Herpes & General STD HSV1/HSV2 Questions

[HerpesDenial]

1) Is it possible that Genital Herpes just goes away (undetectable by blood test) since I have not had another episode since I was 18? I am now 31. I do get "cold sores" about once every year or 18 months when it gets cold and my lips get chapped. None of my recent sex partners has ever developed symptoms.

2) One of my partners recently told me that she had the bad form of HPV...Do I have it now? We had a lot of sex, oral, vaginal and anal. Could this be the cause of my rawness on my penis? Can I get HPV from her? I have had no symptoms except for the rawness thing.

3) I want to get tested for STDs and I would like to know a list of STDs you would recommend. I would like to get tested for everything under the sun, but I have no idea what to ask for.

4) I took a class in college, I remember my professor telling us that wiping off our penis' with alcohol helps reduce the risk of infection of STDs and also taking a leak after sex is a good idea. I have been doing that religiously, could this be the cause of my recent condom burn?

5) Is it true that Herpes tests are inaccurate and can give a false negative if the number is too low, due to interpretation.

6) If I only received oral sex from the gal I got herpes from and she only had mouth herpes HSV1 I am assuming, and I get a blood test done, will I only be positive for HSV1, which most of the population has anyways? OR do I have HSV2 automatically because the outbreak was on my penis.

Thanks in advance!

[kimberly89]

my boyfriend recently have went for check ups & was told that he was infected with HSV 2 . i think i have got it too as i have "cold sore" for a few times & it take a few weeks to recover. its always at the same place. am i infected too?

i heard there is no cure for it as its a virus...

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

2) Of course you're not "screwed". Your own high risk infection probably is long gone. Even the high risk types almost never cause cancer or other problem in men, and they don't do it very often in women. Overall, high-risk HPV types are the most common types.

6) I misunderstood your question; I thought you said you had been tested and were positve for HSV-1, negative HSV-2. I guess you haven't been tested. If/when you are, it will tell you whether you have ever been infected with HSV-1, HSV-2, or both types.

I don't know what you're talking about with Magic Johnson. Maybe he has developed an undetectable viral load due to anti-HIV treatment. That doesn't mean his routine blood test became negative. That never happens.

Friction on the penis doesn't cause a rash. Now that you describe scabs, it seems possible that your penile rash was a new herpes infection. See a health care provider about it; I will not speculate any further about it. For any other questions, ask your health care provider and read the information on the websites I provided.

[HerpesDenial]

Thanks for your reply doctor.


2) She is 22 and and told me that she HAS the bad form of HPV since she caught it from some guy at age 18, and she is in the super high risk category. We are no longer together, but we had sex maybe 10 times unprotected - vaginal, anal and oral. I have never *** inside her, does that make a difference for my exposure risk? Or am I pretty much screwed? I have no symptoms.I just don't want to give it to this new gal I am seeing...After 10 times, do you think I have it? I no there is no test for it.


6) I just got my blood drawn yesterday and do not have my results in. I guess I am in denial for now until the results come in this Friday I hope. Doctor, do you think that my infection from age 18 could have completely disappeared and not come up on a blood test for HSV1 or HSV2. Has this ever happened?
I want to believe this because I've had no symptoms or outbreaks for 13 years! I know I must sound like I am in denial. IF the woman only had HSV1 mouth herpes and gave it to me on my penis, the possibility of having anything would be HSV1 right?


I figure if Magic Johnson can all of a sudden test negative for HIV, maybe I too can be miraculously tested negative for all forms of HSV! LOL


Condom burn: My friends and I have talked about this and it comes up in a yahoo search engine. I don't like wearing condoms, but this new gal is very safe and very hot so I wore one for her. I used a Vivid brand lubricated and then Trojan's ultra sensitive 0.05 something rather. We had A LOT of sex over the course of a 3 day weekend. I tend to last a long time and noticed afterwards that the head and the rim area were VERY raw, which over the course of a few days developed into scabs, which are healing quite nicely and almost gone after about 8 days...I guess the term is used to describe a lot of sex with a condom? Perhaps the friction made my penis raw...

Thanks again Doctor.

[HerpesDenial]

Doctor, do you think that my Herpes infection from age 18 could have completely disappeared and not come up on a blood test for HSV1 or HSV2. Has this ever happened? Again, I am now 31 and have never had any other breakouts for the last 13 years.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Many of your several questions are covered in detail on some excellent websites.  These include my former health department www.metrokc.gov/health/apu/std); the American Social Health Association (www.ashastd.org); the Westover Heights Clinic of Portland, OR (www.westoverheights.com); and CDC (www.cdc.gov/std).

1) See no. 6.

2) I'm confused by the timing. You say your partner 'had' HPV.  How long ago was her test?  Are you still having sex with her?  How long have you been partners?  If she had an active HPV infection when you were together, you can be certain you were infected with the same HPV type (maybe you were the person who infected her).  Almost all HPV infections go away on their own over several months, but I have no way of knowing whether you are still infected or might have already cleared it up.  Mostly the male partners of infected women have nothing noticeablly wrong. HPV doesn't cause rawness or redness of the penis.

3) Standard STD testing always includes chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and HIV.  It often includes HSV-2 (and sometimes HSV-1), but it sounds like you have already had those tests.  For certain persons (e.g., gay men) routine testing should include hepatitis B, but it's less a risk in heterosexuals and not usually included in routine testing.  Finally, there should be a physical exam by an expert to evaluate visually for warts.

4) Your college prof was quoting historically frequent advice about cleaning and urinating after sex, but there are no data to show that such things actually make a difference.  If they do, it is a minor protective effect. It's far more important to use condoms consistently.

5) Yes, HSV blood tests can be difficult to interpret if the result (the ELISA ratio) is low-positive.  But a truly negative test, i.e. a really low number, is always truly negative.

6) HSV-1 and HSV-2 are the designations of two different viruses, not for the site of infection.  In other words, genital herpes can be due to either HSV-2 (most commonly) or HSV-1 (somewhat less frequent, but still common).  Likewise, oral herpes can be due to either virus type--but it's almost always HSV-1, only rarely due to HSV-2.  Your negative test for HSV-2 proves you have never had an HSV-2 infection.  Therefore, if you had genital herpes, it had to be HSV-1.  Genital HSV-1 is almost always acquired by receiving oral sex.

Neither HPV nor 'condom burn' cause redness or irritation of the penis.  (I have never heard the term 'condom burn' before this.)  I cannot guess the cause, although I suppose it is possible you're having an allergic reaction, e.g. to spermicide or lubricant in the condom.  You should see a health care provider for diagnosis and advice.

Good luck--  HHH, MD