Help Me

[bliss808]

My long term boyfriend gets cold sores. He has all his life. After all the years of dating I have never gotten a cold sore from him. Then about two weeks ago my boyfriend had no signs of a cold sore but the next day after he had left he got one. A few days later I had health problms and went to the doctor after the exam the doctor told me that i have herpes ( which is located on my gential area). From what I've read online it's calld HSV2. To make things worse I recenty had a cut behind my ear that got infected and I was prescribed antibiotics for that and ointment, but either my boyfriend or maybe I contaminated the area behind the same ear where the infected cut is. My doctor hasn't seen that yet but I know it has to be a sore it itches the same and looks the same. So now my ear hurts and feels swollen and almost like an ear infection. I'm not mad at my boyfriend I knew he got cold sores and he was very careful not to even come near my house if he thought he might get one. But of course I have concerns. I have been reading for the past few days everything I can about HSV on the internet, but I can't trust them I want an actual doctor or medical professional to advise me. I want an answer I can rely on. So please help me. I also don't have much of a social life and would like to have someone to talk to about this. So here are my questions:
                     1. If i wash my hands after I use the rest room and then dry my hands will I be risking my son getting it if he dries his hands on the same towle? (I have been keeping a separate towle for me but I want to know)
                     2. Is it ok to do my laundry with my son's laundry together?
                     3 My medical insurance is about to expire and I dont think I'll be getting it renwed, where is a good place to get the oinments and antivral medicine perscribed if I have anoher outbreak and I'm not covered?
                    4. Can someone guide me on the right track to find out how outbreaks get triggered and how I may help prevent the trigger?
                     5. Now that the cold sores are on a genital area and my boyfriend's cold sore are not does this mean that he can get it on his genitals if we have sex?
                    6. I'm worried to even kiss my child, I dont have any cold sores on my mouth but I'm scared. If my boyfriend didn't have symtoms and now i have it on my genital area, how can i be sure it's safe to kiss my little boy?
                   7. My boyfriend keeps saying that it's not the std as herpes that it's different. I don't think so, I think he feels guily and is in denial. So please tell me is cold sores on an genitaL area the same as genital herpes?  

[gracefromHHP]

when you were infected with hsv1 genitally, you were infected with the virus from the waist down.  odds are your hsv1 genital recurrences will be few and far between but they can occur anywhere below the waist. Many folks have their recurrences in the same general area but many do not - only time will tell. about half of all folks who have hsv1, never get recurrences. the average is 1 additional ob the first year and then 1 ob every other year.

could you get obvious cold sores?  hard to tell if you have hsv1 orally or not since you didn't have a cold sore there when you were infected.  

recurrences behind your ear, if indeed you do have hsv1 there too, will be infrequent too.

[bliss808]

After i was told by my doctor that it was hsv1 that i have on my genital area and behind my ear they didn't even bother to explain aything. Like the difference between hsv1 and 2, or what type of trestment options i had, everything i know i found online or from this forum. All they were willing to tell me was that it would come back anywhere like my mouth. Is this true? That even though my mouth does not have any sores on it and my outbreaks have only been on my genital area and behind my ear that when or if it comes back the sores can come back on my mouth? or other parts around my genital area where i havent had an outbreak?

[gracefromHHP]

yep you have the hang of replying here now :)

yes, you can do your laundry with your son's laundry. herpes is easily killed with soap and water.

your bf has hsv1 orally, you have it genitally - it's not likely he'd contract it genitally from you. always err on the side of caution and avoid sex when you have anything going on genitally.

you can go see any doctor you want, even if you don't have insurance. PP is typically a lot cheaper when you don't have insurance though.  

[bliss808]

Dear Grace,
      I hope that I am posting this right this time, please clarify for me if i have not.I don't mean to make things harder. I called the clinic and found out that I have HSV1.
                      1. I s it ok to do my laundry with my son's laundry?
                      2. Now that I have hsv1 on my genitals and my boyfriend doesn't will i be risking giving him genital hsv1 if we have sex?
                      3. My insurace s about to expire is plan parenthood the only plac i have left to go for help when or if i have another outbreak on my genitals?
                

[bliss808]

I will. Thank you

[gracefromHHP]

give the clinic a call tomorrow and ask if your lesion culture was hsv1 or hsv2?

[bliss808]

I had a c/s my doctor sent the swabs to the lab on monday. But she said that by how it looks it's herpes and she had me started on ointment and antiviral medicine that i take five times a day. On my summary that i was sent home with all it said was herpes simplex no number, after my research online I assumed it's hsv cause it's on the gential area.

[gracefromHHP]

let's start at the very beginning - what testing did you have done?

hsv1 never turns into hsv2.  

grace