coughed up a few thick, yellow chunky pieces of stuff. Not sure what it is. I also have a painful sore on the bottom of my gum/lip. Not sure if this could be an oral herpes infection I'm having or just a canker sore.

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

I'm not sure where the answer to this went.  I did answer your post and now it appears to be gone.

I seriously doubt you would get herpes from the bath.  You might, however, acquire other bacterial infections.

The finger-like projections that you describe sound quite normal to me as well as the bumps, at least the way you describe them.  They could well be hair follicles without a hair in them?  

Have you seen a health care provider to evaluate this situation?  It is so difficult to sort out symptoms like this when I can't see what you are describing.  

The throat situation is also unclear to me.
Have you been tested for herpes in the past?

Terri

[Jgirl79]

I forgot to mention that I also developed a sore throat. For a few days, it felt as if I had something stuck in the back of my throat and was experiencing very dry mouth. I just looked in the mirror and there is a red spot on my uvula and there is a dark bump (dry blood) on the side of my mouth. The sore throat lasted for two days. I never developed a fever with it.