Herpes Or Yeast Infection?

[Liz8216]

I never had a problem with yeast infections until I was on a certain antibiotic which caused SEVERE yeast infections.  They went away when I went off it.  However, since then, I find that it seems my body acquires yeast infections much easier.  For example, when I use bath salts I immediately get a yeast infection.  Also, it seems that when my boyfriend doesn't shower before sex, I usually get them a day or two later.  I don't know if having "unclean" sex can cause yeast infections, but it seems that my vagina is sensitive in this area.  I wonder, if you can get yeast infections from unclean underwear, wouldn't it make sense that you can get it just from bacteria or sweat from your partner coming into contact with you?  Every time I get them I wonder if it is herpes since I know that yeast infections can be misdiagnosed and might actually be herpes.  I have only had eight partners in my life and only had unprotected sex twice, one was with my current boyfriend and one other person (which was a one time thing).  Today, I randomly noticed that when I peed I had a very slight discomfort in one spot on the inside of my vagina.  I looked and it seemed like there were little bumps, but only when I stretched the skin.  I figured they were probably hair follicles or skin pores since when I stretch the skin elsewhere it seems to do the same thing, only these looked a little more prominent.  It seems now that the itching is spreading, which is typical to me in the start of a yeast infection, but it's more prominent in the area where I thought I noticed the tiny bump(s).  Also, I feel like scratching in that one area may have irritated it to cause it to itch more.  What I am wondering, is if I did have herpes, wouldn't it be likely that I would have had a more severe outbreak by now since I've been with my boyfriend for over two years?  I am worried that these maybe aren't yeast infections and just mild outbreaks.  My boyfriend experiences nothing like this.  Wouldn't I have given it to him by now?  Every time I suspect a yeast infection I am paranoid that I might actually have herpes.  I hear that you can't be tested for herpes unless you have an outbreak, so going to the doctor is difficult for me since she is kind of far away.  If anyone could help I would greatly appreciate it.  I would like to stop worrying so much!

[petal130]

It's best if you start your own post. Click the green "post a question" box to do so.

[lovecupcakes]

Ive had numerous yeast infections and bv since last november it started after i had sex w this guy who im still having sex with we've had unprotected sex and lots of times after we have sex i start to feel discomfort then thick white yellowish discharge somwtimes itchyer than other times ive never had these problems before.  just recently my doc tested for herpes she said im negative for hsv-1 POSITIVE for hsv-2 she took blood samples that test for antibodies how accurated is this test? could the doctor be wrong? could i have something else? Also my partner has never had symptoms or any sort of sores.  I dont have sores even when i went to the doctors office she didnt see sores inside the vigina.  SOMEONE please help.  Should i get a second opinion i tired of this suffering

[gracefromHHP]

let's stick to  your original post - thanks!

[kellyta30]

About 2 weeks ago i had 1 sore on my vagina, it was painful. The rash went away after about some days. I am now concern that i did not check it out at the Doctor. I wonder if it is herpes. It is the first time i am having this symptom, i know herpes can be in the body for yrs, but i ave never had this problem before. I only had thrush and BV before. I had a baby in 2008, since then i have not had unprotected sex with my partner, i always used a condom. I have never slept with anyone, other than my partner, protected of course. Because i had fibroids, and had a horrible birth experience, i do not wish to get pregnant again, so i always used a condom. I think i am going to take a herpes test, the one that shows if i have ever been infected by any of the herpes virus.The sore was not a cluster of blisters, it was just one sore, it was itcy and painful, anybody have any suggestions.

[please_help_ash]

wow...i am 15 and i think i have yeast infection i have white"cottage cheese", greyish skin, and red around my vagina. i told my mom and we are goingt o get medication for it on monday. i am just scared because i am not sexually active. i think it is from either, wiping the wrong way after using the restroom, wearing wet clothes, or dirty underwear. PLEASE!! any advice?
~ please-help-ash <3

[gracefromHHP]

Yeast can never turn into chlamydia. You get chlamydia by coming into contact with the chlamydia bacteria.  No idea who told you that yeast can turn into a chlamydia infection if not treated!

grace

[Dr_Deija]

