Aa
HSV from analingus/rimming
In late February I saw a CSW who performed the following on me:
1. Analingus/rimming for which I was on the receiving end
2. Ball licking
No sex was performed, though there was skin to skin contact in the form of her giving me a massage while sitting on my butt.
About 11 days later I started getting symptoms which have since recurred. During the first occurrence, I experience itching and burning around my anus and taint, a pricking/stinging sensation (genitals, anus, legs, arms, fingers), and redness/pain around my anus. I had swelling in the lymph nodes in my armpit. I was also extremely tired and had muscle weakness in my legs, going to bed as soon as I came home from work. Two days later, there were red spots around my abuse and the first lone blister appeared on the dorsal side of my anus. The blister popped as soon as I saw it, as I was spreading trying to see what was going on. I went to a walk-in clinic to get tested for HSV, but the swab test came back negative. I wasn’t convinced because the blister had already popped.
A few days after that, a cluster of blisters appeared on the opposite side of my anus, towards my penis. This time it looked like the pictures of herpes you see on google, as it was a cluster, not a single blister. I went to another walk-in to get tested, but by the time I got there, they had popped, leaving behind painful ulcers. The ulcers were swabbed (this time I felt it, it was really painful), but the test came back negative again.
Ever since, I have been getting milder recurrences of the symptoms, with perhaps one week gaps of relief in between. The blisters are now red bumps in the same spot that feel like paper cuts instead of painful ulcers. My balls and anus continue to be itchy. The pricking/stinging sensation is never completely gone, though it fluctuates in severity with the papercut sensations in my anus coming and going.
Along side all of this, I have been getting recurring pink eye, which I was worried might be ocular herpes, but the doctor stained my eye recently and didn’t see any dendrites.
Even though I had two negative swab tests, I know that HSV can be inconclusive if the swab didn’t capture the fluid from the blisters (which had already popped both times in my case). I don’t know what to think because my symptoms continue to persist without explanation.
Any help would be much appreciated. I haven’t been able to talk to a doctor since the whole covid-19 lock down began.
1. Analingus/rimming for which I was on the receiving end
2. Ball licking
No sex was performed, though there was skin to skin contact in the form of her giving me a massage while sitting on my butt.
About 11 days later I started getting symptoms which have since recurred. During the first occurrence, I experience itching and burning around my anus and taint, a pricking/stinging sensation (genitals, anus, legs, arms, fingers), and redness/pain around my anus. I had swelling in the lymph nodes in my armpit. I was also extremely tired and had muscle weakness in my legs, going to bed as soon as I came home from work. Two days later, there were red spots around my abuse and the first lone blister appeared on the dorsal side of my anus. The blister popped as soon as I saw it, as I was spreading trying to see what was going on. I went to a walk-in clinic to get tested for HSV, but the swab test came back negative. I wasn’t convinced because the blister had already popped.
A few days after that, a cluster of blisters appeared on the opposite side of my anus, towards my penis. This time it looked like the pictures of herpes you see on google, as it was a cluster, not a single blister. I went to another walk-in to get tested, but by the time I got there, they had popped, leaving behind painful ulcers. The ulcers were swabbed (this time I felt it, it was really painful), but the test came back negative again.
Ever since, I have been getting milder recurrences of the symptoms, with perhaps one week gaps of relief in between. The blisters are now red bumps in the same spot that feel like paper cuts instead of painful ulcers. My balls and anus continue to be itchy. The pricking/stinging sensation is never completely gone, though it fluctuates in severity with the papercut sensations in my anus coming and going.
Along side all of this, I have been getting recurring pink eye, which I was worried might be ocular herpes, but the doctor stained my eye recently and didn’t see any dendrites.
Even though I had two negative swab tests, I know that HSV can be inconclusive if the swab didn’t capture the fluid from the blisters (which had already popped both times in my case). I don’t know what to think because my symptoms continue to persist without explanation.
Any help would be much appreciated. I haven’t been able to talk to a doctor since the whole covid-19 lock down began.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Even in the most locked down areas, you can still see a doctor for essential medical care.
If you can get a PCR swab instead of a regular culture, that would really help. It's far more sensitive than a regular culture, and isn't so dependent on the blisters not being popped. I don't know if your urgent care or walk in clinic will be able to do it, but call and ask your regular doctor if they can, or if they can order it for you.
This is quite frequent, even for a new herpes case, to be recurring. I'd be interested for them to do a PCR swab for herpes, and make sure it's type specific, since you received oral, it would be type 1 genital herpes, and a general wound culture to see if something else is causing this.
Can you get into a dermatologist or an infectious disease specialist with any ease? It doesn't sound like you're in the US, or they'd already be talking about blood tests. Other places, like the UK and Canada, don't like to do herpes blood tests, and the US is opening, and other places aren't so much.
I'm also concerned about your eye. Pink eye can be a sign of covid. Have you been tested for that?
When your partner sat on your buttocks, that's not really a risk, because the skin on your butt is too thick for the virus to penetrate. The real risk here is from the oral sex and rimming, and that could give you genital herpes type 1, or ghsv1. Do you know if you've ever had a cold sore before orally? If you have a history of that, getting it genitally would be highly unlikely.
You could also get gonorrhea or NGU (an infection in your urethra caused by anything except gonorrhea) from oral sex - have you been tested for that? Having another infection could be keeping a herpes infection very active, and could also be causing some of your symptoms.
