Question:
Hello all,

I'm hoping someone can shed some much needed light on my situation. Plese!!! This is all goes back to a brief 2 min unprotected vaginal sex followed by masturbation with a woman I met that night. March 3, 2006. Didn't shower till the next evening. I had every symptom it seemed like that suggested herpes except for the ACTUAL sores starting about 8-9 days after the possible exposure...Tingling in the tip of the penis for 3 days, burning in the genital area, very sore testicles, a little itching in the genital area, sharp pains in the abdomen area that came and went, etc. 2 weeks after possible exposure I also had a bad flu which I attributed to being infected with Herpes.

I asked the girl I slept with if she had anything and she said she was clean and didn't have any STDs but who knows if she was lying to me. She told me her ex cheated on her a bunch of times and she was tested for everything 6 months prior to us sleeping together and she didn't have anything. Asked her where she got tested and she said planned parenthood and all results took 2 weeks for her which seemed a little long to me. Clinician told me maybe it was yeast or fungal infection but she didn't think it was herpes. About 2 months later I got what seemed like an ingrown hair on the very base of penis near the pubic area that seemed to heal up pretty quick. I also developed a small sore in the very crease of my thigh/groin that went away and now seems to be coming back along with the tinging. Went back to the clinic about 3 1/2 weeks ago but still nobody even suggested herpes. I went to a urologist about 3 days later and he said he didn't see any irritation inside my urethra. The irritation in my urethra and tingling seemed to go away after about 10-14 days or so. He said the only thing it could possibly be was herpes because of the tingling so he wanted me to take another herpes blood test. Over the span of 3 weeks I had 2 herpes blood tests from different doctors (planned parenthood 8/8/06 and urologist on 8/24/06) 5 1/4 months and 6 months post exposure...I believe to both be HerpesSelect. The last was Quest Diagnostics lab which I'm pretty sure uses HerpesSelect.

Both tests came back positive for HSV1 (which I figured since I've had cold sores my whole life) and negative for HSV2. HSV1 >5.00 AND HSV2 .05 on the first test and .10 on the second test...both well below the .90 level. Now, I've heard that there can be false negatives for HSV2. PLEASE!!! PLEASE!!! can anyone tell me if I can rely on the negative HSV2 results despite the recurrent symptoms. During this time of blood testing I had burning in the genital area for a few days followed by tingling in the tip of my penis for about 10 days. Urethra felt irritated and penis felt raw but still NO sores. I really want to put this problem out of my life that has troubled me for 6 months now. Are my results accurate? Am I indeed HSV2 negative or do I have to sit around and wait to see if I ever have a true outbreak?

I read so much about the reliability of these tests and I honestly don't know what to think anymore. Why the same type of tingling that I had after the initial exposure. I don't know what to do anymore. So many different doctors have told me so many different things and that the tingling could have just been anxiety...See, the thing is the burning and the irritation in my urethra and the tingling where all very real...at this point, I just want to know that it's NOT HSV2. All I know is that I had every assymptomatic symptom in the book and I was VERY SURPRISED that both results came back negative for HSV2. What else could it possibly be? Sorry for the long post but this problem is killing me!

Thanks,

Confused

Answer:
well, hate to tell you this, but HSV1 and HSV2 can both be found Genitally. Alot of people talk about HSV2 as if it is only a genital virus and HSV1 as Oral but really it's because HSV2 is "generally" found in the genitals and HSV1 perfers the mouth. This doesn't mean that you can have HSV1 in both plays or just the genitals.

So since you came back postive for HSV1 it might be safe to assume that you are infected in both locations. Especially with the additional symptons because HSV1 tends to be a bit more instense when you have a outbreak. (from what I hear)

Answer:
yeah but...i've heard and (don't quote me on this - but i've read it and one of my doctors told me) that if you already have HSV1 orally you're basically immune from catching it genitally...what do you think of this? Does that sound right? Also, do you think it's safe to say that my HSV2 negative results were accurate at 6 months? Plus I've heard that HSV1 genitally very rarely reactivates...maybe once a year or so if that. What do you think???

Answer:
No not totally unfortunately. It may give you a resistance but does not make you immune. HSV1 behaves slightly differently genitally and in some way can be more

From http://www.herpesonline.org/hsv1vs2.html

"though society believes type 1 to be the ?Good Virus?, researchers are finding HSV-1 to be more ?risky? than previously perceived. Some medical professionals are finding type 1 to be a more ?significant? infection than HSV 2 in the neonate and the prevalence of HSV 1 is severely underestimated. For years it was believed that 90% of people had HSV 1. We know now it is 60%. Even at sixty percent having type 1 orally and the unknown figures of HSV 1 genital cases gives indication that herpes is not a virus to be ignored."

Answer:
but i didn't have oral sex...so how is this possible? I'm just trying to trust my blood results for hsv2. although it feels like i have all the symptoms...how long does the tingling usually last in an outbreak? middle of last month it started and it lasted about 1 week. now less than a month later the tingling has started again...does that make sense??

i'm so confused at this point...everyone tells me it's not herpes and now you're pretty much convinced i have it...

i don't know who to believe anymore

Answer:
straight from the site you posted on the last reply

" A prior infection with HSV-1 orally greatly lowers the risk of contracting type 1 genitally. Studies have shown that the majority of HSV-1 genital cases are occurring in those with no prior history of HSV of either type.

In the absence of prior oral infection, HSV-1 can be spread to the genital area, usually through the practice of oral sex. In some countries, genital HSV-1 accounts for more than half of their entire genital herpes cases."

so you tell me

Answer:
Ok, Two quick general point. Greatly reduces your chances. Is not a definitive protection. Condoms Greatly reduce your chances of catching the virus and that still didn't help me out in the end. (because she had a outbreak on her hand!) What I am trying to tell you is that if she had HSV1 genitally then regardless of whether you had oral sex and she has it orally she could still have given you the virus.

As for you. The doctor is the only one that can tell you whether you have it or not. I've had some of those symptons before I was infected and it was mainly because the nerve custer in that region of the body feels the effects of any trouble in that area. I.E. if you are having an issue on your butt your going to feel it in your genitals. This is how your bodies nervious system is wired down there. Also man can have bladder infections just not as common as women.

Regardless of whether you have herpies or not. generally if your not in a long term relationship with someone your taking a risk having unprotected sex or your going to be worrying about this all over again. Also it's important that you reframe from too much Oral action with the other person when you have a Oral outbreak...

Hopefully you don't have it genitally. I would go to a Urologist if your symptons persist or reoccure.

Answer:
Thanks again for your reply,

So, if you can do me a favor...can you describe your symptoms when you initially were infected with the virus and some of the symtptoms you have for reoccurences??? I went to the urologist and he doesn't know what I have. He suspected herpes because of the tingling but said that if it were HSV1 that it wouldn't come back. How will I ever know? I don't want to just assume that I have it you know? But then again, I have a girlfriend of 5 years who doesn't even know I did this who I more than anything DO NOT want to infect! Can I trust my HSV2 results? Am I atleast out of the clear with that?

Confused