Symptoms of STD's/Vaginal infection

[paranoidspouse]

Has any female who has had an STD or vaginal infection experienced the following symptoms: Thick white discharge, thin yellow/green discharge, pain while urinating.   How long has it lasted for before being treated?

[auntiejessi]

Hi there -

The transmission stuff is all explained, and explained far better than I could in a few sentences here, in the herpes handbook.  Its free at www.westoverheights.com

The ones that tell you if you are just positive or negative are fairly decent, but if you have type 1, and a low type 2 result, it might be a false positive, and the "positive" won't tell you that.

The ones that don't tell you what type are absolutely totally worthless.  You could have type 1, and had it since you were a kid, and that will make the combination test show positive.  You would have no way of knowing if its type 1, type 2 or both.  

Aj

[paranoidspouse]

how accurate are the blood tests that just tell you if you're positive or negative and don't tell u which simplex?

I guess it's stupid, but part of me still has some hope (or wants to have some hope) that we're not infected even though blood tests suggest otherwise.  

I'd appreciate if you can help me understand the viral transmission process a bit more. If someone has blisters/sores, and this comes in contact with another person, the virus is passed on correct? And if someone (a male) is shedding but with no blisters, etc, the virus can then be passed on through mucous membranes (eg through intercourse if he ejaculates inside or has precum)?? What if he isn't shedding, will it still be passed on?  

[paranoidspouse]

thanks, Aj

[auntiejessi]

It might be, but we haven't ever really quantified how much shedding is needed to transmit to the genitals, much less the mouth.

All I can tell you is that of the gazillions of people with oral herpes (well over 60% in the US), about 3% of those are from hsv2.  Those who do get oral hsv2 almost never get recurrences, and it would only shed from your mouth about 1% of the time.

I was with the guy I got herpes from for 3 1/2 years before I got it genitally, and gave him oral that whole time.  I never got it orally, even before I had my own antibodies to protect me.

Aj

[paranoidspouse]

but what about the whole shedding without an outbreak? isn't it essentially the same if u do have an outbreak?

[auntiejessi]

Hi there -

Oral hsv2 is RARE, and given that you both have antibodies to it, as long as you avoid oral sex when one of you has an outbreak, you should be fine.  :)

Aj