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CityofLight

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I believe I caught genital herpes 2 weeks ago whilst on my first independent overseas trip. It sure destroyed my mood to notice sores during the trip and soon unfortunately diagnosed myself with genital herpes as multiple ulcers formed. Visited the hospital the next day and had an STD test conducted. All results turned negative which I understand means it's an acute infection. It sure is a low point of my life and I have to say I couldn't have gotten through it without the support of my close friend. My immediate concern was obviously its affect on future relationships and she really helped drill into my brain that I wouldn't want to be with a woman who was so vain as to not see past this unfortunate condition.

I'm feeling a bit more positive as I can't see the benefit of worrying and thinking of what I could've done differently, they are closer to curing herpes than they are of inventing a time machine. Only 18 and going into my 2nd year of university- Herpes was certainly not on my mind. Yet here I am and hoping to make a few friends, do we have any Australian members?

Also the main wonder is how I will be in terms of recurrent outbreaks, my initial outbreak was extremely painful as I developed ulcers inside the urethra (That's all I could suggest would create the horrible pain during urination). If they recur often and are similar to that I might be far less optimistic.

Well this was my first post, hope to hear from all of you.

Michael.

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I'm in Australia...although I have only been Australian for 2 years. There are other Australians on here too.

I'm a bit confused though...you said all your tests turned negative. Did they do a swab or a blood test?

I reckon it may be a good idea to wait 3-4 months and go to a Sexual Health Clinic in Australia. My local one did a Western blot test...which is apparently the most accurate blood test for free (the test was sent to Westmead Hospital in Sydney...only place in Oz that does the actual test...so it takes a couple of weeks). Finding out the type whether it is HSV 1 or HSV 2 is a good idea...HSV 1 in the genital area is generally less recurrent.

If the outbreaks are painful speak to your GP, you can get suppressive valtrex through the PBS. Normal cost is $150 a month on the PBS it is $35--I reckon its worth it both to avoid the painful outbreaks and as it will protect your future sexual partners not completely but to some degree...its takes the risk down to between 1-3% per year.

But definitely get the blood test in a few months when you have had time to develop antibodies. 80% of people have HSV 1 and 25% have HSV 2...it is common...and most of those people don't even know.

You will learn your triggers and your body and the herpes will come to some sort of uneasy truce. I have had this 9 years...and the time as flown...I am hoping I am at least 2/3 of the way through waiting for a cure ;-)

Be brave, be strong...and be thankful for your wonderful sounding friend :-)

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Sorry if I wasn't clear. I had a blood test done. 5 days after the infection, I don't believe my body could produce any antibodies in that timeframe as the "IgG" antibodies were 0 for both HS1 and HS2. I was going to take another blood test around the 3 month mark as you suggested.

