HSV-1 test positive

[MacBernie]

Hello & thanks in advanced for any response to my question.
I had a full STD blood test done 5/12 & just been diagnosed with HSV-1 & negative to all other STD's.  About 8 weeks ago I had unprotected oral sex with a female that I didn't know.  2 weeks later I had testicular & groin lymph node pain & was treated with Doxycyline & Cipro.  I've been on both drugs for a month & the pain remained, but it just recently cleared up about 2 weeks ago.  I still feel slight testicular soreness, back ache & tingling sensations both in my feet & fingers for 2 weeks now.  I'm not sure how I contracted HSV-1, since this was the first time I was tested for it.  But could I have contracted genital HSV-1 from the encounter I had 2 months ago?  If so can this be passed on to someone else thru sex?  I have no sores, lesions or anything physically noticeable.

Thanks once again.


This discussion is related to HSV-1 - CONFUSED..

[auntiejessi]

With no genital sores, etc., you can probably assume your hsv1 is oral.  Over half of the population has oral hsv1, and most get it in childhood.

Should you ever get any sores genitally, have it cultured ASAP.

Aj

[MacBernie]

Thanks auntiejessi,
So can HSV-1 manifest itself with genital sores?  Is this contagious to my partner via vaginal sex?  I'm not sure why I have back aches & tingling sensations, I've been told that it's just anxiety, but the testicular & lymph node pain was very real.  The reason why I am asking is that I do not want to infect any one else if genital HSV-1 is that contagious when having unprotected sex.

Thanks again

[webcrawler]

It can manifest via genital sores if you were infected genitally. You have not presented enough evidence to make that plausible.

If you had it genitally, you would be contagious when you have sores. You would also be contagious rarely without sores.

HOWEVER...

1. Over 50% of the US has HSV1. In some other countries, it is over 80%
2. Once you get it, you are nearly immune to reinfection

Therefore, if you have it genitally and you see sores... You should work with your partner to understand this. Chances are that your partner already has it. This is not a big deal. It may sound like it, but hiding from HSV1 is like hiding from catching a cold. It is so prevalent that the only reasonable care is to avoid contact when you have oral or genital sores.

[MacBernie]

Thanks for the information.  So my understanding is that if I show no sores, then the possibility of transmission is rare?   Also is testicular pain a symptom of HSV-1?  I'm still feeling testicular soreness.  Thanks again.

[auntiejessi]

Testicular pain is not because of herpes, and you should get it checked out.

If you do have ghsv1, then its rare that you would transmit it.  Just avoid sex if you get any symptoms, and get the sore cultured within 24-48 hours to confirm that its hsv1.

Aj

[MacBernie]

Thanks for all the responses.  Can Genital HSV1 spread by ejaculation or precum fluids or just when sores & blisters are present?  I do have a red bumpy rash on top of my hand, is this an outbreak?   It's itchy & usually goes away on its own overnight.  

[auntiejessi]

Genital hsv can be spread with or without sores, but not in fluids.  Its only skin to skin contact.

However, its not sounding like you have ghsv1.  Ghsv doesn't cause testicular pain, and wouldn't respond to antibiotics.  Its sounding like you have prostatitis and that's what you were treated for.

Aj

[MacBernie]

Hi auntiejessi,
     Thanks for all your information.  I have a better understanding of HSV-1 & how it is transmitted.  I recently had a cluster of small red bumps at the pubic hair area.  I was not able to get it cultured by a dermatologist, but I did go to my urologist 4 days after the breakout.  It was starting to fade & heal over, but my urologist said that he's almost certain that it's herpes & not just a rash.  
     I did post about 2 months ago that I had the same rash on the top of my left hand.  Now that I have had this rash below my waist, does this point to my having genital HSV-1?  I never had any sores directly on my penis & never had any sores at all or rashes like this until 2 months ago.
    My urologist had another blood test done for HSV-1/2 & HIV.  Here are the results.  

HSV 1/2 IGG TYPE SPECIFIC ABS
HSV1 IGG  3.85
HSV2 IGG  0.03
HIV 1/2 Ab  NON REACTIVE

     I will see my urologist next week, but wanted to ask a few questions here first.  What does the range 3.85 indicate?  Is there a way to find out when I adquired HSV1 whether it was 4 months ago or a year or more ago by this number?  
     I know you mentioned that testicular soreness is not GHSV1, but I'd like to mention my current symptoms since my last post & would like your advice.  They are soreness around both inguinal lymph nodes & the tendons slighly below them, sore testicles on & off (made worse by wearing briefs, so now I only wear boxers).   My last visit to the urologist said that GHSV1 can cause pain around the groin region.  So I'm confused with the conflicting symptoms of GHSV1.  I've been treated with 4 different antibiotics, prostate exam, had a camera shoved down my urethra to examine my bladder, had renal, inguinal, scrotum ultrasounds, inguinal MRI which all came back negative.  Although I don't have painful testicles, the soreness is still there.  
     I appreciate any advice you can offer.  Thanks!

