Possible GHSV2 Infection

[stuartscott]

I was 1st diagnosed with HSV1 in 2006. I was with a gf and she broke out with hsv1 after 2 yrs w/ me on her genitals which made me take the test and receive my confirmed pos result. B4 this I never had symptoms of herpes. I also dont recall going down on her before she had her 1st infection. The closest to symptoms was when I had a ONS and got 3 small bumps around but not inside the urethra that never scabbed over or filled with pus and went away in about a week. I always figured that could have been herpes since I never had cold sores.

In 2011 I made out with a girl who later confirmed she got cold sores and I got a cold sore on my lip 2 days later. This was herpes and I fig'd the pos test from 2006 was bc I had oral herpes even though it was convenient that I got the cold sore from a girl I kissed that had oral herpes 2 days later although she had no symptoms.

4ward to 2013 and I was dating a girl who doesn't have herpes and we ended up breaking up on April 14th. I hung out with a girl who my friend told me got around and I made the mistake of having unprot. sex. I caught gonorrhea and what I think is genital herpes also. About 4-5 days after our encounter I developed 2 small bumps on the left side of my penis abt an inch apart on the shaft. They didnt fill with pus or leak, they dried up and disapp'rd about a week later. We also had sex again n she never broke out. I saw a doc and he said it was possible it could be herpes. Also before having sex with her, I had a very small pimple down the middle of the shaft that was there for a few wks. After having sex with her that pimple ended up growing into a larger pimple, filled with pus, I popped it, then it dried up. 2 days after popping it, I saw a doc who said he couldnt tell what it was and would have to blood test me. Finally, about a week after that, I saw a really small bump appear, didn't fill with pus and went away a couple of days later. Didn't really scab over.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome back to our Forum.  You have had several different kinds of lesions appear, both on your lips and genitals.  These may represent HSV infections or something else and the best way to be sure of any lesion is to have lesions tested when they appear for HSV using either PCR (preferred) or culture.  In the absence of lesions however, and in your case, getting a type specific IgG blood test for HSV such as the HerpeSelect  is reasonable.  Given your history of lesions, if e test is positive for either or both viruses, you will not be able to know we're they infection(s) came from, how long you have been infected, or where the infection is located.  In the interim, I would suggest condoms for any sexual encounters with partners of unknown status.

I hope this comment is helpful to you. EWH

[stuartscott]

Thank you

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Brief follow-up responses.

1.  The timing of your cold sore is coincidence. Once a person has HSV-1, they will not get it again.  Further, the sore on your lip occurred too soon after your kissing episode to represent infection due to that exposure.

2.  Yes, condoms are advisable.  It's hard to know if your lesions were HSV or not without testing to guide you.  The problem is that so many HSV lesions are "atypical" (in fact in reality a minority of new HSV infections present with typical lesions.)

3.  Glad I could be helpful.  EWH

[stuartscott]

Dr Hook,

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I do have a couple of other concerns I wanted to address while I can.

1.) I took the IgG blood test in 2006 and it read a 5.0 for HSV1 and .005 for HSV2 but I never had a cold sore until 2011. I got it 2 days after that girl kissed me. How likely would it have been for me to catch it back then but never develop a cold sore till 5 yrs later? Only the cold sore on my lip looked like obvious herpes. I haven't had an outbreak on my lips since then.

2.) My symptoms from my recent experience suggest it could be herpes (random bumps in 3 separate locations 5 days after sexual encounter),however they didn't fill with fluid and were not that prominent except for the one where there was a pimple earlier. I was thinking herpes got in there since it was an open wound n made it more noticeable. The bumps did dry up and went away however but they didn't look like any of the pics online (groups of blisters together, filled with pus etc...). I was especially concerned b/c I had sex with the previous girl with those bumps on me but she didn't break out and swore up n down she has never had any bumps or herpes even though she's never been tested for herpes. Would it be better to wear condoms for the next 2 months until I can take another blood test? I'm more concerned with passing anything on to my ex. If I do have another lesion, I will go straight to the doctor.

3.) Yes I have definitely learned my lesson. STDs are FAR more common than people think. I've been burned too many times. I'm not going to believe what any girl says going forward. They lie way too much. Thank you for your time once again.

[stuartscott]

I asked the girl and she denied ever having any bumps but she also lied about using protection on every guy before me and about the number of guys she'd been with over the past few months so her word doesn't mean anything but my ex n I are talking again and I know I have to wait 3-4 months b4 blood testing.  I dont want to give her ghsv2 in the mean time and we've already had sex again (I wore condom). What are the odds of my 1st 2006 diagnosis being a recurrent outbreak or this new outbreak of ghsv2?