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    • sgt98
      Hey @WilsoInAus ok thank you, I will do my best to move on and stop trawling forums haha. 
    • WilsoInAus
      Hey @sgt98 but there is no feasible infection or outbreak to suppress and antivirals do not suppress an initial outbreak in any event 
    • sgt98
      Thanks @WilsoInAus I understand apologies for this but the only other thing I am worried about is that I did take a course of Famvir on day 1 as I felt like I was having an outbreak of cold sores and am worried that has suppressed the initial outbreak genitally 
    • WilsoInAus
      Hi @sgt98 it is not feasible to obtain a HSV-2 infection from receiving oral sex - only HSV-1 is feasible but you've already got that and immunity from any further infection with HSV-1. You do not need any further tests for HSV. You're feeling regret, try to forgive yourself and calm down, let the rational take over. You know the answer here and it won't be long until you believe it too.
    • WilsoInAus
      Hi @NerdP423 and welcome to the website. You raise a lot of points and I think the best way to address your concerns is add some comments at each key point. I've copied your note again below and added these comments in square brackets. I appreciate any insight (even speculation) as to what has been going on with me. I'm a 37y/o M. I last was intimate with a new partner on 2/11/2022, and a few days later started having a huge amount of discomfort in my face. [The first thing that happens though is that herpes causes lesions or at least some skin based disruption. Other symptoms are then related to the actions of the immune system responding to the virus. Without lesions, it is highly questionable that the ailment is related to herpes, yet testing is useful if you have concerns as you have done so.] About a month after that [herpes causes issues within days, if the first 'symptoms' are a month later - its extremely unlikely they are related to herpes], significant discomfort downstairs, however every test I have ever taken for HSV 1 and 2 has been negative. Here are the details: Face: Previously, some significant tingling and itching on the right side of my mouth, lips and chin (still there, but milder) [herpes does not cause general tingling and itching, it can cause a reasonably concentrated feeling of itch/throb from which a herpes lesion appears within hours]. Occasional hot flashes near my right eye, cheek and ear [herpes does not do this, it may be a immune response to something, or stress]. Sometimes it will feel like the skin is crawling on the right side of my face [herpes does not cause a general crawling sensation]. Never seen anything that looked like a traditional cold sore [that's extremely telling, even people with associated atypical symptoms will have experienced herpes lesions]. Occasionally, the left side of my face will have a momentary feeling of skin crawling, but it's so mild that I am not really worried about it. Downstairs: Thankfully, most of these are now milder than they were before. Occasional momentary pinch of pain at the base of my genitals. [herpes does not cause a general pinch feeling.] Aching pain in my boxer area (groin, leg folds) [nor this] Occasional feeling of cold in my boxer area, butt, or lower back. ( also in my shins and occasionally even my arms) [nor this] On 4/30/2022, I had been in discomfort for almost two months. I scratched an itch, noticed it hurt, and then checked - I did have an open ulcer down there. Took myself to the ER to get swabbed, came back negative. [If this was a PCR then this will be very conclusive.] Practitioner said it may come back negative because it was already open. However the lab report noted that it definitely didn't look like what you'd expect a typical first herpes outbreak to look like [how would the lab know??]. All blood tests negative so far. I had two western blots, the second one was nine months after exposure. [Two negative Westernblots!!! Many that's real convincing]. All other swabs also negative. I went to urgent care, because I know the timeliness of when the Swab is taken matters. One time, a swab was not done, because practitioner said it was folliculitis and wouldn't swab it (It was at my belt line). [Belt line is highly unlikely to relate to herpes.]   A blood test revealed I had low-ish B12 (technically in range, but at the very low end, especially for a man of my size). I had a series of B12 injections, and I am taking a B12 supplement. I am not taking any lysine or arginine at the moment. I was taking the Arganine to see if I could induce an outbreak. [This is irrelevant, there is no known linkage between herpes outbreaks and arginine/lysine intake - its a myth - and B12 infers nothing.] I think what I am asking is - has anyone here ever repeatedly tested negative over and over again over long period of time, before getting a definitive answer, be a positive test, or something else? [The answer to this is: Extremely few people with a HSV-1 infection and even more rarely HSV-2 test repeatedly negative on Westernblot and actually carry the virus. Of the cases that I know of that had delayed detection by a swab and negative blood tests in the meantime (and that's only 3-4 cases), they had some form of lesions within days of infection but did not obtain a swab for various reasons and then obtained a positive swab of a subsequent lesion with the record being 11 months later. A couple of the cases did have some 'background' symptoms they thought might be related to herpes but that isn't ascertained and some did not have any unusual symptoms at all apart from the lesions. Hence as you did not have lesions around your mouth or lips within days of the last sexual encounter as is exceptionally common for a primary oral HSV-1 infection, that pretty much rules out herpes orally as it is. The fact that you had no genital symptoms for a month also rules out genital herpes. I am not aware of anyone at all who has genuinely gone on to test positive by swab or blood in your specific circumstances. There are hundreds if not more than a thousand experiences on this website alone that are similar to yours that are truly negative for herpes I'm one of them!]  
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