HERPES.....how is this possible?

[bobbis435]

i am in the middle of a divorce right now....i was married to a man who cheated on me continuously during the last five years of our marriage....a few years ago, i noticed a tingly feeling on my lips right after performing oral sex on him and immediately started to treat my lips with medicated chapstick...no blisters appeared, but i noticed paper like cuts as well as sensitive spots on the inside of my mouth, the back of my throat, gums, and inner lips...since then, i am no longer able to use any other kind of chapstick that is not medicated....several months ago, i noticed something white like a blister on my vaginal area...i went and got a fingerstick test done at an std clinic for herpes which came back positive igg hsv2...my ex went and got tested through our family doctor and his igg was less than 0.91 therefore negative....about a year or so ago, my ex was experiencing serious pain in his anal area...he was thinking the pain was from perhaps a muscle that he may have pulled while lifting weights in the gym....he asked me to check to see if anything was there...after looking, i saw what looked like a tiny hemorrhoid...i rubbed some preparation h on it and that was the end of it...it did not make him feel better it only soothe the pain...though my ex has been with several women during our marriage, i have never been with anyone else other than him...how can i have a positive test result and he have a negative test result?  also, if i were a carrier of the disease, how is it possible for me to experience symptoms of the disease, especially after oral sex if my ex husband does not have herpes according to the blood test?

[Edward W Hook, MD]

One challenge to diagnosis of herpes is to determine what sort of lesions can be herpes.  Whether in the genital tract, the rectum or the mouth, the only way to be really sure is with a culture or, better yet, a PCR test for the virus.  Should you have recurrences of the lesions you describe, I would suggest getting tested.  If the lesions do not recur, that too makes them less likely to be herpes.  EWH

[bobbis435]

thank you so much for responding so quickly...the fingerstick came back in less than 10 minutes:  HSV-2 (herpes simplex virus II) immunoassay antibody to gG-2 /result: positive.....reference: negative

i do not really recall exactly when the symptoms occurred in my mouth, i just remember my lips feeling weird shortly afterwards...not the same day....

since seeing the white blister like sore on my vagina, i noticed that right before menustration, i feel tingly in my vaginal area....

what do you think about the anal pain that he was experiencing....i was thinking it could have been anal herpes...

i will go and get a second test....

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to our Forum.  I suspect the finger stick blood test you had is incorrect, given your history. Before assuming that you have HSV-2, my advice would be to get another test- perhaps a Western Blot rest from the University of Washington (your doctor can draw the blood and have it sent) or a type-specific test such as the HerpeSelect.  One you have those results we can work through this.

Further, your oral outbreak is a bit hard to sort out as well. This sounds as though it could have been an initial outbreak of HSV but there are several factors which do not fit.  For instance, you state that your lesions and discomfort appeared right after performing oral sex on your husband- typically HSV lesions and symptoms do not occur for at least 4 days following exposure,  

Bottom line, we need some more data before you start to worry.  I hope this comment is helpful.  Once you have more information, please follow-up as a continuation of this thread and we can work through it. EWH