sores in the urinary tract

Is there a way to test the urinary tract for sores?  I have had consistent pain after urinating ever since a sore showed up a year and a half ago on my outer labia. I have also had shooting pains in my urethra every once in a while which I've heard is a possible symptom with herpes, so I am wondering if I had an outbreak in the urethra and just didn't know it.  I've also experienced a bit of discharge from the urethra every once in a while, but not very often.  Even if I do not have a sore now in the urethra, I've read that an area where there was a sore could still cause a bit of pain, so I'm wondering maybe I had one there in the past and now it causes a bit of pain every time I urinate.  Does this sound possible?

I have been tested numerous times for other STD's, urinary tract infections, bacterial infections and nothing.  Currently they think it might be interstitial cystitis (irritation of the bladder) and are currently doing weekly installations to help resolve the irritation, but I'm finding that it has not really helped so I'm thinking that is not the issue.  The pain seems more localized- like in the urethra, not the bladder.  

So I'm just wondering- how does a dr. check for sores in the urethra?  Or even the cervix?

[Mistakeguy789]

A swab can be use to test the urethra.  But I am confused on your gender here because you say labia and your profile says you are male.  I am curious as to your gender.  Where you tested using a type specific igg test for herpes?  If not that may shed some light on what is going on down there.  

[gracefromHHP]

if it was herpes causing this, it would present with very obvious pain that lasts a few days at a time and feel very similar to an uti.

with all your issues you've been having for so long, I'm not real sure a urethral culture is going to be something you are interested in especially since you are already getting catheterized for the weekly instillation. I'd continue to follow up with your urologist at this point.

odds are this isn't herpes going on. hopefully you soon figure out what is going on and get it under control so that you feel better soon :)

[Lane17]

1.) Thank you.  I am curious about these "shooting pains".  Is that a common symptom with herpes?  I never experienced this until after I saw the sore a year and a half ago.

2.) Is it common to still feel pain and/or itching at the same spot after a sore has healed?

3.) I was diagnosed with HSV-1 via blood test because the sore had already closed up.  I have had two more instances (in the last year and half) where I have seen a sore both of which were also on the outer labia, one on each side.  One was cultured and came out negative, but the sore was not an all out ulcer.  The second one was not cultured because it was not an all out ulcer either and he didn't think they would get anything. Is it common to have sores that do not become full-fledged ulcers?  I have heard of instances where people have the pre-symptoms but do not end up having an outbreak. Is it possible to have an outbreak, but the sores do not become ulcers?      

4.) In between these incidents, I have experienced ongoing symptoms common of herpes- especially the "tingling" or "crawling" underneath the skin.  All of which I never felt before that very first sore that I saw a year and a half ago.  The symptoms seem to become a bit more prevelant when a sore has appeared. So even if I've only been confirmed via blood test, I feel like it's likely i have genital HSV-1.  Your thoughts on that?

Thank you so much for your time.

[gracefromHHP]

odds are that recurrences of genital herpes would not present each time with sores on each side as you've described. Also unless you are on antivirals, odds are it would progress to the ulcerative stage.

usually once a herpes lesion has healed, there aren't lingering sensations at that same location for very long.

pain with herpes only occurs during recurrences, not with random shooting pains.

odds really are that this is something else going on. I know you've had testing up one end and down the other and still don't have answers but it's probably ok to cross herpes as a cause off your list at this point. I hope you get answers and relief because I know from personal experience how much it totally sucks not having your nether regions being out of sight and out of mind like they should be  :(

[Lane17]

Yes, this has been a very stressful issue for me- the whole "i might have it/i might not" and not knowing what this is.  

I just wanted to clarify- the two sores after the initial one did not show up at the same time on both sides.  One appeared about 6-8 mos. after the initial sore on one side, and then another one about 6-8 mos. after that on the other side.  Both a bit parallel with each other which I've read that sores may not necessarily only show up on one side, but can show up parallel to one another since the nerves are parallel (i could be wrong on that- it's just one of the many things i've read- sometimes i'm not sure what is accurate!).  Is that possible with herpes?

Plus, when I believe i may have been infected, i remember a few days later having a really bad fever for a few days.  A week or two later is when the itching and burning on the outer labia began (VERY different than the occasional itching I've ever felt before).  And then about a month later is when I saw the initial sore.  I've also experienced the tingilng/crawling on the back of the legs, buttocks, and genital area around the time of the second and third sores and in between them.

I've never experienced any of this until that first sore, including the urinary tract issue, and i've been tested for everything, so it's hard for me to believe that I don't have it.  I just don't know what else it could be.  

Thanks again for your insight.  It's much appreciated.

[bobrope45]

when was the last time you had a blood test for herpes 1 and 2 igG? has it been 4 months after onset of symptoms?

it would be ideal to have any symptoms seen by a doctor, so they can swab any unusual thing going on. the urinary symptoms do not sound a lot like herpes because everyone who experiences sores in the urethra says that the pain is unbearable.

maybe going to the gyn and asking her/him to have a look into your vaginal to see if there's something going on would be a good idea. but there's nothing much to do besides waiting for symptoms and getting a swab.

do you have a regular partner? were you with him when this all started?

[Lane17]

I just had another one done and got results today- the Igm test came out negative (the time i think i was exposed  and had the pre-symptoms and initial sore was December 2009 - February 2010).  The Igg test: HSV-1 is positive. HSV-2 negative.  When I had the first blood test done in March of 2010, I think the Igm test was negative, but I'm waiting to confirm that with my gyn. because I don't remember.  I know that doesn't mean anything, though, because I could have gotten it a long time ago and only just now have an outbreak, right?

No, I do not have a regular partner.  It seems like I have the crawling/itching symptoms in the "boxershorts" area and back of legs on a somewhat regular basis.  I actually also feel it in my abdomen/stomach region too.  I feel them at least a few times a week.  And where the sores were- I still itch and "feel" them there sometimes.  But Grace has said that is not really common with sores.  This last time that I had a "sore" (although it wasn't an all out ulcer, and it wasn't really painful- just a bit tender and a bit of pain.  I'm told herpes sores are quite painful), the crawling/itching increased.  I was also feeling a bit under the weather.

Thanks for the advice.  I have gone to the gyn and urologist for the past six months.  Still trying to figure it out.  That's why i think i have genital herpes because everything else has pretty much been ruled out.  I know I only have the blood test to show for it, but the symptoms seem to match.  Thoughts?

[bobrope45]

The IgM does mean a thing; it's an unreliable test, so you can disregard its results.

With your latest results, it sounds like HSV2 is less of a possibility, while genital HSV1 is still possible. But as you probably know by now, a blood test does not tell you the location of the outbreak, meaning that it could be an oral infection, not a genital one.

Your crawling/itching symptoms, although they can be associated with herpes outbreak, would not reccur as much as you say they do (weekly). So they are most probably not related.

I guess everyone here will probably tell you that the best way to get an answer is to follow up with a specialist whenever you get sores/symptoms again, and make sure they swab it for herpes. This way you might be able to rule out herpes as a possible cause.

[bobrope45]

correction - The IgM result doesn't mean a thing*

[bobrope45]

correction(again) - does not tell you the location of the infection*