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I have herpes...now what

Posted , 2 users are following.

em18625
em18625

Hi everyone, I have just recently been told that I have genital herpes. I had sex last Saturday with a guy that I have been seeing for awhile now but we are not dating. On Monday I noticed some irritation and itching and thought I may have been a yeast infection, so I went and got canesten. On Tuesday I noticed some red pimple like bumps on the outside of my vagina, mostly on my butt cheek and thigh. this freaked me out so I make an appointment with the sexual health nurse on Friday. She told me it was herpes, she swabbed me but said I may not get positive result because they were always starting to crust over.

I had sex with this guy many times before and have never had anything like this happen. I realize that herpes can lay dormant inside our bodies and can be triggered at anytime. But how do I tell him that I may have gotten herpes from him, or that I could potentially haven given it to him also.

I am just looking for some advice on how to tell your partner you have herpes, and how do you live a normal life with this disease. This is my first outbreak and so far it has been terrible and painful.

How often do others get outbreaks and what can you do to prevent them from reoccurring.

I have so many questions, I don't know where to begin. I am feeling very overwhelmed, scared and alone.

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • FelizCastus
    FelizCastus em18625

    Posted

    You need to prove this is a new infection, or not, and the only way to do that is to have a positive swab with an IgG (not IgM) antibody test result for herpes done now. If the IgG is still negative, it's new. If positive, you've had it for around 3+ months. Chances are this is a new infection, as most first outbreaks are due to new infection. If you want to get a definitive swab result, do a pcr swab. Very accurate and can be done on healing lesions, unlike viral culture swabs.
    • em18625
      em18625 FelizCastus

      Posted

      I have had a swab done, haven't gotten the results back yet. I am not sure what kind of swab it was. What is the difference ?
    • FelizCastus
      FelizCastus em18625

      Posted

      You most likely had a viral culture swab done, which is why you were told it may not pick it up because your lesions are already starting to heal. That is a limitation of that swab method, but not pcr (dna). Most first swabs, unless otherwise requested and available, are for viral culture testing.
    • em18625
      em18625 FelizCastus

      Posted

      Ok I'm not sure where I could have a different swab test done as I do not have a family doctor currently. I went to the sexual health nurse at the local health unit. Is this something she could do there ? Why didn't she suggest this ?
    • FelizCastus
      FelizCastus em18625

      Posted

      Viral swabs are cheaper, so usually used by default, plus they're sufficiently accurate for new lesions (just not healing ones; the ability to detect herpes goes down with time). You'd have to ask if they can do a pcr swab. You should still do the IgG test regardless.
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