[Question #11793] Genital Herpes Exposure
12 months ago
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Thank you in advance for your assistance. I had genital herpes for 8 years and barely get outbreaks. I had sex with my partner and stupidly we didn’t use a condom for 10 seconds. I don’t have signs of an outbreak but I know transmission takes place without signs of an outbreak. About 8-10 hours later he began to have flu like symptoms that progressed to the morning (extreme tiredness, chills, cold sweats, and achy body). Does his symptoms mean I transmitted HSV2? Should he expect to see lesions in the next day or so?
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Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner
12 months ago
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10 seconds of unprotected intercourse seems a very unlikely way to get HSV 2 from you. Are you taking daily antiviral medication to reduce the risk of transmission? Without any sores in the genital area, I can't say if the symptoms he has are in any way related to HSV but he should keep an eye on his genitals for about 2 weeks after the encounter and if he doesn't develop any sores, HSV 2 infection is unlikely. Has he been tested to know that he is, in fact, negative for HSV 2?
Terri
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12 months ago
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Yes his test was negative. Yes I take antiviral but I missed 2 days. Is it normal to develop the flu symptoms the same day and next morning?
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Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner
12 months ago
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That's really early for symptoms to develop. The average time to symptom development is 5.5 days. Best not to miss pills, if possible
Terri
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12 months ago
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Are these symptoms common for a new infection if he did acquire HSV2?
12 months ago
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Are these symptoms common for a new infection if he did acquire HSV2?
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Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner
12 months ago
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They can be symptoms of HSV but they can be symptoms of a lot of other more common illness like other viral infections.
Terri
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12 months ago
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Since I didn’t take the medicine for 2 days, did I put him at a higher risk of catching it?
12 months ago
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Last question. In another post, the other doctors stated that flu like symptoms related to a STI do not develop less than a day. Is that not the case for my situation?
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Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner
12 months ago
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The two days off medication raises the risk of transmission slightly. And yes, flu symptoms the next day is really unlikely to be related to HSV transmission.
Terri
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