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Confusing & frustrating Zoster & HSV diagnosis in Norway
My daughter recently (approx 1.5-2 months ago) contracted chickenpox for the first time. I had it as a child.
Approx 5 months ago I started a new relationship, the first for three years. (There had been sexual contact with a friend 6 months ago but I decided it was not right and a relationship was not pursued)
With my new partner, the first time we made love the condom came off during sex. We are long distance so the next time we met was a month later, the same thing happened again. Since then, as I'm on the pill, we have been having sex without a condom approximately 1-2 times a month.
At the end of March, we had sex with underwear pulled to the side for several hours, the underwear had become damp due to fluids and two days later found what appeared to be a chafing rash in the inguinal seam between my thigh and groin. There were no signs of rash or sores anywhere in my genitalia. At the same time, a similar small pink itchy rash appeared on the lower part of my left buttock (same side).
I panicked and went to my local doctor here in Norway. I was seen by two doctors, both of whom laughed at me and said - based on visual inspection -that it was definitely not herpes. I insisted on testing and they offered a Pap smear, clamideya, bacterial vaginitis, and a swab of my buttock area for herpes. The visual inspection of my vagina and cervix was normal and they said it looked healthy and fine, no signs of any redness or other blemishes. They did however note I had mild redness on my outer labia, potentially a mild yeast infection. All my test results came back negative.
1 week later I returned and saw a third doctor, for advice on how to treat the groin and buttock rash. There were still no visible open sores or blisters, it was just a bumpy pink rash like folliculitis or a shaving rash. I had been smearing canesten on the area in the hope it would help (believing it might be fungal folliculitis).
The third doctor performed a visual check and said she was '99% sure it was not herpes' but noted there were too very tiny, almost invisible white heads on two of the pink bumps. She asked how the previous doctor had taken the test, and whether a pin had been inserted or not. I said no pun was used, just rubbing a cotton swab against the buttock rash, nothing against the inguinal seam rash. The two small whiteheads where on the rash on the inguinal seam.
She decided to insert a pin into these for a new herpes swab test. She noted that they bled a little and only a very tiny amount of puss was visible. She took this sample and sent off. Result was negative.
I had read so many online papers and medical web pages (!! cueing mild panic, of course..) that I had started to mistrust the reliability of both swab results. I read that if a swab is taken after 48hrs of a rash or lesion first showing, or is particularly small, the chance of a false negative result can be as high as 76%.
This was staggering to me. I was so sure I must have herpes, and was so stressed (found out at the same time that I was being made redundant from my job in an area with high unemployment and a sizeable mortgage to pay) that I noted I was also experiencing lack of sleep, tingling and burning skin, not just in the affected areas but over my shoulders, thighs, hands, legs, feet.. It was terrible and very scary. I told my partner I had a rash which had resulted in negative tests, but due to feeling uncertain about their reliability, abstained (and still abstaining a month later) from sex. He has been very understanding but I don't think herpes has passed through his mind, suspect he thinks it is folliculitis or a similar type of skin infection.
By now the tingling and burning all over my body had me extremely worried. Still no signs of any sores or blemishes inside the entrance of my vagina and inner and outer labia. The rash on the inguinal seam and buttock was still slightly itchy and tingling but had not got any worse, (it is now virtually gone but has left very tiny dark pink marks on my skin) but I insisted on a new appointment with doctors.
I was taken to a nurse for a blood test to check for antibodies in my blood. I specifically requested IGG type specific blood testing for HSV1, HSV2 and Zoster, in light of my daughters recent chickenpox infection.
I was told by the nurse yes this was what she was ordering, she even showed me her PC screen which showed the options available.
After this, the tingling in my body ceased. I convinced myself I've been worrying over nothing, and is likely a bacterial skin infection or very mild case of shingles.... I had been working out in compression tights the day after the last time I'd had sex with my partner (around 25th march) and I hate to admit that they get used every other day, but had not been washed for a couple of months. I'd worked out and sat on a hard floor in my kitchen for two hours talking to my best friend on the phone. This was the first time I noticed discomfort on my left buttock, where my weight had been resting on the wooden floor.
So part of me was convinced/hoping that the buttock rash was due to this, and that the inguinal seam rash was a chafing rash infected with the same bacteria.
Today, I received a call from the doctor. My blood tests have shown I have antibodies present for Zoster and 'Herpes Simplex Virus' but the type has not been differentiated.
He advised the blood tests available at the university hospital cannot differentiate between types.
