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Predisposed to genital herpes type 1
Doctor, in my early teens I had cold sores, along with my twin sister. I do remember she would get a line of blisters on her chin. Aside from an occasional, sock in the arm, or slap during a friendly kid fight I never recalled touching her mouth, nor did she touch my mouth.. In my later twenties I noticed a line of blister on my top knee a little to the left as I would look down at it, it was small and I remember itching it with the bottom of other foot on my left leg. It did look like the streak on my sisters chin, as I recall. It came back a few years later; my doc cultured it and it was type 1; it has never returned, that has been 9 or 10 years.
I recently took a STD test that asked many history questions, (recurring sores, and even indicated that HSV I, as a STD.I took a herpes specific test and it was positive for HSV I and negative for HSV2; as well as other tests being negative. After reading many of your posts on your forum, I do see people talk about herpes on their buttock, legs and it indicates a genital infection. I have only seen these little clusters of blisters on my lip or tongue, and this strange line on my knee; I have had rashes and an itchy scrotum before, nothing on my penis.
Does this predispose me to having genital herpes, I have known girls with this condition on the mouth, but always was always very careful not to kiss or have any other close contact. I do not know what to tell my fiancé ….such as “don’t get near my knee”, and “I may have genital herpes” (I am sure that would be a shocker). Please give me your thoughts on this post. A) Probability of type I genital herpes? B) Herpes in unusual areas, have you seen this? C) Did I catch HSV I again on my penis and it came out on my knee from sex, or eventually will it cause sores on my penis? Thank you very much, happy holidays, please answer at your convenience, when back in your office.
I recently took a STD test that asked many history questions, (recurring sores, and even indicated that HSV I, as a STD.I took a herpes specific test and it was positive for HSV I and negative for HSV2; as well as other tests being negative. After reading many of your posts on your forum, I do see people talk about herpes on their buttock, legs and it indicates a genital infection. I have only seen these little clusters of blisters on my lip or tongue, and this strange line on my knee; I have had rashes and an itchy scrotum before, nothing on my penis.
Does this predispose me to having genital herpes, I have known girls with this condition on the mouth, but always was always very careful not to kiss or have any other close contact. I do not know what to tell my fiancé ….such as “don’t get near my knee”, and “I may have genital herpes” (I am sure that would be a shocker). Please give me your thoughts on this post. A) Probability of type I genital herpes? B) Herpes in unusual areas, have you seen this? C) Did I catch HSV I again on my penis and it came out on my knee from sex, or eventually will it cause sores on my penis? Thank you very much, happy holidays, please answer at your convenience, when back in your office.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
The Nurse/LVN is wrong. I won't try to guess where s/he obtained that misinformation, but herpes does not behave that way.
Your fiance has the right attitude and seems to be a wise person. Stick with her.
That will have to be all for this thread.
Your fiance has the right attitude and seems to be a wise person. Stick with her.
That will have to be all for this thread.
Doctor, thanks again.......the reason I became so worried and what precipitated writing to you was that the Nurse/LVN indicated that my lower leg top of knee lesion would travel back and forth between my genitals and knee. I then nearly fell off exam table, and obviously became bewildered to the source of information; are they citing old medical information, or not completely informed? Just currious....
Thanks, very much and appreciate your "great e-mail (bedside) manor".
I explained to fiance'.... she is not worried...it was more me that was a big chicken. Take care...
Thanks, very much and appreciate your "great e-mail (bedside) manor".
I explained to fiance'.... she is not worried...it was more me that was a big chicken. Take care...
Played most High School sports, including wrestling (which I was not very good at and seemed like I was always being scraped up off the mat), thanks again for clarification; Happy New Year, ......appreciate your expertise and insight. I will stick to boxing with my fiancé’, she will probably knock me out.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
As I re-read your initial question, I realize I might have misinterpreted it. I thought you were saying your sister's chin lesions were tested and positive for HSV-1. Now I understand you were referring to the outbreak on your knee several years later. You and your dermatologist are correct that this was quite unusual. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
However, this doesn't change the important part of my reply. Since you have had HSV-1 (it doesn't matter where on your body), you can be sure you'll never catch it again. You aren't at risk for genital HSV-1. Second, there is no signifcant risk that your fiance, or anyone esle, will ever catch HSV-1 from you. The only exception would be if a) you had another outbreak of the knee and b) had vigorous contact of those lesions with someone else. By "vigorous", I mean intensive rubbing of the herpes lesion's on another person's skin.
Which raises another interesting possibility in my mind. Maybe you didn't catch your leg herpes from your sister after all. Are you a wrestler, or did you wrestle in school? "Herpes gladiatorum" refers to HSV-1 infection acquired by wrestlers, almost anywhere on the body. It results from just the sort of "vigorous" exposure described above -- and you can easily imagine how a wrestler with an oral herpes outbreak could infect an oponent on the shoulder, back, leg, arm, etc. In the past 20 years, herpes gladiatorum has been increasingly recognized, sometimes as a big problem for a team; some outbreaks have involved several team members at a time. Nowadays high school and university wrestlers are routinely examined for oral herpes before matches and disqualified if an outbreak is present.
