Waiting for my herpes results to come back

Posted , 4 users are following.

I had sex a few weeks ago and last Friday I felt burning, discomfort and a lot of vaginal discharge. I woke up with flu-like symptoms on Saturday and body aches. I put it down to a UTI however, on the Sunday the pain was unbearable and I looked down to see a red mark on my clitoral hood. It didn't look like typical herpes so I hoped for the best. On the Monday I noticed 2 whiteheads on my pubic area so went to my STI clinic for a swab. She said it did look like herpes but after trying to get a swab of the whiteheads she said it was more like folliculitis. She took a swab of my clitoral hood but said she wasn't convinced as it didn't look like a sore. Even though I haven't got my results back yet I kinda know I have contracted it so quite gutted as my whole body is tingling. I just wanted to get some questions answered and hear peoples experiences.

  1. If the sores are on my clitoral hood and pubic bone does that mean that was whhere contact was with the virus took place i.e more likely to be orally contracted?
  2. If I take medication daily for the rest of my life will it inhibit me from getting outbreaks?
  3. If I have a mild case does that mean I'm less likely to get severe outbreaks if at all/ does it mean I'm less contagious as well
  4. If I take constant medication does it mean I can have unprotected sex with my partner with lowered chances of transmission

Sorry for all the questions, I have just read so much contradictory information I don't know what is what.

0 likes, 11 replies

11 Replies

  • Posted

    Another question (sorry) - does staying on antivirals reduce your body's defence in fighting the virus itself?

  • Posted

    image

    Also, this is what I have left on my pubic bone. I keep checking to see if its spread to my vagina but nothing yet. They're so itchy

    • Posted

      Thanks for replying, is there any other reason i've had tingling and burning? i was hoping it was shingles or something

    • Posted

      shingles can be alot worse then genital herpes. most people continue their lives on antivirals and many people go blind due to shingles. i wouldnt be hoping for that!

      to answer your questions-

      1. genitally herpes can arise any were in the boxer short area so you can have an outbreak any were in that region. it usually will start off were there is mucous membrane tissue. the red spots on your pubic bone look like ingrowns or inflammed follicles.
      2. even on antivirals you can still experience outbreaks. the chances of them occuring are small. but if they do they will be very mild.
      3. . herpes is still herpes no matter how mild your outbreaks you still still virally shed. over time viral shedding decreases. i have came across people who had no outbreaks for many years after there first and then had back to back outbreaks for months out of no where.
      4. studies show that transmisson rates from females to male you have an average sex life, occassional condom use, no antivirals and avoiding sex around outbreaks is about 4% per year. antivirals will lower this but there is still a chance.

      take a look at stuff from alexandra harbuska or the std project 😃

    • Posted

      Thank you! This is so useful, I really hope my results come back negative

    • Posted

      hopefully they do!

      but if it is positive please dont think its the end of the world. the diagnosis doesnt define you and wont stop you from doing anything 😃

    • Posted

      The result came back negative, but I feel like the sore had mostly healed by the time it was swabbed. It was visible on the Sunday (picture attached) and I got it swabbed on the Monday, but the yellowness had gone. Does this mean that I got it swabbed too late? Sorry I'm a pest haha

    • Posted

      This looks exactly like the spots that I get on my inner labia. Only ever one! Starts off as a small hard lump that gradually becomes irritating vs painful, then small puss head appears and after this it dies down leaving a red mark that becomes pink and fades away. Had this about 5 - 6 times in the last year. Negative IGG blood test for both HSV 1 & 2. But if this is not herpes, what is it?!? How are you now?

    • Posted

      Yes I was concerned because it became yellowish and resembled a herpes sore, the swab result came back negative but I wasn't sure that I had got it swabbed too late. I had a bad yeast infection at the time and wear tight jeans so I'm hoping that was the cause of it! I've come off the antivirals as I want to see if I will get another 'outbreak', at least then I will be able to confirm if it is herpes. That's strange that your result was negative for herpes if it's recurring in the same spot! Do you suffer with yeast infections? So far I've not found anything suspicious so I'm just praying that it isn't! As for the other spots, I got a second opinion and she confirmed that it was folliculitis, I can be a hypochondriac so every sensation I was feeling I was assuming it was to do with HSV haha.

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