This was upsetting to hear, after going to considerable trouble insisting on testing in the first place, then having to push and insist on blood tests which were shown to me by the nurse as being IGG type specific for HSV1 and another for HSV2.
The doctor explained that IGG type specific can differentiate between type 1 and 2 but only from swab tests from the contents of a lesion, not from a blood test. He said it might be possible to get abroad or elsewhere, but in Norway he blood test can only look for antibodies of the herpessimples virus, with no differentiation of whether it is type1 or 2.
He said the best I can do is accept herpes is not dangerous, and hope I never get another breakout - if I do, then that is when they can test to see which type I have, or if I have both.
There is a site in the UK offering overseas blood and urine tests for type 1 and 2, but wouldn't samples be corrupted with the time to transport? Postal services here in Norway can take a while as most things have to cross the county to Oslo, packages coming in from the uk from family have been known to take1-2.5 weeks to arrive.
So I'm at a bit of a loss. I've read the western blot test is the most reliable test to be sure what you do or don't have where herpes is concerned, is there any way I can get this ifI live in Norway?
Any ideas what I should do? For now for my partner's sake I must assume I have HSV type 2, which early on in our relationship will be an awkward but necessary conversation.
I've just researched and ordered anti-virals online.
Please help, what can I do to know whether I actually have genital herpes or not, and what type(s) of HSV are present in my system?
Thanks, sorry for the very long message. It has been a stressful and frustrating experience.
Approx 5 months ago I started a new relationship, the first for three years. (There had been sexual contact with a friend 6 months ago but I decided it was not right and a relationship was not pursued)
With my new partner, the first time we made love the condom came off during sex. We are long distance so the next time we met was a month later, the same thing happened again. Since then, as I'm on the pill, we have been having sex without a condom approximately 1-2 times a month.
At the end of March, we had sex with underwear pulled to the side for several hours, the underwear had become damp due to fluids and two days later found what appeared to be a chafing rash in the inguinal seam between my thigh and groin. There were no signs of rash or sores anywhere in my genitalia. At the same time, a similar small pink itchy rash appeared on the lower part of my left buttock (same side).
I panicked and went to my local doctor here in Norway. I was seen by two doctors, both of whom laughed at me and said - based on visual inspection -that it was definitely not herpes. I insisted on testing and they offered a Pap smear, clamideya, bacterial vaginitis, and a swab of my buttock area for herpes. The visual inspection of my vagina and cervix was normal and they said it looked healthy and fine, no signs of any redness or other blemishes. They did however note I had mild redness on my outer labia, potentially a mild yeast infection. All my test results came back negative.
1 week later I returned and saw a third doctor, for advice on how to treat the groin and buttock rash. There were still no visible open sores or blisters, it was just a bumpy pink rash like folliculitis or a shaving rash. I had been smearing canesten on the area in the hope it would help (believing it might be fungal folliculitis).
The third doctor performed a visual check and said she was '99% sure it was not herpes' but noted there were too very tiny, almost invisible white heads on two of the pink bumps. She asked how the previous doctor had taken the test, and whether a pin had been inserted or not. I said no pun was used, just rubbing a cotton swab against the buttock rash, nothing against the inguinal seam rash. The two small whiteheads where on the rash on the inguinal seam.
She decided to insert a pin into these for a new herpes swab test. She noted that they bled a little and only a very tiny amount of puss was visible. She took this sample and sent off. Result was negative.
I had read so many online papers and medical web pages (!! cueing mild panic, of course..) that I had started to mistrust the reliability of both swab results. I read that if a swab is taken after 48hrs of a rash or lesion first showing, or is particularly small, the chance of a false negative result can be as high as 76%.
This was staggering to me. I was so sure I must have herpes, and was so stressed (found out at the same time that I was being made redundant from my job in an area with high unemployment and a sizeable mortgage to pay) that I noted I was also experiencing lack of sleep, tingling and burning skin, not just in the affected areas but over my shoulders, thighs, hands, legs, feet.. It was terrible and very scary. I told my partner I had a rash which had resulted in negative tests, but due to feeling uncertain about their reliability, abstained (and still abstaining a month later) from sex. He has been very understanding but I don't think herpes has passed through his mind, suspect he thinks it is folliculitis or a similar type of skin infection.
By now the tingling and burning all over my body had me extremely worried. Still no signs of any sores or blemishes inside the entrance of my vagina and inner and outer labia. The rash on the inguinal seam and buttock was still slightly itchy and tingling but had not got any worse, (it is now virtually gone but has left very tiny dark pink marks on my skin) but I insisted on a new appointment with doctors.
