Just diagnosed but confused about symptons

[fieldingmelish]

Three days ago a doctor (not mine) took one look at my 3 sores on my shaft and immediately said herpes.  Said that the look of the sores is exclusive to the virus.  I agree with her when I look on the Net and see other pictures.  She prescribed Amoxivir??  can't recall the name right now. My sores look exactly the same as the ones of the Net. 

However, I'm having no symptoms that I read about on the forum.  No itching, no pain, no urinating issues, nothing.   And the sores are painful at all.  As a matter of fact. 5 days after they appeared they are already scabbed up and beginning to disappear.  So....is this herpes?  Am I freakin out for no reason or do I just have a very mild outbreak?

[fieldingmelish]

Sorry....sores are NOT painful at all.

[Hansje]

If you want to be sure you could ask for a swab of IgG bloodtest. Many doctors don't see the point, but I think you should insist. Or have it done by a commercial lab, like I did when my doctor wouldn't order the test.

If a sore hurts or not  can depend on exactly where it is located. The past ten days I had blisters in the boxershortarea, not on the genitals, and it didn't hurt and only slightly itched. But there have been times it was in another spot, and urination hurt so much, I became afraid to even drink.

[fieldingmelish]

Thanks Hansje,  may I ask how often you have outbreaks and are they indeed lighter and less frequent with time?

[Hansje]

First year, every month, utter horror. Only Valtrex helped me, a bit. Now I'm trying to get off them but when I ride my bike I get OB's. But not as often and not as bad. In many patients it gets better after the first year. I'm really looking forward to Halfords therapeutic vaccine.

[Elle22]

Visual diagnosis is really not reliable, so I would also get tested.  Most people with herpes have no symptoms or very mild symptoms. Therefore what you have could be an outbreak.

[notjejune]

My first and only OB so far was just one lesion. It itched in that spot in the day or so before it appeared, but after it showed up, it only caused sharp pains when I directly sprayed it with water in the shower, and it was achy after I rode my bike for an hour one day. (It happened to be in a spot that caused a lot of friction on the bike seat.) Otherwise it didn't hurt at all.

Anyway, welcome to our little corner of the web and I hope you're well!

 

[fieldingmelish]

Notjejune 

thanks for responding.  Hoping and praying I have your experience in this little corner!  

I'm a little stressed but feeling very positive.  This feedback helps tremendously 

[WilsoInAus]

I agree with all above @fieldingmelish what you describe is actually the more typical experience with herpes. The other symptoms are rarer and usually associated with your immune system response.

Your doctor is not right about the distinctive nature of the sores. In the end, they are skin surface ulcerating sores and many things causes these. Visual diagnoses are not more than 75% accurate.

She should have taken a swab? That is not a great sign of competence if she did not it has to be said.

Of course if this is herpes, there does need to be a source. What was your sexual history in the two weeks leading into these sores? Do you have a regular partner?

[fieldingmelish]

another reason I believe it to be positive.  I had 2 different encounters in the last 2 weeks.  not smart, I know, but it is what it is.

 

[WilsoInAus]

Herpes is as herpes does, so true. This is no reason for any automatic assumptions though. The correct approach to diagnosis is a swab of symptoms or blood testing 12 weeks from possible exposure.