Do I have herpes in the back of my throat?!

[ktkirby]

I’m (18f) really scared I don’t know what I have. So I work at a school and on valentine’s day I got a bunch a fun dip, and I depressingly ate a bunch in one sitting. My tongue got irritated and my taste buds got sore (only on the tip and sides) and it was really just red bumps some kinda white, which makes me think those were inflamed papillae just from so much fun dip. BUT now these white spots have formed on the roof of my mouth, they don’t really hurt but kinda like they’re sore to the touch honestly they’re kinda just uncomfortable. AND this is where it gets embarrassing... the night before valentine’s day I stupidly hooked up with this guy who I barely knew... I don’t think he had anything but my mom made a comment about it being herpes when I told her and now I am freaking out. The bumps on my tongue have a different pain than the spots on the roof of my mouth. And they aren’t any risen or anything like the ones on my tongue were bumps but the spots on the roof of my mouth are kinda just like there. I’ve only had stuff on the tip and sides of my tongue then on the roof of my mouth, nothing on my gums, inside of my cheeks, or lips. I’ve also had a little bit of a runny nose and sore throat and my lymph nodes have been super sore to the touch (idk if they’re swollen or not) please please please help!! I’ve just went to urgent care because large bumped behind my uvula in the back of my throat, strep test came back negative but they said it could be a viral infection, never said anything about herpes but idk if that’s because my mom was there. i’m freaking out i’m only 18 i feel like i’m gonna throw up i think just from being nervous.

[auntiejessi]

So first, if they thought it was herpes, they might have asked your mom to leave the room to tell you. Doctors, by law, are not allowed to not tell adults - and you are one at 18 - what their diagnoses are, so if they thought it was herpes, they can't not tell you.

I'd be thinking strep or something way before I'd be thinking herpes, for sure, and rapid tests aren't always accurate. Did you tell the doctor about the hook up with the guy? Did the doctor know that you were afraid an STD might be a possibility?

When you had the hookup, did you give the guy oral sex? If not, there's no chance that this is an oral STD. It could be oral herpes if you kissed him, but I'd think any number of viral things that cause sore throats first since you work with kids. It's still cold and flu season.

[ktkirby]

I did give him oral sex, and my symptoms that only concerned me (spots on roof of mouth and bumps forming in throat) showed up like a week and a half later. they’ve settle down, no more pain or really cold symptoms and i don’t see bad spots on the roof of my mouth but it looks like there might be very faint ones. but the bumps in my throat are still back there when i look with a flashlight (when i say bumps i mean full on BUMPS like pebble sized lumps, don’t look blistery or ***** or anything literally just risen skin). I didn’t tell the doctor about the hook up because my mom was in the room... i really regret it now and thought about calling and asking if they thought it could be std but it was an urgent care so i didn’t know if they’d talk to me or whatever without me going there. they sent like a swab to the lab and said they’ll call us when they have results, idk if they’ll test it for stds, if they don’t find any viral infection do you think i should go back or go to my primary care doctor and ask about stds?

[auntiejessi]

I think you should go to your doctor or a Planned Parenthood alone or with a friend you trust, if you can't tell your mom, and be honest about your concerns, and have a medical professional look at your throat.

They could be canker sores (not an STD), taste buds, or any number of normal variations of the tongue that you are just now noticing because you are concerned.

Depending on what kind of throat culture they did, they may find gonorrhea. You should call your doctor's office and ask about that. If they haven't called with the results, definitely call them. Most often, no call means no infection, but it could also mean that your results got misplaced, or are sitting on someone's desk who is out sick or on vacation or something. Likely, the culture was looking for bacteria, not a virus.

Giving oral sex on someone who has a penis puts you at risk for oral gonorrhea and oral syphilis. Syphilis is uncommon, and your partner would have to have a visible sore in order to transmit it. Gonorrhea can transmit without symptoms. The good news is that both of those are easily cured with antibiotics.

If you kissed him, and he has oral herpes type 1 (hsv1), you can get that from him, but you'd likely have sores all over your mouth and on your lips with your first outbreak. What you're describing doesn't sound like that.

It really sounds like you had a random virus that goes around this time of year, but call and get your throat culture results, and make sure they didn't find strep or anything. Ask if they could have detected gonorrhea with the test they did, and go from there.