Found out yesterday!

[unlucky7]

I have so many questions 2ask
I found out yesterday that i have GenitalHerpes
I have no idea how i caught it!
I havent been with any1 other than current boyfriend of 4months for 2years.
I have had no symptons at all in the past?
I suddenly had an irritation and then what i thought was cystitus which developed into blisters visitng my doctors yesterday i was informed i had herpes and then told to get myself checked into a GUM clinic
I left my doctors feeling like a complete freak! thinking how has this happened? i do not sleep around and neither does my boyfriend?!  
I have spent today researching the virus and with an uderstanding now feel a lot better about it although i cant stop crying?!
Firtly i blamed my boyfriend! i was adament he had given it me! but he has no symptoms of the virus in his genital area!
Then having read the sites realised i could have had it all along and yet so could he without realisng
What i would like to know is...

What is the likeliness of me having it for the past 2years without knowing?
This outbreak i have now is extremely painfull and i have many clusters of blisters? why now? if i have had it for so long?
Can my boyfriend have passed it to me if he has no symptoms and then me come out in this outbreak?
My boyfriend has coldsores quite bad when he is exposed to the sun although he hasnt had one in the past year. he did have a small cut on his lip which we werent sure where it came from but he doesnt think this could have been a coldsore? could he have possibley given it to me this way? what are the implications of this

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Your questions are typical, and typically complex.  I probably can't answer them all adequately, at least not quickly.  For more information, visit the American Social Health Association's web site (www.ashastd.org), or click on the "STD Quick Facts and Articles" link at the top of this forum's home page, then go to the herpes site.

A couple of basic facts:  Genital herpes usually is due to herpex simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), but many cases are due to HSV type 1, the normal cause of cold sores; HSV-1 is often transmitted to a partner's genitals by oral sex.  Many people with genital HSV-2 infection have no symptoms but still have asymptomatic outbreaks when they can spread the virus to their partners.  Therefore, people who don't know they have herpes often transmit it to others.  Also, people can indeed be infected for a long time, and have symptoms show up only after several months or even years.  But I don't think t his applies to you.

To answer yolur specific questions:

1) First infections often are severe, but recurrent ones usually are mild.  Therefore, the severity of your outbreak suggests you have not been infected for a long time, i.e. that you caught the infection recently.

2) As above, the severity probably indicates recent infection.

3) Yes, your boyfriend might have herpes and not know it.  Given your sexual history, I'm pretty sure you caught it from him.

4) Yes, your herpes could be due to HSV-1, from your boyfriend's cold sores.  Even a minor "cut" on the lip can be due to oral herpes.

You need to be tested to learn whether your infection is due to HSV-1 or -2.  Your use of the term GUM probably means you're in the UK, yes?  (GUM = genitourinary medicine, the common term for what in the US would be an STD clinic.)  Almost all GUM clinics in the UK ought to be able to test for HSV-1 vs HSV-2 either by culture of the virus or by a blood test.

As far as implications:  If someone has to get genital herpes, it's better for it to be HSV-1 than HSV-2.  That's because most HSV-1 infections of the genitals don't cause frequent recurrences(40% of people have no recurrences at all).  Thus the importance of knowing the virus type; it tells a lot about what you can expect in the future.

Finally, go back to your GUM clinic ASAP, preferably as soon as you see this response.  You need to be on antiviral therapy, which will help your infection clear up much more rapidly; and even a couple days delay will reduce the benfit of treatment.  And take your boyfriend with you; a blood test can tell whether he is infected with HSV-1, HSV-2, or both.  Print out this message and bring it with you; it might help.

Good luck and happy holidays--   HHH, MD

[unlucky7]

P.s
I had flu like symptoms (which i assumed was a cold) and it was two weeks before this outbreak! My bofriend also had the same a week later?  
I have aching muscles at the moment but other than that no flu like symptons!

Would the cold be assoicated? could it be a symptom as currently my boyfriend has none? might he have an outbreak soon?

P's i never mentioned my boyfriend gave me oral sex while he had this pimple/cut on his lip

Can i be tested for both types of the virus?

[pandora9048]

Hi,
   HSV-1, which is the herpes virus that causes cold sores on the lips can be passed to the genitals during oral sex.  If your b/f had a cold sore on his lip and performed oral sex on you, he could have passed it on to you.
   Did the doctors do a culture on your blisters?  if so, they can tell whether it's hsv-1 (oral herpes) or hsv-2 (genital herpes).  hsv-1 tends to be milder then hsv-2.
   Also, it sounds like your having a primary (first) outbreak, meaning you probably were recently exposed to it.  herpes takes about 2-20 days from exposure to produce symptoms, and the first outbreak is usually very painful, with flu-like symptoms, etc.  The people who claim to have no symptoms are very lucky indeed.
   I know there's nothing i can say to make you feel better.  But keep in mind you'll feel better (physically) soon and don't let your b/f do anything when he has a cold sore.
Pan

[Hype]

Hey,
  I don't know if this will make you feel better but I was diagnosed with genital herpes about five years ago and it does not negativly affect my life at all. My very first outbreak was horrible, kind of like what you are going through, but I haven't had anything like it since. I took zovrax for a year when I was first diagnosed and after that I have never taken any medication for it. I never found out what type I had, but I am pretty sure I got it from receiving oral from my boyfriend at the time who had a cold sore. I just want you to know that it may seem devistating now, but it is very easy to live with. I also had a child naturally a year and a half after my initial outbreak with no problems what so ever. It will be okay. Just try not to stress because that only makes it worse. I hope this was helpful.
Good Luck.

[unlucky7]

Thanx for your comments they are very comforting.

my doctor prescribed me with aciclover which i have been taking for two days. Last night i felt much worse than before i am achy tired and flu like.
Unfortunatly the Gum clinic (which yes is the uk equivalent of an std clinic) cannot see me until January 14th? which worries me because i am hoping these symptoms will have cleared up by then.

Will i still be able to be tested?

[worriedinus]

a suggestion for you, if the "sores" hurt alot, AVEENO oatmeal bath helps ALOT. It is expensive, like $7.00 for a box of 8 packs. But it is just a bath additive that helps. this is what i use sometimes. You can but it pretty much anywhere. I hope this helps you.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Dear Unlucky7:

Yes, your fever and flu-like symptoms could well be due to herpes; that's common with first infections, and can start well before the genital sores.  (However, 2 weeks is a bit long.)

Absolutely yes; oral sex when your partner had an oral pimple or similar lesion makes it a very good bet that's the source of your infection.

My advice that you go back to the clinic promptly was based on the assumption you weren't yet on treatment, since you didn't mention it initially.  It often takes 2-3 days for acyclovir's benefit to be apparent; I suspect and hope that by the time you see this message, your symptoms will be improving.  Anyway, as long as you are improving, waiting until January 14 shouldn't be a problem; the blood test (and evaluation of your partner) can wait until then.

Best wishes for happy holidays--don't let this event ruin them.  All this probably will be an inconvenience for you in the long run, not a serious health threat.

HHH, MD

[samihyypia]

its not so bad as you think.
my ex girlfriend had a really bad outbreak for about a week caught from my coldsore on my mouth. and then she never even noticed anything since then. no one need ever know if your careful and your certainly not a freak!!!

[Bonkie2005]

I have a sore testicle and pimples on my anus exit. I have been going for HIV tests and testing negative. What could this be?