Hello Dr,
I am a 40 year-old lesbian. ALL of my past sexual encounters have bee with women (9 partners, to be exact, and I have not been sexually active in 5 years). Over the years, I have experienced 3 conditions in my vaginal area. The first are 3 relatively small (but noticeable to the touch) keloids. I am positive they are keloids, as I have then on other parts of my body (got steroid treatment for one on my shoulder). The keloids occurred in my early 20's when I began shaving, and cut myself--they never healed properly. I'm not worried about those at all. Secondly, since my early 20's (I honestly can't remember if it was before or after I began having sex), I began to develop sores around my genital area, often close to my period. One Doctor told me in passing that she thought it was thrush, though I had no sores for her to examine at the time. They feel/look like pimples that you would get on your face. The area is tender, then raised, then a sore appears. If I squeeze it, foul smelling puss and blood comes out (often shoots out, sorry for being gross). Then, they go away, and the skin returns to normal. When I get them, they are usually on either half of my vagina--on the top or outer lips. I would sometimes get then on my inner thighs, and I think I've had them (rarely) on my butt--I can't remember, but it's possible. I have noticed, however, that with a better hygiene and diet, the sores do not occur. I honestly can't remember the last time I had one--I'll be safe and say 3 years? Recently, I discovered a cluster of very small bumps on the top of my vagina, near my stomach. They are now healing. I am hoping this is a burn from Nair that I used to get rid of hair. They never hurt, and I just happened to discover them while in the shower. Lastly, sometimes I get these weird bumps in my genital area. They are usually small, and if I squeeze them, I can feel something coming to the surface. What comes out is a scab. Have you ever encountered this? Also, I have tested negative for all cancer-related HPV viruses, and for #51, which causes genital warts (though I know there are other strains for this, for which I have not been tested)
More questions: the studies on lesbians and STD'S aren't as prevalent as those with heterosexuals, but I know women scan spread std's to one another. My main question is if I do (God forbid) I have herpes 2, I'm confused as to how I got it. I have never had direct genital-to-genital contact with a woman. Also, if I have it, I don't understand why I would not have herpes 1 (I've never had a cold sore, just an occasional pimple on my face). Can HSV-1 be spread to the vagina, and HSV-2 be spread to the face? For example, if I had sex with someone who had HSV-1, why would only show up as HSV-2? Why would I not have HSV-1 as well (from kissing that same person)?
I am driving myself crazy, but I have done the right thing, by having a blood and urine STD test--I just had it done 2 days ago, and am anxiously awaiting my results. Thank you for your answers and for reading this!