By the way, all this suggests you might not have oral HSV. Recurrent oral herpes usually causes sores on the lips or face, not inside the mouth -- sores on the tongue usually are not herpes. Your leg might be the only place you have HSV-1.
To repeat the main point, for sure you are protected against a new HSV-1 infection, genital or anywhere on your body; and there is no significant risk of transmission to your fiance or anyone else -- assuming no wrestling during some future outbreak!
Happy new year. Take care -- and don't worry about herpes.
However, this doesn't change the important part of my reply. Since you have had HSV-1 (it doesn't matter where on your body), you can be sure you'll never catch it again. You aren't at risk for genital HSV-1. Second, there is no signifcant risk that your fiance, or anyone esle, will ever catch HSV-1 from you. The only exception would be if a) you had another outbreak of the knee and b) had vigorous contact of those lesions with someone else. By "vigorous", I mean intensive rubbing of the herpes lesion's on another person's skin.
Which raises another interesting possibility in my mind. Maybe you didn't catch your leg herpes from your sister after all. Are you a wrestler, or did you wrestle in school? "Herpes gladiatorum" refers to HSV-1 infection acquired by wrestlers, almost anywhere on the body. It results from just the sort of "vigorous" exposure described above -- and you can easily imagine how a wrestler with an oral herpes outbreak could infect an oponent on the shoulder, back, leg, arm, etc. In the past 20 years, herpes gladiatorum has been increasingly recognized, sometimes as a big problem for a team; some outbreaks have involved several team members at a time. Nowadays high school and university wrestlers are routinely examined for oral herpes before matches and disqualified if an outbreak is present.
By the way, all this suggests you might not have oral HSV. Recurrent oral herpes usually causes sores on the lips or face, not inside the mouth -- sores on the tongue usually are not herpes. Your leg might be the only place you have HSV-1.
To repeat the main point, for sure you are protected against a new HSV-1 infection, genital or anywhere on your body; and there is no significant risk of transmission to your fiance or anyone else -- assuming no wrestling during some future outbreak!
Happy new year. Take care -- and don't worry about herpes.
Doctor, thank you so much for your response: My one question since my previous health care provider, (who now has since retired) believed I had Type I far down on my leg...which only happened twice, a very long time ago, (mind you as a dermatologist he said he had never seen this in this location before) and even though it has never returned. I became concerned after the STD tests.
Obviously since I believed already I had an oral infection prior to this incident as a child/teen.... how would it pop up on my leg, way beyond the "boxer short" area as I have heard? That is why I asked if is a sign of genital herpes, even though my retired doctor brushed it off as it came from being a kid, scraped knees; I got concerned if this could be passed to my fiancé' which made me nervous. And since you have a vast more knowledge of type I infection; that is why I asked as a second opinion. Thank you so much, I trust and value all your help, and any more insight would be great. Happy Holidays again….
Obviously since I believed already I had an oral infection prior to this incident as a child/teen.... how would it pop up on my leg, way beyond the "boxer short" area as I have heard? That is why I asked if is a sign of genital herpes, even though my retired doctor brushed it off as it came from being a kid, scraped knees; I got concerned if this could be passed to my fiancé' which made me nervous. And since you have a vast more knowledge of type I infection; that is why I asked as a second opinion. Thank you so much, I trust and value all your help, and any more insight would be great. Happy Holidays again….
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the STD forum.
Does having HSV-1, with oral herpes as a child, "predispose me to having genital herpes"? No. In fact, just the opposite: you are likely immune, or at least very highly resistant, to catching a new HSV-1 infection anywhere on your body. Since HSV-1 accounts for up to half of all new cases of genital herpes these days, your risk of getting genital herpes someday is substantially lower. It is extremely unlikely your knee lesion was due to HSV. Your childhood infection was oral and that's almost certainly the only infected area. The virus is rarely spread to other parts of the body beyond the initially infected zone.
It is possible you are somewhat protected against genital herpes due to HSV-2 as well. People with prior HSV-1 tend to have less severe symptoms when they catch HSV-2; there are conflicting data on whether they are at reduced risk of being infected in the first place.
I think those comments answer all three of your questions. You don't have genital HSV-1 and never will get it.
I hope this helps. Best wishes and happy holidays-- HHH, MD
Does having HSV-1, with oral herpes as a child, "predispose me to having genital herpes"? No. In fact, just the opposite: you are likely immune, or at least very highly resistant, to catching a new HSV-1 infection anywhere on your body. Since HSV-1 accounts for up to half of all new cases of genital herpes these days, your risk of getting genital herpes someday is substantially lower. It is extremely unlikely your knee lesion was due to HSV. Your childhood infection was oral and that's almost certainly the only infected area. The virus is rarely spread to other parts of the body beyond the initially infected zone.
It is possible you are somewhat protected against genital herpes due to HSV-2 as well. People with prior HSV-1 tend to have less severe symptoms when they catch HSV-2; there are conflicting data on whether they are at reduced risk of being infected in the first place.
I think those comments answer all three of your questions. You don't have genital HSV-1 and never will get it.
I hope this helps. Best wishes and happy holidays-- HHH, MD
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.