HEY LOOK IM 18 YEARS OLD AND LET ME TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENED THE LAST TIME I DID WHAT YOU DID,
i was 16 years old and i had sex with my boyfriend for the 5th time. I was planning on telling my mother but i was scared as hell i knew she would be mad and she wouldnt trust me again. Anyways so we were in the car and he started to fundle me wich is usually  a slight way of pleasuring a woman, and then we took it to the next part. So the next day i started itching really bad in my vaginal area and i was scared, and paronoid to go to the docter cause i knew that if i went there they would give me a papsmear and my test results will be mailed to my mother. So i looked on the computer and i looked up a clinic that i could go to without a parent. I didnt go to the docter asap  so i let the irratation get worser and worser and i kept having sex even though i had it (thinking it would just go away) . So i finally had my sex partner take me to the doctor that i looked up and i got a papsmear and it turned out i had first a yeast infection and since i didn get it treated it turned to clamidia. I thought it had caame from my partner but what happened was by me not doing anything about it i had a yeast infectyion and i gave it to him then he gave it back and so on. then it ended up turning into clamidia. I aws mad cause i could have just got that treated and everything would have been fine but  was 16 and i was young and ignorant of my vaginal area like you (not saying your dumb) but do you understand baby there ar pelnty of options and if you can find a clinic plz try to tell ur mother cause she is the closest person who probably has been there or the closest person that cares ok.
sincerly deija! good luck text back you need more help!

[gracefromHHP]

You need to follow up on this today or tomorrow with a medical provider. You can not put it off any longer.Go and be seen and get proper testing done.  

grace

[TT00000]

Hello, im 15 years old and i recently had unprotected sex with someone that was 19. he only has had a few sexually parnters and i have too. the next morning i woke up with a burning itching feeling in my vagina. i dont kno the different places or any big words relating to vaginas becuase im so young so i was wondering if someone could help me out. i have no discharge wat so ever. im worried it could either be a yeast infection or an STD. im afraid to tell my mom so ive waited 3 days. today being the 3rd. it has gotten a little better but still itches and burns when i pee. wat should i do? and how do i tell between a yeast infection and an STD. HELP ME PLEASE!

[heartsandkisses]

Hi,
I get reoccurant yeast infections right before my period, and I know it may be related to birthcontrol pills.

However, here is my story...
I was getting minor cuts after a bad yeast infection, so I went to the walk-in to get it checked out. These cuts are tiny tiny..less than 2mm. I thought that perhaps my vagina walls were irritated with the yeast. The doctor swabbed it, and to my surprise, it came back HSV-1 genitally positive. I was shocked because I didn't think that that would have ended up being herpes, but at the same time I'm relieved because I know exactly what it is, instead of wondering what it was and worrying about it.

I suggest you to get yourself tested just for your consciousness sake! If you don't have it, you'll be relieved and don't have to think about it again, and if you do...well that's what this site is for! to talk about your feelings, as questions and is a good support group. and at least you don't have to keep wondering. Moreover, for your chronic yeast infections I recommend you to get yourself checked out for that regardless, they may find treatment such as diflucon (my best friend) which i find works better than over the counter medication. I'm also currently taking diflucon once a week and hoping that I won't get a yeast infection next week *cross my fingers*

the morale of my story.
Get yourself checked out, even though it's hard to see a doctor. Walk-ins do just fine too! Then you won't drive yourself crazy!! =)

take care and good luck hun!

[gracefromHHP]

Sometimes you get stuck in a cycle of constant yeast infections. I'm totally with katboorm here - you need to go be seen and get a full work up. I wouldn't be self treating at home everytime you think you have a yeast infectionl. If you are having them frequently then you need professional evaluation and treatments.

I will contradict though the advice as to treating your partner too. There is no benefit to treating the partner when the female has constantly reoccuring vaginitis. This is specifically even in the 2006 cdc std treatment standards. It's a waste of time and money and studies have confirmed that it doesn't help. Unless your partner has an obvious yeast infection in the genital area - no need to treat them.

Do you use condoms? Do you use lube?  Are you on the bc pill?