I was taken to a nurse for a blood test to check for antibodies in my blood. I specifically requested IGG type specific blood testing for HSV1, HSV2 and Zoster, in light of my daughters recent chickenpox infection.
I was told by the nurse yes this was what she was ordering, she even showed me her PC screen which showed the options available.
After this, the tingling in my body ceased. I convinced myself I've been worrying over nothing, and is likely a bacterial skin infection or very mild case of shingles.... I had been working out in compression tights the day after the last time I'd had sex with my partner (around 25th march) and I hate to admit that they get used every other day, but had not been washed for a couple of months. I'd worked out and sat on a hard floor in my kitchen for two hours talking to my best friend on the phone. This was the first time I noticed discomfort on my left buttock, where my weight had been resting on the wooden floor.
So part of me was convinced/hoping that the buttock rash was due to this, and that the inguinal seam rash was a chafing rash infected with the same bacteria.
Today, I received a call from the doctor. My blood tests have shown I have antibodies present for Zoster and 'Herpes Simplex Virus' but the type has not been differentiated.
He advised the blood tests available at the university hospital cannot differentiate between types.
This was upsetting to hear, after going to considerable trouble insisting on testing in the first place, then having to push and insist on blood tests which were shown to me by the nurse as being IGG type specific for HSV1 and another for HSV2.
The doctor explained that IGG type specific can differentiate between type 1 and 2 but only from swab tests from the contents of a lesion, not from a blood test. He said it might be possible to get abroad or elsewhere, but in Norway he blood test can only look for antibodies of the herpessimples virus, with no differentiation of whether it is type1 or 2.
He said the best I can do is accept herpes is not dangerous, and hope I never get another breakout - if I do, then that is when they can test to see which type I have, or if I have both.
There is a site in the UK offering overseas blood and urine tests for type 1 and 2, but wouldn't samples be corrupted with the time to transport? Postal services here in Norway can take a while as most things have to cross the county to Oslo, packages coming in from the uk from family have been known to take1-2.5 weeks to arrive.
So I'm at a bit of a loss. I've read the western blot test is the most reliable test to be sure what you do or don't have where herpes is concerned, is there any way I can get this ifI live in Norway?
Any ideas what I should do? For now for my partner's sake I must assume I have HSV type 2, which early on in our relationship will be an awkward but necessary conversation.
I've just researched and ordered anti-virals online.
Please help, what can I do to know whether I actually have genital herpes or not, and what type(s) of HSV are present in my system?
Thanks, sorry for the very long message. It has been a stressful and frustrating experience.
I think at this point for you own peice of mind is to have an igG type specific test. Please let us know your results
Do you mind me asking what your experience is, and why you feel so? I just hate the idea of 'hoping for the best' and my partner becoming infected due to skin contact... I care about him, so obviously would prefer not to put him at risk through ignorance. Thanks for your help, by the way, very appreciated.
By the way I've never (to my knowledge) had a cold sore appear, hence my concern about a 'borderline' herpes simplex result. I'm so annoyed they didn't / weren't able to differentiate the type present.
By the way I've never (to my knowledge) had a cold sore appear, hence my concern about a 'borderline' herpes simplex result. I'm so annoyed they didn't / weren't able to differentiate the type present.
Hi, thanks for coming back. I'm stressed again today as while the original small pink bumps have gone away (but leaving pin head sized darker skin coloured marks, spaced apart from each other) I checked down there again and have found 1 single tiny pink bump, again like the others before appearing under the skin, in the inguinal seam, same side approx 1cm away from where the others were. There has been no pain or discomfort, but I am confused as to why a single tiny pink bump would appear alone so soon after the other patch has healed, and slightly away / on its own. Is this a bad sign? Does it support an argument that this could be genital herpes? I'm worried and feel I should continue to abstain from protected sex - as there is nothing inside or on my genitals (checked by doctors twice) but this is on an area of skin which could come into contact with my partner's thigh during sex. I will tell him what has happened but he may want to anyway, with a condom, due to the negative tests and belief from my doctors it is ''likely" not that. Just find this all so stressful. If you feel it is likely it could be that then I will abstain indefinitely..... Very annoying!
Hi, if you had a combo test for herpes simplex its of no value as cross reacts with other proteins but in all likely hood its either hsv1 oral from childhood or a false positive.
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Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
