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HSV in throat from oral sex?
Hi Doctor, I have been seeing 2 new men for about 3 months (neither had any visible lesions or are known to have hsv), I have had unprotected oral with both of them, and protected sex about 6 times with one. About a month ago, I noticed a sore throat, i noticed i had tiny spots all over the back of my throat, they were a reddish tinge.. I also had one single blister form at the top of my mouth, which showed up, erupted, and disappeared within a couple days. About a week ago I noticed I had a sore throat again, so I looked and noticed I have the same tiny bumps all over the back of my throat, some of them look like blisters but it is hard to tell. It is only on the left side of the back of my throat, and I also had a bit of lymphnode swelling on that side. I have never had a cold sore. I went to the doctors today and tested negative for strep, she said it could be hsv that I contracted from oral sex, so she took a swab for hsv and also a viral swab. She also told me that If i contracted a form of hsv in my mouth from oral sex, that would not protect or reduce my chances of having the same type genitally.
1. What are the chances that one of the men I performed oral on had asymptomatic herpes and I contracted it in my throat? If I did, does that mean the chances are high that I also have it genitally?
2. I have heard that if you contract hsv2 orally, chances are you also have it genitally, I'm assuming since hsv2 causes most cases of genital herpes that my oral infected would be type 2, correct? and therefore i would also most likely have it genitally?
3. If my test comes back positive, but I have never had any genital symptoms, what should I do? should i inform future partners that I may have been exposed genitally to hsv? Every clinic I have gone to for a blood test refuses me.
4. Can other types of viruses cause blisters in the throat? I know that I don't have mono or strep throat.. and the only other virus I read up about was the coxsackie virus
Thankyou so much!
1. What are the chances that one of the men I performed oral on had asymptomatic herpes and I contracted it in my throat? If I did, does that mean the chances are high that I also have it genitally?
2. I have heard that if you contract hsv2 orally, chances are you also have it genitally, I'm assuming since hsv2 causes most cases of genital herpes that my oral infected would be type 2, correct? and therefore i would also most likely have it genitally?
3. If my test comes back positive, but I have never had any genital symptoms, what should I do? should i inform future partners that I may have been exposed genitally to hsv? Every clinic I have gone to for a blood test refuses me.
4. Can other types of viruses cause blisters in the throat? I know that I don't have mono or strep throat.. and the only other virus I read up about was the coxsackie virus
Thankyou so much!
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Glad to help. EWH
okay, sorry for so many questions, thanks again! you were a great help
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Let's not play the "what if" game. If it were positve however, you would have ha oral herpes. As I said, that would not mean that you had genital HSV. EWH
what if it is positive? should i worry about genital herpes if my throat swab came back positive? i thought you said that it would be unlikely to have one type of herpes in two spots? sorry i'm just a bit confused..
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Correct. Unless your culture is positive, I would not worry. EWH
Thankyou doctor, very helpful! i will not worry since i have never had any signs of genital herpes nor has any of my partners, would you agree this is the best thing? It seems like a waste of time to worry about being an asymptomatic carrier when there really isnt anyway to be 100 percent sure, Thanks again!
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to our Forum. I think your doctor may have given you some mis-information or what was said might have been mis-interpreted. A few general comments first, then answers to your questions.
The presence of small clear fluid-filled blisters in your throat is not necessarily herpes. These sorts of lesions can be caused by many different types of virus and appearances can be deceiving. Further, with oral herpes, typically there are also lesions which occur on the lips as well as in the throat so this may very well not be HSV. Taking a culture test was the right thing to do. That this is HSV is not a certainly.
For your specific questions:
1. What are the chances that one of the men I performed oral on had asymptomatic herpes and I contracted it in my throat? If I did, does that mean the chances are high that I also have it genitally?
It is a possibility but as explained above, by no mean definite that this is HSV. If you have a throat infection it does not mean you have genital infection.
2. I have heard that if you contract hsv2 orally, chances are you also have it genitally, I'm assuming since hsv2 causes most cases of genital herpes that my oral infected would be type 2, correct? and therefore i would also most likely have it genitally?
HSV infections occur at a single location well over 95% of the time. If this were oral HSV (we do not know this) and you had gotten genital HSV, you would likely have lesions there.
3. If my test comes back positive, but I have never had any genital symptoms, what should I do? should i inform future partners that I may have been exposed genitally to hsv? Every clinic I have gone to for a blood test refuses me.
I'm glad they are refusing to do a blood test. It will not be helpful at this time. It is too early for a blood test to be helpful. Wait for your culture.
4. Can other types of viruses cause blisters in the throat? I know that I don't have mono or strep throat.. and the only other virus I read up about was the coxsackie virus
Yes, there are many as I noted above. There is a good chance this is just one of the everyday viral sore throats that people get from time to time
I hope this helps.EWH
The presence of small clear fluid-filled blisters in your throat is not necessarily herpes. These sorts of lesions can be caused by many different types of virus and appearances can be deceiving. Further, with oral herpes, typically there are also lesions which occur on the lips as well as in the throat so this may very well not be HSV. Taking a culture test was the right thing to do. That this is HSV is not a certainly.
For your specific questions:
1. What are the chances that one of the men I performed oral on had asymptomatic herpes and I contracted it in my throat? If I did, does that mean the chances are high that I also have it genitally?
It is a possibility but as explained above, by no mean definite that this is HSV. If you have a throat infection it does not mean you have genital infection.
2. I have heard that if you contract hsv2 orally, chances are you also have it genitally, I'm assuming since hsv2 causes most cases of genital herpes that my oral infected would be type 2, correct? and therefore i would also most likely have it genitally?
HSV infections occur at a single location well over 95% of the time. If this were oral HSV (we do not know this) and you had gotten genital HSV, you would likely have lesions there.
3. If my test comes back positive, but I have never had any genital symptoms, what should I do? should i inform future partners that I may have been exposed genitally to hsv? Every clinic I have gone to for a blood test refuses me.
I'm glad they are refusing to do a blood test. It will not be helpful at this time. It is too early for a blood test to be helpful. Wait for your culture.
4. Can other types of viruses cause blisters in the throat? I know that I don't have mono or strep throat.. and the only other virus I read up about was the coxsackie virus
Yes, there are many as I noted above. There is a good chance this is just one of the everyday viral sore throats that people get from time to time
I hope this helps.EWH
You are reading content posted in the STDs 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.
