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male receiving oral sex - HSV1 genitally only?
hi Terri and thank you for your wonderful book, i read it cover to cover last night.
hello and thank you for all that you do for all of us who are going out of our minds nervously. i am a mid-30s male. I am worried about a possible exposure 12/22/11. the first IGG bloodwork i had done i submitted 12/30/11 (i know, way too early, but i wanted to set a benchmark). i have purposely not taken any antivirals so the test results would not possibly be affected. the 12/30 test results just came back: 0.91 for both hsv 1 and hsv 2. (EQUIVOCAL). so ok i will be watching those numbers carefully over the next 14-16 weeks.
here are my questions. from those numbers, can i assume that i was herpes-free BEFORE the possible exposure dec 22? if so, and considering that this exposure was me-receiving-oral sex-only (her pants stayed on the whole time), can i hypothesize that i am *probably* at risk only for genital HSV-1? (and not HSV2, since oral HSV2 is so very rare, i read)
i guess i can ask it another way: in your experience, have you heard of a male acquiring HSV2 genitally through an exposure of receiving oral sex?
thanks for all of your time and again for your book,
hello and thank you for all that you do for all of us who are going out of our minds nervously. i am a mid-30s male. I am worried about a possible exposure 12/22/11. the first IGG bloodwork i had done i submitted 12/30/11 (i know, way too early, but i wanted to set a benchmark). i have purposely not taken any antivirals so the test results would not possibly be affected. the 12/30 test results just came back: 0.91 for both hsv 1 and hsv 2. (EQUIVOCAL). so ok i will be watching those numbers carefully over the next 14-16 weeks.
here are my questions. from those numbers, can i assume that i was herpes-free BEFORE the possible exposure dec 22? if so, and considering that this exposure was me-receiving-oral sex-only (her pants stayed on the whole time), can i hypothesize that i am *probably* at risk only for genital HSV-1? (and not HSV2, since oral HSV2 is so very rare, i read)
i guess i can ask it another way: in your experience, have you heard of a male acquiring HSV2 genitally through an exposure of receiving oral sex?
thanks for all of your time and again for your book,
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
The western blot is quite a bit more sensitive for HSV 1 than is the IgG antibody test that you had done. Yes, I believe that you probably had the HSV 1 infection prior to the possible exposure. The western blot is not a good screening test (much better confirmatory test) because it takes a while to become positive, longer than the IgG traditional antibody test routinely used.
Terri
Terri
Could you interpret these for me Terri?
in summary:
culture taken of possible lesion : negative
pcr dna swab test of possible lesion (was newly a scab by time of swab): negative
igg blood test above from blood taken 1/3/12, 12 days after last possible exposure: negative for both hsv1 and 2
western blot UW test from blood taken 1/3/12, 12 days after last possible exposure: positive for hsv1, negative for hsv2.
what do you think?
If we trust the westen blot test, does that mean i probably had hsv1 before the 12/22/11 exposure? thanks Terri...
in summary:
culture taken of possible lesion : negative
pcr dna swab test of possible lesion (was newly a scab by time of swab): negative
igg blood test above from blood taken 1/3/12, 12 days after last possible exposure: negative for both hsv1 and 2
western blot UW test from blood taken 1/3/12, 12 days after last possible exposure: positive for hsv1, negative for hsv2.
what do you think?
If we trust the westen blot test, does that mean i probably had hsv1 before the 12/22/11 exposure? thanks Terri...
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
These are all negative values.
Terri
Terri
I am definitely one of those patients that tests too much, but I wanted to not count on just one test to set the beginning levels....In addition to the test above, I just got back a blood test from blood collected 1/3/12 (12 days after possible exposure):
results:
HSV 1/2 IGG, HERPESELECT QDB
TYPE SPECIFIC AB
HSV 1 IGG TYPE SPECIFIC
AB 0.31
HSV 2 IGG TYPE SPECIFIC
AB 0.23
I did also have a western blot sent out yesterday to try and be as sure as possible of my status before this exposure...
results:
HSV 1/2 IGG, HERPESELECT QDB
TYPE SPECIFIC AB
HSV 1 IGG TYPE SPECIFIC
AB 0.31
HSV 2 IGG TYPE SPECIFIC
AB 0.23
I did also have a western blot sent out yesterday to try and be as sure as possible of my status before this exposure...
thank you Terri, I just called the lab an they said "no, the results were both LESS THAN 0.91, not both exactly 0.91". I must have heard them wrong yesterday.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
First, are you sure you are reading the results correctly? The reference ranges are normally stated on the test results, could you be reading those? The chances that you would have a value of exactly 0.91 on both tests is incredibly small (but possible, I suppose).
The test that you had done is not as sensitive for HSV 1 as it is for HSV 2. One possibility is that you contracted HSV 1 genitally previously, and it hasn't shown up in your testing. The symptoms that you had made well be a recurrence rather than a first infection.
The lesion may also not be herpes, but the presentation of the lesion is very suspicious. Since you waited until the end of the outbreak to have the swab testing done, you may not be able to rely upon the results.
If you were my patient, and the PCR is negative, I would recommend that you wait 3-4 months from the lesion presentation and have a western blot test done that is more sensitive for HSV 1 than the ELISA antibody test that you already had done. Also, please review the results to be certain you are interpreting them correctly.
Terri
The test that you had done is not as sensitive for HSV 1 as it is for HSV 2. One possibility is that you contracted HSV 1 genitally previously, and it hasn't shown up in your testing. The symptoms that you had made well be a recurrence rather than a first infection.
The lesion may also not be herpes, but the presentation of the lesion is very suspicious. Since you waited until the end of the outbreak to have the swab testing done, you may not be able to rely upon the results.
If you were my patient, and the PCR is negative, I would recommend that you wait 3-4 months from the lesion presentation and have a western blot test done that is more sensitive for HSV 1 than the ELISA antibody test that you already had done. Also, please review the results to be certain you are interpreting them correctly.
Terri
last thing-- everything seems to be pointing to herpes, but how could it be that i was with a girl from oct 2010 to dec 2011 who would get cold sores once every 6 weeks (she did not give me oral sex when there was any evidence of a cold sore), but i never got a cold sore on my lip or a lesion on my penis from her... then i receive oral sex from one person one time in dec 2011 and now there is a lesion.... i did not notice any visible cold sores on the girl two weeks ago...
should add that i am concerned about the exposure because 4 days afterward i had bad flu symptoms for 5 days, but also 5 days after exposure a lesion appeared that was underneath the head of my penis and has gone through the stages of ulcer, crust, scab, and now 12 days after is almost healed. today i submitted a swab of the scab for pcr testing. i have never had a cold sore in my life.
You are reading content posted in the Herpes Forum
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
