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Risky encounter
In March, I had a risky 1 time encounter with a male that I suspect to have hsv2(did not know at time). I am a female and had a few seconds (a couple of strokes) of unprotected genital sex. The male then put a condom on and continued sex for a few mins. The only other contact was kissing.
I began to have symptoms of UTI, tired, achy, leg pain, feverish a couple of months later. Went to the dr thefollowing day & had no UTI but was given anibiotic. Symptoms went away, but came back the following month. I became very worried & went to have bloodwork for all std's a month after. Everything negative except hsv1, but I've had a few cold sores in llife.
Symptoms still persisted & felt like a yeast infection, so I went to gyn. He said yeast infection and saw no sign of hsv. He prescribed a cream & when I was putting it on I felt a cluster of bumps inside vagina. Went back to gyn 1 week later. He done visual exam & felt bumps, but said they did not concern him. He did swab & bloodwork per my request. Called 2 days later & said swab was + for hsv(test wasnt specific to type), said labcorp result said swab was initially found neg. for hsv, but retested the swab & found + for what seems to be consistent with type1.
My ? is could I really have been Infected from this contact (1 time), also would you assume this is type 2 since I'm sure I already had type 1 orally? But shouldnt my igg specific test have been positive by 15 weeks after exposure?
Also when outbreaks seem to be gone, I still feel sort of flat bumps inside my vagina...is this hpv also that I am feeling. I've not been tested for hpv but I'm concerned of that also. Please help. I also posted on herpes community but wanted a Dr's advice also. Thank you.
I began to have symptoms of UTI, tired, achy, leg pain, feverish a couple of months later. Went to the dr thefollowing day & had no UTI but was given anibiotic. Symptoms went away, but came back the following month. I became very worried & went to have bloodwork for all std's a month after. Everything negative except hsv1, but I've had a few cold sores in llife.
Symptoms still persisted & felt like a yeast infection, so I went to gyn. He said yeast infection and saw no sign of hsv. He prescribed a cream & when I was putting it on I felt a cluster of bumps inside vagina. Went back to gyn 1 week later. He done visual exam & felt bumps, but said they did not concern him. He did swab & bloodwork per my request. Called 2 days later & said swab was + for hsv(test wasnt specific to type), said labcorp result said swab was initially found neg. for hsv, but retested the swab & found + for what seems to be consistent with type1.
My ? is could I really have been Infected from this contact (1 time), also would you assume this is type 2 since I'm sure I already had type 1 orally? But shouldnt my igg specific test have been positive by 15 weeks after exposure?
Also when outbreaks seem to be gone, I still feel sort of flat bumps inside my vagina...is this hpv also that I am feeling. I've not been tested for hpv but I'm concerned of that also. Please help. I also posted on herpes community but wanted a Dr's advice also. Thank you.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Greetings. Welcome to the fourm. I'll try to help.
I briefly scanned your extended discussion on the herpes community forum. Some of your symptoms were consistent with initial herpes, but they were not typical. As you already know, your history of recurrent oral herpes means you were highly resistant, if not entirely immune, to a new HSV-1 infection. And on direct examination, your doctor didn't think herpes was likely.
Nevertheless, you had a positive genital swab test for HSV-1. I don't know how to interpret the lab's description of an initially negative result but positive for HSV-1 on retesting, but probably it is reliable. Could that really have been HSV-2? That's doubtful, given the negative HSV-2 blood test.
As for whether your perception of vaginal "bumps" could reflect genital warts or other HPV infection, that's even more speculative. I'll have to defer to your doctor on that one. As you may know, 20-40% of all sexually active young women have HPV at any point in time; it's a normal and expected consequence of being sexually active. So even if you were to have a positive test for HPV, it won't help judge the cause of the bumps. Diagnosis of genital warts is based entirely on visual inspection.
What to do now about herpes? This is a sufficiently complex and uncertain situation that you should not reply primarily on this or any other online source. I would like you to find a physician who understands herpes and other infectious diseases in detail. If you are in or near a major urban area, your doctor should be able to recommend an infectious diseases specialist or an ObG who sub-specializes in ID.
Two potential approaches that such a person might recommend are 1) to have another HSV blood test at the 6 month mark, i.e. a month or so from now; and 2) to have repeat genital HSV testing by PCR. Specifically, the approach is for up to 10 self-collected vaginal/genital swabs; they can placed in a single collection container and all tested simultaneously (at the cost of a single test). This process can be repeated a couple of times if the first gives negative results. The combined results would help tell whether you really have genital HSV-2 (which I doubt); and also will give a clue about how frequently you might shed HSV-1 genitally, i.e. will help judge the risk of transmitting to partners.
Sorry that I can't solve all the questions. But I hope this has helped.
Regards-- HHH, MD
I briefly scanned your extended discussion on the herpes community forum. Some of your symptoms were consistent with initial herpes, but they were not typical. As you already know, your history of recurrent oral herpes means you were highly resistant, if not entirely immune, to a new HSV-1 infection. And on direct examination, your doctor didn't think herpes was likely.
Nevertheless, you had a positive genital swab test for HSV-1. I don't know how to interpret the lab's description of an initially negative result but positive for HSV-1 on retesting, but probably it is reliable. Could that really have been HSV-2? That's doubtful, given the negative HSV-2 blood test.
As for whether your perception of vaginal "bumps" could reflect genital warts or other HPV infection, that's even more speculative. I'll have to defer to your doctor on that one. As you may know, 20-40% of all sexually active young women have HPV at any point in time; it's a normal and expected consequence of being sexually active. So even if you were to have a positive test for HPV, it won't help judge the cause of the bumps. Diagnosis of genital warts is based entirely on visual inspection.
What to do now about herpes? This is a sufficiently complex and uncertain situation that you should not reply primarily on this or any other online source. I would like you to find a physician who understands herpes and other infectious diseases in detail. If you are in or near a major urban area, your doctor should be able to recommend an infectious diseases specialist or an ObG who sub-specializes in ID.
Two potential approaches that such a person might recommend are 1) to have another HSV blood test at the 6 month mark, i.e. a month or so from now; and 2) to have repeat genital HSV testing by PCR. Specifically, the approach is for up to 10 self-collected vaginal/genital swabs; they can placed in a single collection container and all tested simultaneously (at the cost of a single test). This process can be repeated a couple of times if the first gives negative results. The combined results would help tell whether you really have genital HSV-2 (which I doubt); and also will give a clue about how frequently you might shed HSV-1 genitally, i.e. will help judge the risk of transmitting to partners.
Sorry that I can't solve all the questions. But I hope this has helped.
Regards-- 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.
