Women with herpes

[sublime2134]

I'm very new to this site. I'll start off my saying that I'm a male. I currently read that 75-90% of women who contract the herpes virus don't get any visual symptoms and don't know they even have it. Can this be correct or possible?? Is it possible for a woman to go 6-7 years without knowing they have herpes? I take everything I read online with a grain of salt, but I've been trying to educate myself lately. I've done research on males with herpes, but I'm not too familiar with how things work for women. Any thoughts and information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[gracefromHHP]

that's actually the norm, not the exception. most discordant couples stay that way.

[sublime2134]

Wow, that's crazy that she went 14-15+ years without ever passing the virus on to her husband!

[gracefromHHP]

her husband that had been her only partner for 14 years tested negative for hsv2 so she knew she had contracted it before him and just never realized it.

it's being sexually responsible for you and any potential partners to get full std testing and share results prior to starting to have sex. it doesn't rule out hpv but covers the rest of the stds.

[sublime2134]

Actually neither. I'm just trying to find out facts for the future. I used to always think it was black and white. I used to think that if you never had the symptoms, that meant you never acquired the virus. After recently finding out that you can get it without having any symptoms, it kind of scared me, which is why I will get tested. I was just asking some hypothetical questions since there is so much conflicting information out there. But Grace mentioned how a woman had it for 15 years without having an outbreak, which I found amazing. I was just curious how the doctor was able to determine that she had it for so long.

[Concern2013]

No the gyno would not be able to tell unless there are symptoms either on the outside or on the inside. And a yearly exam with a Pap smear does not check for HSV. What's scary about it and getting tested is that you have no idea how long you've had it and if you gave it to someone else or they gave it to you. Are you thinking about sleeping with a girl that has HSV or are you worried you may have been exposed recently?

[sublime2134]

Sorry, I have one other question that I meant to add into my follow up...

How is the doctor able to tell how long you've carried the virus after testing? How are they able to tell that woman had it for 15 years before her outbreak? Sorry for being annoying, lol, thank you!

[sublime2134]

Thank you for the response! It was very helpful. You are right about me getting tested, and I plan on doing so at the end of the month for peace of mind. I will make an update on this site.

My final question reguarding the virus with women is... would a gynecologist be able to notice the virus if there are no symptoms? If she were to see one yearly..

Thank you again..

[gracefromHHP]

it's not just a female thing, it's both genders. over 90% of folks who have hsv2, have no idea they have it until they get tested. most folks are able to attribute symptoms of herpes to something else since they expect herpes to present with obvious and painful blisters which it doesn't always do.  

could someone be infected with herpes for a long time and never know it? yes. I know of some posters that were infected for 15+ years and never knew they had genital herpes until they had a humdinger of a recurrence that made them get tested.  oral herpes also can be transmitted to the genital area and only 20-40% of folks with oral herpes ever get obvious cold sores to know that they are infected.

I read your post on the std forum and I have to wonder why if you have this level of concern that you just haven't gotten a full std panel done to know your full status in general? that is the sexually responsible step to take :)

grace