Question:
?

I went to the doctor 3-4 months ago with visible symptoms and he said it looked like Herpes. He ordered a blood test and put me on Famvir (sp?) and volatrax (sp?....topical ointment).

Well, the blood test came back negative....but the medication hasn't worked worth a damn. The odd thing is, it seems as if this outbreak has lasted the entire 3-4 months. The sores will dry/scab up for not even a day before they appear again!

What exactly is going on?

If in fact I DO have Herpes, do outbreaks last that long?

Is it possible I do NOT have Herpes since the medication has done absolutely NOTHING and I was told the test was negative?

This may sound weird, but, do erections irritate or aggrevate the outbreaks or cause outbreaks all together?? I can be fine for a couple of days, but heaven forbid I get an erection....all hell breaks loose!!

Answer:
A blood test shows antibodies to the virus and may take up to a few months (approximately, don't quote me) for your body to form antibodies sufficient to be detected by the test. So there is a "window" period after exposure before antibodies may show up in a test.

If you had/have active lesions, your doctor should have cultured them. And if your doctor didn't, go back for a culture, or go see a doctor who will do one. That will gove you a definitive answer - if the lesions are positively cultured for H, then you have H.

It doesn't make any sense that the doc would prescribe an antiviral without any positive results (blood or culture). If the meds aren't even helping, maybe it is something altogether different, but you should definitely see a doctor...get a second (and more informed) opinion.

Good luck - can't help you with the erection question (I'm a girl, lol)

Answer:
Thanks for the reply..

I thought the same thing regarding the culture.....in fact.....after he said, "it looks like Herpes,"....I asked him, "So, you need to do a culture right?"...he replied with, "No, but we need to do a blood test." He did the blood test and prescribed me the Famvir and Zolitrax (lol...I can never get that damn ointment's name right!) and gave me a pamphlet on Herpes.

The problems started a little after I was "about" to be with this woman. What I mean is, we were kissing and she put her hand on my penis....rubbed it for all of a minute....then I stopped her. That was it. Not once did she put her mouth or vagina on it or anything. I thought no way in hell could I get Herpes from just that....then I got to reading on the internet about skin-to-skin contact and started freaking out!

I don't want to go back to my same doctor so, now my question is: What sort of doctor do I need to go to? He was just an all-around type of doctor....would a dermatologist be appropriate?

Thanks in advance everyone!!