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Can you have herpes, but not have genital or mouth cold sore herpes?

My husband has had a weird infection under his nail for years, it comes and goes. Swollen, gross rash, then normal for a while, then flare. After every known treatment for nail infections failed, we found a doctor that said it was a herpes viral infection, that it was likely a form of the herpes encephalitis virus, not herpes simplex virus and that it didn't come from a sexual situation, but likely droplets or contact, which makes sense because he worked in a mancamp for a long time that was very unclean and they got all kinds of junk from each other for lack of hand washing, etc. Anyway, the doc said not to worry about the finger infection spreading unless the sores are open. Not long after he got a skin rash on his back and was diagnosed with shingles, but the rash comes back every now and then and has spread to a small area near his armpit. We don't live in the same state anymore, so we can't go back to that doctor. But recently, a friend of mine in medical school showed us a picture of a herpes encephalitis rash on a man's lower back that he saw in a text book and it looks just like my husband's rash... but we both get regular std testing and have always been negative, but this skin thing has gone on for years. Is it possible to have a herpes virus of some kind, with recurring rash, but NOT have genital herpes or the cold sore kind??
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1415174 tn?1453243103
COMMUNITY LEADER
Yes I read from the VZV foundation  (Varicella zoster) that if it is shingles it usually doesn't recur in the same place the second time or third time. Also, as you know, shingles is usually painful. This site says that it may be another Herpes virus that comes up if it is in the same place. Also it is recommended that you get the rash cultured. This way you can find out what it really is. If it is a strain of Herpes then they can culture it and  type it or even do DNA sequencing on it or other molecular testing. It would be a good idea. If it is shingles then it can cause problems down the line when he gets older. So he may want to get treatment with Acyclovir.  If it is isn't then they might get an idea of what it is. Generally, Herpes zoster isn't silver dollar sized. But the pink part can be that big but the blisters are not. It is very unusual for both of you to be negative for Herpes type I IgG.
mkh9

http://www.vzvfoundation.org/shingles&phn.html
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Avatar universal
Thanks for your reply, I will check out the article. My husband has never had a cold sore before and never had any kind of blister on his genitals. We both get tested frequently and always test negative. Which is weird. The rash on his back and arm do look very similar to shingles sometimes, but they don't hurt and he's had them about 9 times per year since he supposedly had shingles. That's why I thought it was something else, simply for the fact that it recurs so often over such a long period of time. Another thing that I forgot to mention is that when the rash on his back and arm is there, its an area about the size of a silver dollar and it does get tiny clear blisters. He keeps them covered with bandages because we still don't know what they are, and after about a week the clear blisters are gone and the little spot where it was scars. Th en when it recurs, its over top of where it was before, every time. Just weird...
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1415174 tn?1453243103
COMMUNITY LEADER
Yes the Herpes on the fingers could be Herpes Whitlow. But this is a type of Herpes simples type 1 or 2. But you say his blood work came out negative for Herpes simplex 1 and 2 IgG? It would have been better to have a culture of a blister. Usually type 1 is from an oral infection. About 90% or more of adults have Herpes simplex type 1. This is whether or not they get cold sores. The cold sores don't always show up. But the skin rash may have been shingles. If it was very painful it can come back a few times. Human herpes type 6  is a type of Herpes that can cause a variety of problems. Here is a Wikipedia article on it. But  It can cause a large range of problems from chronic fatigue to MS. There is one type of this that causes roseola in children but reactivates in about 25% of adults. It does mention a childhood encephalitis. But if he had encephalitis he would have high fever and be very ill. So, if he just has a rash with no other symptoms it most likely isn't encephalitis.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_herpesvirus_6

mkh9
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