Herpes on palm of hand

[exona]

Hello. I have herpes on the palm of my hand. I assumped it was Zoster. I first saw the outbreak on the palm of my hand when I had my very first outbreak (contracted) of genital herpes. I always assumped it triggered Zoster in my hand.

However, my hand has frequent, recurring flare-ups, approximately once every 3 months. What can the treatment be? I was told by my physician that it wasn't Zoster since it is recurring--that it's "Herpes". I'm guessing it's HSV-2 on my hand?

Will Lysine help with this? And how contagious is it with other people?

Also, my boyfriend has herpes too. Since we both have herpes (I got it initially from him about 2 years ago), do we need to worry about protecting each other? Can we trigger each other's outbreaks?

As you can see I have a few questions. :)  Thanks for any help you can provide! :)

[waringblender]

Did anybody ever culture this thing on your hand to actually determine if it was in fact herpes? That's the first thing I'd do if I were you. Find out for sure what it is.

[anon513]

I have never had a vaginal outbreak of Herpes, but i have it on the palm of my hand and was diagnosed by a culture when I was 16 that it is HSV-2 the STD.  I will go for a while without an outbreak.  Sometimes, though, i will have outbreaks every 3 months like you say.  I am 28 years old now.  I have been with my husband for 11 years now and he has never developed herpes that we now of (has never had a blood test).  I can not find much information about herpes on the hand.  I will now when i am going to have an outbreak because the palm of my hand becomes numb and my arm will sometimes hurt.  I hope this helps and if you have found out any other information about it please let me know.

[gracefromHHP]

Your doctor is correct - this isn't zoster on your hand.  It's your hsv2 most likely.  I would confirm by culture that indeed it is hsv2 but it sounds like it probably is since it appeared at the same time as your genital herpes. Meanwhile when it flares up - keep it covered because you can transmit it to others ( your bf excluded - he's not likely to contract it on another body part ).  

Lysine doesn't do much at all for herpes. Don't waste your time on it.

Since both you and your man have hsv2 - transmission isn't an issue. You don't have to worry about your herpes at all in this relationship.  You won't trigger each others ob's or anything else.  You won't make each others infections "worse" either.

Why not give suppressive therapy a try and see how that goes? Having whitlow recurrences several times a year sounds like a total pain ( both literally and figuratively ).  Acyclovir is the cheapest option but valtrex is the most convenient option.  My philosophy is - why have more ob's than you have to?

grace

[exona]

Thanks...I started suppressive therapy with Valtrex (thank goodness for insurance..it's so expensive!)  I'll see how that goes. :)

[gracefromHHP]

If insurance isn't makin the valtrex affordable consider acyclovir instead and just take it 2x/day.

also don't forget about the $10 coupons on the valtrex website. You can use them for copys too. for instance if you have a $30 copay on name brand drugs you can use the coupon and only pay $20.

grace