So could this be herpes?  Well it could be but you also could have yeast infections frequently or have yeast and also have herpes. I hope that makes sense. Since it's on your mind and chances are good that neither you nor your partner have never been tested for herpes ever - why don't you both make a plan to go get blood tests for herpes at some point in the future. Getting yourself tested is only part of the picture - knowing your partner's status is also important.

grace

[katboorn]

Dont worry you dont sound stupid. When we have issues with our bodies that we dont know, we all get nervous. If it is your mother that has to take you, than she should know about yeast infections. I would go to your doc since some yeast infections in rare cases have caused major issues, also if it is an std( I know you said you think your safe and so on but it's better safe than sorry) can cause MAJOR problems if left untreated, same with some vaginal issues that are left untreated and who wants that. It is not uncommon for herpes to give women vaginal problems, but if you have had several of these infections with no blisters, bumps, or blisters than herpes is low on the list, BUT, I am not a doc, so like I said rule out possible infections than go from there if there neg, but  please dont put it off, cause if it is simple like a yeast infection why suffer through it and if it is something big than you can nip it in the butt :)

[Liz8216]

Thanks.  Usually when I get a yeast infection I treat it with either monistat or home remedies.  They both usually seem to work.  I would assume if it was herpes these remedies wouldn't make the symptoms go away.  The only reason that I would have to tell someone is because the only person I know with a car is my mother (I live in the city) and she's the only one that can drive me to the doc, unless they would test for herpes in a walk in clinic, which I don't know if they can do that or not.  Also, like you have mentioned, this came about two days after having sex with my boyfriend when I knew he didn't take a shower after work and I was worried this would happen.  I'm assuming that since causal factors are in place here that it is a yeast infection, or like you said, bacterial infection, but I hear so many stories about girls being misdiagnosed and finding out years down the line it was actually a herpes outbreak.  I don't mean to sound stupid about herpes at all, but I'm assuming that since I haven't had that many sexual partners (plus the fact that three were virgins, and the other three I used protection, with only one stupid mistake) it puts me at a lower risk for herpes, even though I know of course it only takes one person.  My boyfriend, if I trust him, has used protection every time he's had sex (before me), which again I think slightly lowers my risk a little.  I feel I should just chalk it up to paranoia and not worry about anything and then go get a blood test the next time I visit my doctor.  I appreciate the responses.  I know this probably somewhat of an annoying thread, and that I might be overreacting, but it helps put my mind at ease to hear other people's opinions.

[katboorn]

First off when you get what you think is a yeast infection how do you treat it? do you go to the doctors or do you just go to the drug store and pick up stuff? You do not have to tell anyone that you think you have herpes just to go to the docs and it is nothing to be shy, scared, bashfull..ect about having a yeast infection, so I am sure if you did have to tell someone why you where going to the docs and you said a yeast infection they would understand. Plus you can still talk to your doc when you get there and he/she will keep it private. Every women will have some kind of vaginal issue at some point and if it is just a yeast infection all your doc has to do is give you ONE pill and bang it's gone, YAY!! right.  The best thing for you is to go to your doc and explain what is going on and have him take some vaginal swabs. You may have signs of a yeast infection but it could be something different such as a bacterial infection or other issues you can get in your lower regions. Some women have other problems and think it's a yeats infection, they take yeast infection meds and it just slows down symptoms untill a few weeks later when it acts up again. Some girls have yeast infections all the time and can go on meds to help control it. Every girl has little bumps if you pull the skin tight enough and it sounds like you are making things worse by scratching. Yeast infections can be caused by dirty clothes, moist clothes, and from having sex with your man if he is not clean or if his fingers are dirty. If you wipe the wrong way after going to the bathroom, that to can cause problems, birth control and some pills can cause problems too. Also like mike said if you do have one you could have gave it to your boy and you are passing it back and fourth. Also when was your last pap? Like I said go to the doc's and have some vaginal swabs done and rule out vaginal issues first, than go from there if they come back neg. For now use a condom if you are going to have sex. let us know how it goes *hug*

[Liz8216]

Do you think it is very probably that I have herpes, or does it sound like a yeast infection?  The next time I go to the doctor I will tell her about this, but unfortunately I don't have a car and no way of getting to my doctor without informing a family member about this (which I cannot do).

[Mike333485]

You can get tested anytime, although if you contracted herpes through oral sex the tests won't be conclusive (do some research on herpes to see what I mean). This is because if you contracted the virus though oral sex (your partner has a cold sore and performed oral sex on you, now you have gential herpes), then the blood test will only show that you have HSV-1, a virus strand common in most people (causes cold sores, can cause gential herpes). It is possible that you partner is still carying the yeast bacteria in his system, and is reinfecting you. Get him to take some antibotics, and go to your doctor to get you sores checked out.

Herpes can effect each person differently and to varying degrees. Most people never realize they have it. If you do you are not alone. As much as 1/4 of the population has genital herpes. Talk to your partner, your doctor, and find out more.