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oral herpes, patches on scrotum, pink eye, lots of pain
Hi, first post here. I was diagnosed with HSV-1 after my first outbreak in 2008, 27 year old male. It always causes lots of sores inside my mouth. I pretty much NEVER get a cold sore on the outside of my mouth, maybe once in all my 15-20 outbreaks. This has been going on about 4-6 times a year for the past 3 years. I am pretty sure I have had herpes since I was a child though, I think I had similar outbreaks when I was around 4-5 years old.
Many times my lymph nodes will get huge and sore, and I will often get huge painful sores under my tongue. It all lasts about 3-4 weeks and is very, very painful and brings me down tremendously.
I also get white, rough patches on my scrotum, I think from scratching it. And I almost always get conjunctivitis. I have Ig H 6.34 for HSV-1 according to my blood work. I have been given 500mg/valtrex a day to take.
Question: Does this sound like herpes even though I don't outward get cold sores? Why do I always get conjunctivitis? Is the conjunctivitis viral or bacterial? I often feel like the valtrex does nothing, and the eye drops they give for conjunctivitis do nothing. I just wait it out for 3-4 weeks and just keep taking all the meds and hope it goes away (it does). I have seen many doctors/specialists all who believe it is herpes. I just feel at such a loss because it feels like the meds do nothing and I just have to wait it out all the time. I feel like it happens all the time and I constantly live in fear of outbreaks.
Final question: My wife has HSV-1 and is prone to cold sores a couple times a year. She uses abreva and they go right away. When I have outbreaks I kiss her all the time and NOTHING ever shows up for her. Is this normal? Is it possible I am not having herpes outbreaks but something else? thanks.
Many times my lymph nodes will get huge and sore, and I will often get huge painful sores under my tongue. It all lasts about 3-4 weeks and is very, very painful and brings me down tremendously.
I also get white, rough patches on my scrotum, I think from scratching it. And I almost always get conjunctivitis. I have Ig H 6.34 for HSV-1 according to my blood work. I have been given 500mg/valtrex a day to take.
Question: Does this sound like herpes even though I don't outward get cold sores? Why do I always get conjunctivitis? Is the conjunctivitis viral or bacterial? I often feel like the valtrex does nothing, and the eye drops they give for conjunctivitis do nothing. I just wait it out for 3-4 weeks and just keep taking all the meds and hope it goes away (it does). I have seen many doctors/specialists all who believe it is herpes. I just feel at such a loss because it feels like the meds do nothing and I just have to wait it out all the time. I feel like it happens all the time and I constantly live in fear of outbreaks.
Final question: My wife has HSV-1 and is prone to cold sores a couple times a year. She uses abreva and they go right away. When I have outbreaks I kiss her all the time and NOTHING ever shows up for her. Is this normal? Is it possible I am not having herpes outbreaks but something else? thanks.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Very good.
Terri
Terri
Thanks Terri. I have an appt with an optham on thursday to get it looked at. It seems to be clearing up quickly now, but I am going to go and ask about any damage done, and see what else they can tell me. Thanks a lot for your time.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Yes, something like Valtrex. This is an extremely important question to get resolved - whether you actually have ocular herpes or not.
Terri
Terri
thank you. by daily antiviral therapy do you mean taking something like valtrex daily? or is there something additional that might be prescribed for my eye? I will get it checked out, thanks.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
The doctor you spoke with is correct - HSV 1 in your would not trigger HSV 1 in her.
Herpes doesn't cause canker sores, it isn't know exactly what causes canker sores. I would suggest that if you want to know if these particular sores are caused by herpes, when you have the sore, when you first have the sore, have someone swab test it using PCR testing, not cultures. PCR is far more sensitive. If it is negative, I would assume that these are not caused by herpes but are regular canker sores. Not everyone who is infected with HSV 1 displays symptoms of the infection.
In my mind, it is far more important to determine if your eye problems are being caused by herpes. If they are, you might want to consider daily antiviral therapy. Please get this problem sorted it = it is the most important in the long run.
Terri
Herpes doesn't cause canker sores, it isn't know exactly what causes canker sores. I would suggest that if you want to know if these particular sores are caused by herpes, when you have the sore, when you first have the sore, have someone swab test it using PCR testing, not cultures. PCR is far more sensitive. If it is negative, I would assume that these are not caused by herpes but are regular canker sores. Not everyone who is infected with HSV 1 displays symptoms of the infection.
