A related discussion,
Leg Pain-STD? was started.
A related discussion,
Leg Pain-STD? was started.
I'm wondering if you know if my symptoms could be related to some sort of sciatic bacterial infection. Is a bacterial infection of the spine even possible? The only thing I can think of for the cause would be a very minor car accident I was in 2 weeks prior, but I thought I just experienced whiplash. (I hit my face on my window). I didn't have a pinched nerve or anything, as the burning feeling in my thighs and buttocks occured aftet the leg tingling and soreness of both legs.
Joe: New questions/problems need to be posted on a new thread, not as comment on an exsisting one. But if you'll read the MANY other threads with essentially the same question, you will find the answers; you are at essentially zero risk from the exposure and your symptoms aren't due to HIV.
Rainstorm: PHN due to HSV-2 probably is rare in people without overt herpes. Conceivably you could have zoster sin herpete (shingles--which is localized recurrence of childhood chickenpox-- without skin rash), but that is rare too. The vast majority of cases of symptoms like yours are not due to herpes or varicella.
HHH, MD
When I said "nerve irritation" I meant that I felt a burning, tingling pain primarily in my buttocks but also in my thighs. I would relate the sensations to PHN. Is it true that in order to have PHN, I MUST have had a pretty bad genital outbreak? Could my symptoms be related to the chicken pox virus acting up if I had it as a child? My bumps did not itch.
hi,
i am a straight male and had unprotected vaginal and unprotected oral sex with a female i just met 4 weeks ago. i caught a cold about the same time i had unprotected sex. my cold symptoms included productive coughing, swollen lymph nodes, and possibly a fever. i am still coughing, but not as much and i am almost fully recovered from my cold. i do not have swollen lymph nodes or fever. i am concerned about being infected w/ HIV. i was wondering if my catching a cold would cause a delay in seroconversion of HIV.
I'm not sure why you believe you were exposed to herpes simplex virus (type 1 or 2?) if your partner says he isn't infected. Even if he has asymptomatic HSV infection, your risk of transmission from a single exposure, especially without penetration, is very low. Hand to genital contact doesn't transmit herpes or any other STD.
Your symptoms do not particularly suggest herpes, although I don't know what you mean by "nerve irritation" of the buttocks and thighs. Anyway, 2 days is much too fast for herpes lesions to go away. I can't tell whether or not your "IgG" test for HSV is reassuring or not. If it was the HerpeSelect test, a negative result for HSV-2 6 weeks after exposure is pretty reassuring, although not perfect. You could be retested at 3 months, but I am quite sure you don't have genital herpes. I don't think you even were exposed to the virus.
Anybody close enough to someone to have sex of course can catch a cold from that person. But your symptoms don't sound like a respiriatory virus.
HSV can affect various nerves, including the sciatic--but not as the only symptom. Without genital lesions to suggest herpes, you can be sure this isn't the cause of your "nerve irritation".
It sounds like you don't have detailed knowledge about genital herpes and its manifestations. Please read the herpes article under the link "STD Quick Facts and Articles" on the STD forum home page, before you ask any follow-up questions.
Good luck, and stop worrying about herpes. HHH, MD