So call your regular doctor, and explain what's happening. Ask if they can do PCR swabs, a covid test, and a type specific IgG herpes blood test (if you are in the UK or Canada, expect them to say no to that). Since your risk is for hsv1, the blood test isn't actually all that useful, since if it comes back positive for hsv1, it doesn't tell us now, several months later, if it's a new infection, or one you've had since childhood, like many people. A PCR swab in the area would be the best thing you can do.
Let me know what happens.
If you can get a PCR swab instead of a regular culture, that would really help. It's far more sensitive than a regular culture, and isn't so dependent on the blisters not being popped. I don't know if your urgent care or walk in clinic will be able to do it, but call and ask your regular doctor if they can, or if they can order it for you.
This is quite frequent, even for a new herpes case, to be recurring. I'd be interested for them to do a PCR swab for herpes, and make sure it's type specific, since you received oral, it would be type 1 genital herpes, and a general wound culture to see if something else is causing this.
Can you get into a dermatologist or an infectious disease specialist with any ease? It doesn't sound like you're in the US, or they'd already be talking about blood tests. Other places, like the UK and Canada, don't like to do herpes blood tests, and the US is opening, and other places aren't so much.
I'm also concerned about your eye. Pink eye can be a sign of covid. Have you been tested for that?
When your partner sat on your buttocks, that's not really a risk, because the skin on your butt is too thick for the virus to penetrate. The real risk here is from the oral sex and rimming, and that could give you genital herpes type 1, or ghsv1. Do you know if you've ever had a cold sore before orally? If you have a history of that, getting it genitally would be highly unlikely.
You could also get gonorrhea or NGU (an infection in your urethra caused by anything except gonorrhea) from oral sex - have you been tested for that? Having another infection could be keeping a herpes infection very active, and could also be causing some of your symptoms.
So call your regular doctor, and explain what's happening. Ask if they can do PCR swabs, a covid test, and a type specific IgG herpes blood test (if you are in the UK or Canada, expect them to say no to that). Since your risk is for hsv1, the blood test isn't actually all that useful, since if it comes back positive for hsv1, it doesn't tell us now, several months later, if it's a new infection, or one you've had since childhood, like many people. A PCR swab in the area would be the best thing you can do.
Let me know what happens.
I am in Canada so we are still under lockdown. I went to an ER to get swabbed but the doctor said he didn’t see any blisters to swab. I don’t know if PCR tests are offered here.
I got the standard STI panel during my first doctor visit and it came back negative for everything.
I think Valtrex, which I am now on daily, may be what is causing my red eyes. It seems to flare up whenever I take more than 500 mg in a day, which I have been doing when the symptoms get bad. I got the perscription through a telehealth app out of frustration/lack of answers.
I’ve never had a cold sore. Could it be HSV-2? I’d imagine a CSW would be the mostly likely person to have oral HSV-2. Like you said, the frequency of recurrence is odd for HSV-1, so I am thinking it might be HSV-2.
I got the standard STI panel during my first doctor visit and it came back negative for everything.
I think Valtrex, which I am now on daily, may be what is causing my red eyes. It seems to flare up whenever I take more than 500 mg in a day, which I have been doing when the symptoms get bad. I got the perscription through a telehealth app out of frustration/lack of answers.
I’ve never had a cold sore. Could it be HSV-2? I’d imagine a CSW would be the mostly likely person to have oral HSV-2. Like you said, the frequency of recurrence is odd for HSV-1, so I am thinking it might be HSV-2.
1 Comments
Oral hsv2 is rare, and when it happens, it doesn't shed very often, or recur often, so it's very unlikely to transmit, whether the person is a CSW or not.
HSV 2 genital 15-30% of days evaluated
HSV 1 genital 3-5% of days evaluated
HSV 1 oral 25% of days evaluated
HSV 2 oral 1% of days evaluated
I'd love for you to be able to see a dermatologist, who is probably the most likely to know about PCR swabs. PCR swabs are available in Canada, but ER docs and urgent cares may not know about them. And to be fair, they aren't specialists in STIs - they have to be current on 100s of different conditions, from strep to heart attacks to broken bones to allergic reactions.
Is the Valtrex helping anything? If it isn't, it doesn't sound like herpes. That's another reason I'd love for you to be able to get a general culture on this to see what it is.
Can you start the process to get into a derm? I know parts of Canada are starting to open, though I don't know if it's country-wide. If you start the process now, maybe you'll have an appt waiting for you when you're open.
HSV 2 genital 15-30% of days evaluated
HSV 1 genital 3-5% of days evaluated
HSV 1 oral 25% of days evaluated
HSV 2 oral 1% of days evaluated
I'd love for you to be able to see a dermatologist, who is probably the most likely to know about PCR swabs. PCR swabs are available in Canada, but ER docs and urgent cares may not know about them. And to be fair, they aren't specialists in STIs - they have to be current on 100s of different conditions, from strep to heart attacks to broken bones to allergic reactions.
Is the Valtrex helping anything? If it isn't, it doesn't sound like herpes. That's another reason I'd love for you to be able to get a general culture on this to see what it is.
Can you start the process to get into a derm? I know parts of Canada are starting to open, though I don't know if it's country-wide. If you start the process now, maybe you'll have an appt waiting for you when you're open.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Herpes Community
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.
