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The first time I had a genital outbreak, my regular doctor wasn't available, so I saw a different doctor, who prescribed me some medicine, and the lesions seemed to clear up quite quickly.  There was no mention of herpes.  Then, a few months later, I had another outbreak, and I saw my regular doctor, and she diagnosed it on the basis of seeing it (and from my relaying that it had happened once before).  I believe she said the lesions were too far healed to warrant a swab test at that time but that I should get swabbed if it recurred again.  I believe she prescribed me Valacyclovir or Acyclovir, which didn't do much to heal the lesions but which she said I could take again at the first signs of onset. When the genital outbreak recurred a third time several months later, I immediately started the medication but still developed the same lesions.  I got a swab test, but it came back negative.  The doctor just told me that the swab tests often gave false negatives, but that she was confident I had genital herpes.  I have (thankfully) never had another genital recurrence, so I've never had the opportunity to get another swab test.  The blood test only showed that I have HSV-1, which I assume it would have shown before I ever had genital outbreaks, as I mentioned that I got my first cold sore as a kid.  I had been recently sexually active (both oral sex and intercourse) at the time of my first genital outbreak, so I assumed I had acquired an STD from my new partner, but when I confronted him about it, he claimed to have no knowledge of having any STDs  himself.  I never made him get tested, as we broke up before the recurrences began, and I didn't know after my first doctor visit to suspect herpes.  Also, although I am quite certain I had a cold sore as a child (as it is documented in a school yearbook photo), I don't recall having any cold sore recurrences until after I started having genital outbreaks.  Then, once the genital outbreaks stopped, the oral outbreaks began.  

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For the oral outbreaks, I typically begin to feel a sort of tingling/swelling sensation before I can actually see anything.  Then, I often can see a really small seed-like bump on my lip (I think they've always appeared exclusively on my lower lip), and it often seems as though my whole lip is swollen as if I were using a lip plumper.  Then, the seed develops into one or more small, tightly-clustered  blisters.  Then the blisters begin to pop and crack, and when they crack, they pus.  The pus then dries, and when I eat or talk too aggressively, they pop open again and pus some more.  This cracking/pussing cycle usually goes on for several days up to a week before the cold sore finally heals.  

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