Question:
Hi -- The first time I had a blister appear it came right after an evening with a new man (one night stand, married...but boy, was he hot!)...I don't recall him having any blisters or lesions. I don't know what the latency period between exposure and outbreak usually is, but if it was from him it was only 8-10 hours. Don't know where else it could have come from...unless it had been dormant for months. I was in my early 20s at the time, and was rather on the promiscious side...

I really didn't think anything of it at the time. I even covered the blisters with concealer because I wanted to have a second night with this man (which I did)...I had no idea what it could be -- and being in my early 20s, of course didn't care much. When the second blister came, months and months later, I still had no idea, but was concerned enough to call a doctor. I still thought it must be some kind of bug bite or something...but the huge knot that was my lymph node had me especially worried. I was quite mortified, of course when told what it was.

My blisters always appear on my right buttocks. Only once or twice have i had one in the genital area...and it is usually perineal when there is one there. The lymph node in my groin on that side always swells as well -- huge. I spent the holidays in Hawaii and had an outbreak (after the stress of travel and lack of sleep) and my swollen gland was visible when wearing a bikini.

I hate it. It is annoying. Frustrating. All of those things that all of you feel. But, it hasn't stopped my life. I am happily married for 11 years now. I had it when I met my husband, and I though I didn't tell him right away, he was fine with it when I did tell him. He has oral herpes...perhaps that has given him some level of antibodies against it as he has never had an outbreak of genital herpes. I have two children -- both delivered vaginally, I was lucky to have doctors that agreed to induce me at the end of term when I was not in an outbreak so that I could deliver without risk.

Lately it seems that my outbreaks are becoming more frequent. I don't keep as close track of them as I should. I try to ignore, forget, not pay attention -- but I think they are becoming close to monthly. Usually around my period and or brought on by stress or lack of sleep. Lack of sleep is almost a guarantee of an outbreak. Every late and or sleepless night seems to bring out a blister.

I hate the idea of taking a pill every day. So, I take valtrex at the first sign of a blister (though I did not have any with me when I was in Hawaii, so it was especially bad...three big blisters back to back, as soon as one started to heal another formed. This was a first, I usually only get one). I try to remember to take lysine daily -- don't know if that really helps at all...I doubt it.

That's it for now.

P.S. -- A very important additional note. About 18 months or two years after my first breakout I had an abnormal pap smear. I had always gotten them annually, so it had been fine 12 months before and had gone to a stage 3 cervical dysplaysia -- pre-cancer. There is a relationship between cervical cancer and genital herpes as well as genital warts. I had a leep procedure performed then to remove the pre-cancerous cells and all of my pap smears have been fine ever since. But women with herpes, make sure that you get regular pap smears...preferably every six months, but no more than every 12!

Answer:
Uh no, herpes doesn't have anything to do with Cancer.

Sorry,

Angela :wink:

Answer:
actually yes it does.

Herpes hightens your risks of contracting cervical cancer.

lol.

perhaps you should read up on the virus more.

Answer:
Excerpt from an article about a study done by the American Cancer Society.
Study: Herpes Virus Linked To Cervical Cancer

Article date: 2002/11/06
Human papillomavirus infection, commonly known as HPV, is the main known cause of invasive cancer of the cervix.
As long ago as the 1960s and 1970s, said the authors, research showed that HSV-2 caused cervical cancer. But further studies didn?t prove the link. The types of lab tests that were available and what was known about cervical cancer and HPV then wasn?t as far advanced as it is today.
HPV With HSV-2 Increased Risk
Because of the confusion surrounding the role of HSV-2 in increasing the risk of developing cervical cancer, the authors of the article decided to look carefully at seven new studies of cervical cancer.
These studies used the latest scientific tests to answer the question whether there is a relationship between herpes virus HSV-2 and cervical cancer.
Over 1,200 women with invasive cervical cancer were studied. Almost all had a form of invasive cervical cancer called squamous cell. The rest had either adenocarcinoma or adenosquamous invasive cervical cancer.
Women underwent a wide range of tests looking at viruses, blood, cytology (examination of cells from the cervix), and biopsy of the cervix.
More than 1,100 women without cervical cancer were also studied. They were compared to the group of women with cervical cancer.
The authors found that in women who were infected with HPV viruses that are associated with a high risk of getting cervical cancer, an additional infection with HSV-2 increased the risk of cervical cancer about 2 ? times.
And the authors noted, HSV-2 infection may prevent the body from responding properly to the HPV infection.
The authors concluded that HPV remains the most important virus when it comes to causing cervical cancer. HSV-2, in certain people, may be a helper to make it easier for HPV to infect the cells of the cervix, resulting in cancer.
They cautioned that the risk of developing invasive cervical cancer as a result of additional infection with HSV-2 may be caused other unknown and unmeasured factors.
"The specific role of HSV-2 or other infectious agents in the pathogenesis of cervical cancer is unclear,? wrote Hawes and Kiviat.
It may be, they said, that it is the chronic inflammation of the herpes infection that may increase the risk of cervical cancer, as has been shown with other cancers such as in the esophagus, stomach, and colon, among others.
An expert in gynecology and oncology said he isn?t surprised by the results of the study.
"We?ve all been saying that HSV-2 may be a cofactor in cervical cancer," said Horowitz, said Ira R. Horowitz, MD, vice-chair of the department of gynecology and obstetrics at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.
But he also underlined the fact that there may be a lot of other risk factors as well, which the study did not investigate. "HSV-2 may be one of many promoters" of cervical cancer, said Horowitz.
Doctors would already consider someone with herpes infections at a higher risk of cervical cancer to begin with, noted Horowitz. In the US, 25% of the general population has infection with the HSV-2 virus.
"It is plausible that HSV-2 is a factor, but not the factor, in increasing the risk of cervical cancer," said Horowitz. "It also may be related to the fact we are identifying a high-risk population" by looking at the presence of HSV-2 infection.