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newly diagnosed Genital Herpes Type 1 - questions

ok, firstly apologises this is going to be a bit of an essay, bt I need to fully explain my circumstances before I ask my questions. Secondly I know no one is going to be able to give me a definitive answer on this but I just need views etc. and finally , I know what ever people say its not going to change anything, but I just need information to help me get my head straight.

Oh and im going to get a bit 'detailed' so apologises if its too 'graphic'



Ok, so the situation is, I was diagnosed with type 1 genital herpes a few days ago.  The facts are: I am with a new partner ( couple of months but only been having sex for the last month). Within a week of having unprotected anal sex ( yes I should know better) i started to feel achey , fluey and generally unwell.  this was followed by extreme pain in my back passage area , to the extent  when i tried to go to the loo I was in tears as I was in so much pain. Other things i noticed was I had a 'spot' near my backside and where my lip had split slightly from chapped lips I had an ulcer on it - never had one of those before.  Anyway I assumed I had just got a slight tear internally as the sex was rather rough, and had ended up with some sort of injection sowent to the GU clinic to get checked out.  Nurse examined me and said internally within my anus she could see slight trauma but also what looked like ulcers which could be herpes. I had no ulcers /sores in my vaginal area.  Swab done etc etc and results have come back type 1 genital herpes. - big shock.  

my past is that prior to this partner I havent had sex for 10 mths and last partner I was with was for two years.we had unprotected vaginal / anal sex. previous to that I did have a number of partners over the years, but at most only two did I have unprotective anal sex with.  Throughout all this time as far as I can remember I never had any symptoms or issues 'down below'

The nurse at the clinic said based on my sexual history, the severity of the outbreak, and the timescales for when I had sex with my new partner and the type of sex we had it all pinpoints to the fact I have been given this virus by him.

now im not on a witch hunt, and I accept that I only have myself to blame for practising unprotected sex, I have admitted to my partner  what I have been diagnosed with but his response is, well I dont have any symptoms, never have and my last girlfriend never had any problems so you cant have got this from me....... so my questions are...

what is the likelyhood that I could have had this for years , never had any symptoms and this is an inital outburst caused by whatever?
how long after inital exposure can the virus lay dormant before any sort of outbreak
due to where the sores were found ( internally) , is this going to be the site where I was initally exposed to the virus - and therefore is it a case that regardless of who passed on this virus to me, it would have to have been someone who I had had anal sex with
could I have had minimal outbreaks in the past and not realised and then for whatever reason out of nowhere had a really bad episode?
Is the fact that I got an ulcer on my lip at the same time any significance? - does it indicate / confirm that it was an inital outburst dues to the fact I was exposed to the virus in two places at the same time
how likely is it that my partner has passed this to me if he has never had any symptoms and nor has his ex girlfriend
if / when I get a reoccurance will it always be internally in my anus, or could it show up elsewhere - Im worried I could get one and not know !
I think thats it lol, he is going to the clinic this week to see if they will give him a blood test, but he is just very much, well I havent any symptoms so It cant be me, u just must not of known.   Like I said it wont change anything, but Im just trying to get my head round this and the fact that I may have had this for years and the implications of that.  



Thanks for taking the time to read this and any opinions u can give x


4 Responses
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101028 tn?1419603004
this very well could be hsv1 orally also. if it reoccurs you can try to get a lesion culture done on that to confirm.

you picked male as your gender which is confusing and why I asked for gender.  

your partner getting tested will give you better answers. ultimately when and from whom you contracted hsv1 genitally isn't the issue - it's knowing what you have, what your partner has and then being able to make educated decisions about what precautions to take together.  you might never confirm for sure if your hsv1 came from this partner but odds are very well might've.  
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Avatar universal
Hi thank u for taking the time to read my post and responding.
In answer to ur question, I am female, my partner is male.
We did have oral sex prior to me getting any symptoms. Just for clarity my 'lip' was not split until after then, and the ulcer that appeared did so at the same time I started to get the pain in my 'back side'
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101028 tn?1419603004
did you and your partner also have oral sex anytime within a few weeks prior to your symptoms?

your partner will need to seek out a type specific herpes igg blood test to see what his status is. even though the blood tests we have for hsv1 aren't as accurate as they are for hsv2, it's still a step in the right direction.

are you male or female?

grace
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1174003 tn?1308160819
Welcome to the forums!

First off all I am sorry for what is going on.  I am glad though you found us to ask your questions.  Let's jump into the questions.

1.  what is the likelyhood that I could have had this for years , never had any symptoms and this is an inital outburst caused by whatever?

With HSV-1 genitially there is a possibility because the virus doesn't reoccur that often.  Though I would say what you experinced was an initial infection (based on the pain and the location of first infection is typically at the site of infection) and given the timeframe when the symptoms where noticed and the last sexual encounter.  But like you said we can't be 100% sure.  

The best way to have get the best answer would have been if they did bloodwork as well as the swab and sent it for an igg test.  Though it wouldn't be perfect but if you turned out to be negative on blood work and the swab positive (like in your case) then you re-test in 3 months then you come up positive you know that the encounter was your initial infection.  

2. how long after inital exposure can the virus lay dormant before any sort of outbreak
due to where the sores were found ( internally) , is this going to be the site where I was initally exposed to the virus - and therefore is it a case that regardless of who passed on this virus to me, it would have to have been someone who I had had anal sex with

The virus takes about 2-20 days for the initial infection to show up.  The initial outbreak typically is at the site of infection.  But the virus can show up anywhere in the boxer shorts region.  So the answer to this question is most commonly it would be from the anal sex.  Again no 100% for sure that it was from that.  

3. could I have had minimal outbreaks in the past and not realised and then for whatever reason out of nowhere had a really bad episode?

Could yes. Likely?  Probbly not.  I mean HSV-1 genitially is the virus that doesn't like the genitial area so it doesn't cause a lot of outbreaks.  Given what you went through on the first time noticing it I would say this was initial outbreak.  

4.  Is the fact that I got an ulcer on my lip at the same time any significance? - does it indicate / confirm that it was an inital outburst dues to the fact I was exposed to the virus in two places at the same time

If the ulcer was HSV-1 and you performed oral sex or kissed him then I would say yes that would help prove that both sites were infected at the same encounter.  But without having that being a cold sore then we won't know if that was the case.  If you had HSV-1 before you rarely will get it at another location.

5. how likely is it that my partner has passed this to me if he has never had any symptoms and nor has his ex girlfriend

You know there was a study done with people who tested positive with HSV but didn't know they had it.  80% of them agreed they had those symptoms when they were told what the symtoms for herpes was.  He may not even know he HAD it because it was so mild he thought it was something else.  I would suggest your partner get a Herpes igg blood test.  Given your word usage I would assume you are one of our UK friends.  I do know that you may have to pay out of pocket for the herpes igg test because it isn't covered by your insurance.  

His ex-girlfriend not having symptoms doesn't mean anything honestly.  So if he had it and she just didn't have sex with him during an outbreak or shedding she wouldn't be infected.  Plus she may have had a mild outbreak and blown it off as well.

6.  if / when I get a reoccurance will it always be internally in my anus, or could it show up elsewhere - Im worried I could get one and not know !

The outbreak can happen anywhere in the boxer shorts region.

I would advise you go read the herpes handbook found at www.westoverheights.com  Terri Warren who is our Herpes Expert (you would pay to post to her in the expert forums) is the one that created the handbook and owner of the clinic.  They deal with herpes a lot.  I would highly advise you and your partner read the Herpes Handbook and go through the patient counseling videos.  They will both provide you a large amount of information.  Which I think is going to help you.  

As always ask us questions.
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