Question:
After doing some internet research I am pretty sure I have herpes. My mom has gotten coldsores for as long as I can remember. I've never had a coldsore in my life, but about 3-4 months ago I think I contracted it. I had all the flu-like symptoms that lasted about a month. I kept going back to the doctor but they couldn't figure anything out. About a month after that passed and I started feeling like myself again, I got a small sore on my chin. (then the flu-like stuff made sense.) I've had the sore now for over 5 weeks. Everytime it looks like its clearing up, it just bubbles up and comes back again. Its getting really frustrating and I feel completely icky going to work like this. Even though makeup covers the redness, it still shows.

Anyway, in my research, I've seen that an initial outbreak usually lasts about 1-3 weeks. All together for me, though, its been over 3 months, 5 weeks of that with this ugly sore. Can one herpes outbreak last this long or is there something else it could be that normally lasts this long?

I should go to the dr to get it tested, but I'm just really worried about having it on my record. I found out recently that my employer's HR department can see every prescription I get filled, so god only knows what they can see about my medical history.

Answer:
I should go to the dr to get it tested, but I'm just really worried about having it on my record. I found out recently that my employer's HR department can see every prescription I get filled, so god only knows what they can see about my medical history. I've not heard that before - about the HR department knowing everything that you do with your insurance.

Even so.. you still need to go and get tested. Don't worry about what other people think! Your health is much too valuable for that..

Angela

Answer:
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I've not heard that before - about the HR department knowing everything that you do with your insurance. Yes. When companies buy insurance for its' employees, it can choose to be "fully insured" or "self-funded."

Rather than the insurance company paying all the bills like they normally do, the "self-funded" company collects the premium, pays a small part of the premium to the insurance company to administrate the paperwork, then pays all the actual medical bills itself. Depending on the company (and the average health of everyone in it), it can be cheaper than fully insuring. "Self-funded" is basically "self-insuring" within the network of an insurance company.

legal stuff.....my ex was a employee practices lawyer. anyway, my point is, self-funded companies can see all the diagnoses because they can see all the medical bills...and its perfectly legal.

I work in a small company. something like this might spread like wildfire. I'm going to go to planned parenthood this week.