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Herpes Community

This forum is an un-mediated, patient-to-patient forum for questions and support regarding herpes issues such as: Herpes symptoms and treatments, causes, diagnosis, and herpes in men, tests, telling your spouse or partner.
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MedHelp Member's Question

Symptoms?

by worriedman01, Jun 14, 2008 01:55AM
Many websites say that some may not exhibit syptoms after contracting herpes. Do most who contract the virus show symptoms, but are so mild they don't notice or recognize it as herpes? Or do many people indeed never show any kind of symptom?
Member Comments (17)

by slacker101, Jun 14, 2008 01:56AM
It is a VERY variable disease. What are your symptoms and when was your last sexual exposure and we can work it from there....

by waringblender, Jun 14, 2008 03:21AM
It's been estimated that only about 20% of people with herpes don't have any symptoms. The problem is that many symptoms are not recognizable as being related to herpes, so people think it is something else.

by NotanotherOCD, Jun 14, 2008 06:21AM
waringblender were do u get your information from? From what I have read MOST people dont have any symptoms at all. I hope that you are right tho but my research suggests otherwise!

by worriedman01, Jun 14, 2008 11:38AM
To: slacker101
I have a couple of tiny white dots on my shaft, which are barely raised and a couple of small what feel like dry spots on my shaft. No super redness or apparent blisters. My penis is a little sensitive and sore, but that may be from inspecting it too regularly for signs of herpes. It has been 11 days since my unprocted oral sex encounter.

by NotanotherOCD, Jun 14, 2008 11:59AM
tiny white dots sound like sweat glands that are normal. have u seen a picture of herpes infection of white dots - they look sort luke white heads from acne. But is it sweat glands (I have always had white spots around my balls when I have looked closely & I do not have herpes to my knowledge) this is normal as men I spoke to have them.

Get it looked at now if ur worried about it - did the partner have herpes? If so do u know if they were having an outbreak?

by gracefromHHP, Jun 14, 2008 12:23PM
It's not that folks aren't having any symptoms at all of genital herpes - it's that they aren't attributing the symptoms that they do have to something like herpes. Who hasn't had a "good" weekend and then been a little sore, raw, red and itchy for a few days afterwards? Who doesn't itch?If you haven't had anal sex - who would think twice about an itchy sore butt - you'd think it's hemorrhoids.  It's really easy to attribute the rather mild symptoms that the majority of folks gets to something else. Even medical practioners often overlook herpes as a cause of symptoms in most folks :(

Where did waring get her 20% stat from?  I'd have to search for the study for the exact name but  basically they took a group of people who didn't think they had genital herpes and offered them free blood tests.  They then took the ones who tested + for hsv2 and asked them if they had ever had a symptom of herpes before and they said no. They took the time to educate them on herpes and what to look for and afterwards about 80%  of them were able to start recognizing the signs of recurrences ( confirmed with lesion cultures of their symptoms as being herpes ).  So that's why we say that it's not that the vast majority of folks aren't having symptoms of herpes when they are infected - it's that they are thinking it would present as an obvious and very painful blister and when they don't see things like that - they assume they don't have it.

grace

by waringblender, Jun 14, 2008 01:56PM
One of the doctors on the other forum quoted that 20% number. It may have been 25%, so I may be off. But basically he was talking about people who present with absolutely no symptoms whatsoever, people who claims they have never had a symptom. Grace is right - once people realize they have herpes, they start recognizing symptoms.

by life goes on, Jun 14, 2008 05:05PM
Three years ago I experience three yeast infections.  Diagnosed by my doctor, and I read that sometimes a yeast is misdiagnosed.  The itch and mild discharge could have been symptoms of HSV-2.  Through my reading I learned that though some people don't have outbreaks, others experience an itch, redness, or tingling sensation, headaches/mindgraines all attributing to herpes symptoms.

  




      

by worriedman01, Jun 16, 2008 12:58AM
To: Grace and community

So when websites or people on here post that they never had symptoms for months or years after their intial exposure that is not completely accurate, but rather they have had symptoms, but just never noticed?

I sa won a website that oyu can develop leisons that the huma eye can't see, is that true. I find it hard to beleive.

by waringblender, Jun 16, 2008 01:11AM
Some people don't have any symptoms--literally. Some people have symptoms but don't realize it's herpes because they are very mild symptoms, like just generalized itching or little cuts that they might attribute to shaving or whatever. It just depends.

What you have doesn't sound like herpes. Why would you think it is herpes? Did you have unprotected sex with a person known to have herpes? Or are you just freaking out? Having unprotected sex with a person known to have herpes still leaves you with a much  higher chance of not contracting it than of becoming infected.

by worriedman01, Jun 16, 2008 01:37AM
To: waringblender
I recieved unprotected oral