In my mind, it is far more important to determine if your eye problems are being caused by herpes. If they are, you might want to consider daily antiviral therapy. Please get this problem sorted it = it is the most important in the long run.
Terri
They do sound and look like canker sores and that is what I thought for a long time. My previous physician felt sure it was herpes though, as well as a dermatologist, a dentist and a periodontist, as well as a new doctor I saw today. I did a new set of blood work today which I will be going in to review next week. A few years ago during my first outbreak, the dermatologist did a culture sample from my lip and eye and she said it came back as negative for herpes. But at the same time blood work from my physician showed 6.44 for hsv-1, and she deemed her samples may not have been good enough and figured it was herpes.
When I went to the optham they did not do any tests to see if it was herpes, but they merely provided vigamoxx for the conjunctivitis. I am going to go back to the optham to get another diagnosis. The drops they give me are not antiherpetic, they are just antibacterial, and I do understand those drops would not work if it is caused by herpes/viral.
For my wife, I meant she does get cold sores (rarely) but never when I have my outbreak. When I have sores in my mouth and kiss/make contact, it has never appeared to cause any kind of trigger in her. I do understand that no transmission will occur since we both have it, but I thought it would at least trigger something in her. But a doctor I saw today told me that is not the case and she just has antibodies which prevent an outbreak for her.
Is there anything I can do to tell if they are truly canker sores or not? Is it possible herpes is causing canker sores? It starts with a small little red dot in my mouth, usually inside of my lip. That dot spreads over the course of a week or two into a huge patch of red, and it gets white (heals) as it spreads, but always red sores outlining the white patch. It has spread all over my mouth in the past, inside of my cheeks, my tongue, roof of my mouth. This time it is just covering half of my inside lip. Last night I woke up to massive swelling under my tongue and very swollen lymph nodes. Those have gone down, but still slightly swollen. In all of my outbreaks, I would say I've only gotten a real 'cold sore' (outside of my mouth) maybe once. And I put abreva on it and it went away immediately. Thank you for your patience and help.
When I went to the optham they did not do any tests to see if it was herpes, but they merely provided vigamoxx for the conjunctivitis. I am going to go back to the optham to get another diagnosis. The drops they give me are not antiherpetic, they are just antibacterial, and I do understand those drops would not work if it is caused by herpes/viral.
For my wife, I meant she does get cold sores (rarely) but never when I have my outbreak. When I have sores in my mouth and kiss/make contact, it has never appeared to cause any kind of trigger in her. I do understand that no transmission will occur since we both have it, but I thought it would at least trigger something in her. But a doctor I saw today told me that is not the case and she just has antibodies which prevent an outbreak for her.
Is there anything I can do to tell if they are truly canker sores or not? Is it possible herpes is causing canker sores? It starts with a small little red dot in my mouth, usually inside of my lip. That dot spreads over the course of a week or two into a huge patch of red, and it gets white (heals) as it spreads, but always red sores outlining the white patch. It has spread all over my mouth in the past, inside of my cheeks, my tongue, roof of my mouth. This time it is just covering half of my inside lip. Last night I woke up to massive swelling under my tongue and very swollen lymph nodes. Those have gone down, but still slightly swollen. In all of my outbreaks, I would say I've only gotten a real 'cold sore' (outside of my mouth) maybe once. And I put abreva on it and it went away immediately. Thank you for your patience and help.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
If you have ever in your life gotten a cold sore on the outside of your mouth, you will have HSV 1 antibody forever. The sores in your mouth sound like canker sores, which are not caused by herpes. They will definitely cause lymph nodes to increase in size in many people.
If the conjunctivitis is viral, the drops probably won't' do anything, and most of this problem is viral. However, if the conjunctivitis is herpetic (and it could be if you have oral herpes), then are the drops antiherpetic? I'm a little confused about this. Most ophthalmologists would make a definitive diagnosis of herpes using some testing, did that happen? If it is herpes of the eye, most docs recommend daily therapy.
If your wife has HSV 1 and get cold sores, and you do too, then no transmission will occur, you both already have it. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding that?
Terri
If the conjunctivitis is viral, the drops probably won't' do anything, and most of this problem is viral. However, if the conjunctivitis is herpetic (and it could be if you have oral herpes), then are the drops antiherpetic? I'm a little confused about this. Most ophthalmologists would make a definitive diagnosis of herpes using some testing, did that happen? If it is herpes of the eye, most docs recommend daily therapy.
If your wife has HSV 1 and get cold sores, and you do too, then no transmission will occur, you both already have it. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding that?
Terri
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.
