[Question #2124] Questions about Herpes

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96 months ago
Im 35 only been with 4 women genital to genital after i was with the second woman i got freaked out about herpes so i got a western blot done and came back negative for hsv 1 and 2 my third partner i wanted her to get the same thing she did and came back positive for 1 and negative for 2 so the only oral we had was me giving to her since then after we broke up havent dated much had unprotected oral sex 6 times with 5 different women but never saw any cold sores on there mouths. Last women i had intercourse with was 10 months ago twice used condoms both times we had unprotected oral sex to she said she gets cold sores sometimes but never saw any on her. I had oral sex 6 weeks and 4 days ago with a Las Vegas prostitute she is included in the oral sex with 5 women that i listed abovenever saw any sores on her mouth. On Wednesday i felt a burning sensation under my penis head and the area turned very red no itching just burning i always read about Prodome the burning has lasted about 3 days no sores. Im also experiencing muscle aches and headache but i dont know if thats just stress. Im also on a antidepressant and just started taking ambien so dont know if im just getting side effects from that. I always read that new infections are within 2-12 days and i figured 6 weeks and 4 days would be a bit long for a new infection also since i was negative for type 1 and 2 that if i got an infection it would be pretty pronounced. The burning under my penis head  and the rednesscould it be fungal i do have jock itch or is it herpes coming? How long does prodome last and then sores appear??
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96 months ago
I also have a couple follow up questions
1. If u have HSV 1 genital can u spread it genital to genital? And if so do u have percentages of transmission?
2. I'm gonna get the western blot again how long should I wait for accurate results??
3. I'm still feeling this burning under my penis head it's been 6 weeks since my last sexual contact herpes would have shown up by now I've always read latest 3 weeks for primary infection is that accurate?? 
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Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner
96 months ago
I agree that 6 weeks is a very long time for a new infection to present- really unrealistic infect.  The burning you feel could certainly be fungal - have you tried using any antifungal medicine?  Did it have any effect? 
Genital to genital transmission of HSV 1 can happen but it is rare because HSV 1 is shed infrequently from the genital tract.
I think you should wait 12-16 weeks for the blot - you could do an IgG between now and then and I can give you an idea about the accuracy, based on the time since the last encounter 
I honestly feel that you are way too far out from the first infection for this to be a primary herpes outbreak, yes

Terri
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96 months ago
Thank You Terri for answering my questions I appreciate it I can't about this with a lot of people!! I had a couple more questions
1. Does this sound what I've described to u as herpes??
2. If I was exposed to the virus wouldn't it be pronounced because I tested negative for type 1 and 2?? 
3. Would u say my chances are low of getting it with only 1 partner genital to genital with condoms and only the one time oral sex with the 5 different women??
4. This one really worries me they say herpes can be anywhere in the genital area so I've been examining myself uncontrollably the last few days to see if I see anything. With guys do outbreaks normally occur on the penis or is it somewhere else where it's more frequent?? 
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Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner
96 months ago
1.  It really doesn't sound like herpes to me, no
2. Yes, normally someone who has no antibody to either HSV 1 or HSV 2 have more remarkable symptoms.  But you may know that the HSV 1 IgG antibody test misses about 30% of HSV 1 infections compared to the gold standard western blot.  It's not a terrific test and if you tested positive by western blot for HSV 1 we could not know if your infection is oral or genital anyway, without lesions in either location
3.  oh, yes, I think quite low
4.  Yes, the most common location for men to have outbreaks is on the penis shaft.  The "whole genital area" thing applies to recurrences - first infections would almost always show up first in the location when the contact occurred - shaft of the penis, I am assuming, in you.

Hope that helps!

Terri
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