[gracefromHHP]

3.85 just means you are positive. It doesn't mean anything else.  You can't figure out from a blood test when you were infected or anything.

Pain this often for 2 months isn't likely to be due to hsv1.  Sounds like they are covering the bases though trying to figure out what is the cause of it.  Have you googled pelvic pain syndrome yet? ( Dr handsfield has mentioned in it several posts on his board too if you want to search on it and posts from him here on medhelp - he lists a few websites to read )

grace

[MacBernie]

Thanks for the response grace.  I visited my urologist today & his prognosis is that I have ghsv1.  I did mention that the pain & discomfort I'm feeling has been ongoing for the better part of 2 months now & his response was that hsv1 can be affecting my nerve endings around my pelvic area & with time may go away.  Does his prognosis sound correct?  I've told him exactly everything that I mentioned here, but I'm reluctant to accept his answer & chalk it all up to ghsv1 due to the info mentioned here.  The soreness continues at my inguinal area (lymph nodes), testicles & lower back.  I'm just dealing with it without any medication at this time.

I have done some research on CPPS & mentioned it as well, but he quickly dismissed it because my symptoms came up within weeks of my possible exposure to ghsv1.  I suppose he does have a point there, but perhaps this is due to some other infection.  I checked out WebMD's website, & used the symptom checker.  After I was done entering my symptoms for inguinal, testicular & lower back pain, shingles came up as a possibility.  I'm not familiar with this, but never had chicken pox before.  Again I was tested for STD's.

Do you have any other thoughts as to what this may be & perhaps point me to explore a different avenue, I'd greatly appreciate it.  

ps.   I purchased the book you recommended & will read it in the coming days.

Thanks.

[gracefromHHP]

Chances are good that your hsv1 is oral and not genital and not related to what is going on.  Since you've never been tested before for herpes though you have no way to know that or not. How long after the initial encounter was your first blood test?  The only way to accurately diagnose hsv1 genitally is thru a lesion culture of active genital symptoms - the blood test is useless in a situation like yours to be honest.  Also if you had contracted hsv1 genitally - you most likely would've had a full blown "classic" herpes ob which you don't describe having. Just pain without lesions isn't likely to be a newly acquired hsv1 infection.

Same with shingles - no lesions anywhere and just pain makes it unlikely to be the cause too.

I'd follow up on this at this point with your regular doctor to start looking for other causes like lower back issues that are causing pain to radiate to your groin area and such.

grace

[MacBernie]

My first blood test was done about 2 weeks after the initial encounter & I had another one done about 4 months after to confirm.  Both came back HSV1 positive & all other STD's negative, including HIV.  As I mentioned earlier, I did have a rash/lesions that was clustered in my pubic hair area & the top of my left hand.  Although, I never had any rashes directly on my penis itself.  My urologist said that it's herpes, but no tests were performed.

I'm feeling a slight "warm" sensation around my genitals & on top of my left thigh.  I'm still feeling intermittent aching pain which seems to be eminating from the head of my epididymus.  The pain is worse if I wear briefs or if I put any kind of pressure on my testicles, even laying on my side brings on discomfort.  My pelvic area is tender & appears to be slightly swollen.  This has been ongoing for a couple of months now.
I never had any burning sensation while urinating or pain during or after ejaculation.
Does the initial outbreak of GHSV1 always include these symptoms?

My urologist is at a lost & I'm not getting any more usable advice from him other than to wait it out & it may go away.  He states that it's just the nerve endings sending pain signals to my brain.  I hate to speculate, but could this be a resistant bacterial infection of some kind?  I've been treated with Cipro, sulfamethoxazole & doxycycline.  Although the initial extreme testicular pain has gone away with what I believe was due to antibiotic treatment, there is still a residual dull aching pain that lingers.  Like you said earlier, antibiotics won't do anything for treating herpes & testicular pain is not a symptom of herpes, yet that's what I feel.  My urologist thinks it's referred pain from Herpes & there's nothing wrong with my testicles.

I've made another appt with a different urologist & I'll be seeing him next week.  Any more advice is appreciated or perhaps you can point me to a different forum that may have some insight of my condition.