Is this herpes

Thank you so much for your comment. I have had a sniffly nose, slight chills and couch in the lead up to this which connected to a herpes diagnosis. The sores or whatever they are developed within a few hours and have nearly disappeared in 48 hours. If it is herpes I would have contracted it 6 months ago. Will just have to wait for results now. Really appreciate you taking the time to reply

Oh, if it was six months later and the sores came and went in two days, then it doesn't sound like herpes. Certainly not a first outbreak, and still pretty quick for a recurrence. Herpes doesn't follow a strict rule book, however, so you'll need to wait for the swab test to be sure.

Yeah which is what I though, it's a very odd chain of events but from what I gather herpes can come in many shapes and sizes so I can't get my hopes up too much. My doctor initially seemed surprised when I told her how long ago it was but her initial diagnosis when she saw it was this is herpes. I wish I had uploaded a photo of my symptoms at what I would say were their peak. If I did could you look at that? I've noticed you comment a lot on these threads and it is greatly appreciated. When Ipeople are going through what I am, having people like you who want to help is really comforting.

That's really nice of you to say, thanks, and I'm always happy to try and help and glad when I actually have. You can post a photo of the lesion at its worst if you want, but I'm hesitant to say anything based on photos unless it's very typical, as herpes can take many forms, whilst other conditions can sometimes look like herpes.

Two days to form lesions and two days to clear is very fast, though, like I said. A first outbreak usually takes 3 weeks on average to heal, while a recurrence takes a bit under a week. The vast majority of first outbreaks also occur within a week of infection. Based on your situation, it seems unlikely that it's herpes from 6 months ago. I am curious to see how your test results come back. Hopefully negative.

So my swab and blood work came back negative. Am going back to the doctor to discuss what on earth it could have been then. I've heard people often get false negatives for herpes so I have more questions than answers. I noticed the main sore at 7am as it was quite large and had it swabbed 4 hours later at 11am. Is that too soon? It hadn't burst maybe the doctor wasn't able to collect any of the virus?

New lesions are better than old ones when it comes to swab test accuracy. The quick onset and clearance of your lesions does not sound like herpes, and now the swab test has also come back negative, so I think you can consider yourself negative. If the blood test was for IgG and that came back negative as well, then that is extra proof you did not contract herpes from your encounter 6 months ago. I don't know what could have caused the lesions, however. If you find out, let me know!

So the saga continues. Turns out my doctor didn't take a swab, I was livid when I found this out. I went to a sexual health gynaecologist and showed her all my photos and explained the whole story. She said her and her colleague believe it isn't herpes, it was related to viral infection I had throughout the week as I was really sick with a cold and cough leading up to this incident. I thought the viral infection was related to the herpes as some people get flu like symptoms. Anyway, she and her colleague agree the ulcers behaviour and clinical appearance is more in line with aphthous ulcers. She has reassured me it wasn't herpes as the timeline didn't make sense but there is always that seed of doubt because a swab wasn't done. She has given me a repeat blood test in 6 weeks and one in 3 months to check for seroconversion. But yeah, if things stay negative I have to assume they are correct but it sucks I will never have full closure.