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Avatar universal

Symptoms, but negative IGG at 7.5 weeks

I had unprotected sex with a girl who had no obvious symptoms of herpes. She also claims she doesn't have it, which doesn't mean anything since she's never been tested. This happened about 2 months ago. I never developed any symptoms until maybe 5 weeks after the exposure. I started getting slight balanitis (redness around the ring on the head of my penis). About a week and a half or so later I developed a small bump on the base of my shaft, I poked and prodded at it and it went away within the same day. This bump was accompanied by pain in my right leg. I remember poking at it then going to the clinic to get it checked and when I presented my unit, it was so small that I couldn't find it, but I eventually did (it was maybe 1/4 the size it was originally). Anyways, the next day I developed a small bump on the underside of my shaft that was just plain red. I poked at it and pinched it to see if it would pop but it didn't. It scabbed because I made it bleed (I think, I'm not 100%). I then got ANOTHER bump the next day on the left side of my shaft that when I popped it white pus came out (so i believe it was just a pimple, this has happened before but its insanely rare for me to get a whitehead on my penis). Once that was gone about 2 days later I got another bump at the same location as the pimple which when I popped it, clear liquid came out with a little bit of white, but mostly completely clear liquid. I had weird feelings on my penis for about 3 weeks while this was happening also, like stabbing pains and twitching. Fast forward about another week and another bump pops up where the pimple was, this time I am smarter and decide to watch it without popping it. It shrinks to nothing in maybe 2 days. I should mention none of the bumps have ever itched, tingled, hurt (not even the slightest) or scabbed (maybe because I popped them all), except for the one where I believe only scabbed due to the pinching. All of this happened in the span of 4 weeks, about 4.5 -5 weeks after the possible exposure. I had a herpes IGG at 7.5 weeks which came back negative. I should also mention that I have very dry skin on my penis, which I've now been moisturizing. I also do still have slight balanitis, it was never itched or hurt and is only represented as redness on the rim of my penis. And not matter what, I'm going to get another IGG test at 13 weeks (I would do 12 weeks but I'm insanely busy that week with multiple midterms).

My questions are:
1) Is an IGG reliable at this time given my symptoms?
2) Do these symptoms sound like Herpes? I just don't know what else it could be.
3) Wouldn't the antibodies in my blood be detectable since I had been having symptoms for over 3 weeks before I got tested?
4) If I'm negative at 13 weeks, does that rule out herpes as the cause 100%?

Thanks for taking the time to respond!
10 Responses
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Avatar universal
No, you are over reaching. You do not have genital herpes.
Helpful - 1
Avatar universal
No, discrete bumps are not herpes. They are usually a single lesion patch.
Helpful - 1
1 Comments
Ok, makes sense. Also, I was negative via IGM at 7.5 weeks also. It is my understanding that the IGM is a flawed test, but can detect herpes earlier than IGG. Would 7.5 weeks be too long post encounter for an IGM to be positive? Or could it still be positive at 7.5 weeks?
Avatar universal
You can be very confident that this isn't herpes. The 5 week timeframe until symptoms virtually guarantees that you were not infected in the episode and IgG testing confirms you did not have it prior. Lesions would appear within a week if you were infected.

You symptoms are not related to herpes, they are not lesions that would be expected if you were infected.

A 13 week test, probably not required, but will confirm you are negative for HSV2.
Helpful - 1
1 Comments
That's very reassuring, thank you! I just don't know what else it could be. The onset of symptoms was late, but the development of 5 bumps over the course or 3.5-4 weeks is characteristic or herpes, is it not? Even if the bump didn't really feel like, nor "behave" as herpes.
Avatar universal
You are fine, you do not have genital herpes.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I've heard of people having just one red bump that doesn't blister but goes away within a day or two as an initial outbreak.. I'm very skeptical.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I just don't see another explanation to having 5 random bumps on my penis over the span of 2-3 weeks..
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Could I have had and outbreak so mild after the encounter that I never noticed it, and then this one is my second one which I have noticed? I'm just really concerned because one bump I had was very very similar to a blister. It was a whitehead, forming after I had popped a pimple at that same location. When I popped it, it was basically all clear fluid (like water). It didn't hurt, sting or anything at all.. From what I have read though it can be painless. I couldn't see where it was directly after popping it, like it had completely disappeared. I remember it distinctly though. It came up in a matter of hours, and was shrinking slightly before I popped it later that day.
Helpful - 0
15249123 tn?1478652475
It's a good indicator but not conclusive yet. That being said like fleetwood said your symptoms are not from hsv. If you want to retest. Do it after twelve weeks.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thanks feelingundone. Do you know if the antibodies would be showing already (at 7.5 weeks) if in the past month it was in fact a herpes outbreak? Or is it still more likely to show up at the 3 month mark?
Helpful - 0
15249123 tn?1478652475
Igm tests are worthless anyway you slice it. Listen to Fleetwood20 he knows his stuff and he is telling you not to worry about hsv. I agree with everything he is telling you so breathe easy.
Helpful - 0
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