Question:
hi everyone i was diagnosed with type 2 genital almost 6 months ago. bought hisnw lip gloss a couple of days ago ( it has a skin irritant to puff up yor lips) anyways i had warn it a couple of times before but when i wore it a couple of days ago and went and wiped it off, my skin got really irritated. Within hours my lips swelled and they looked really bumpy. I went straight to my doctor and she said tha it looked like a rash and that if it was a coldsore from me transfering the virus i would only hjave one bump. I am currently on valtrax as a daily supressent and i always had an outbak below the belt a couple of days ago because i am haveing my period and got a bad cold. Now that the sweeling ofmy lips have gone down over the last few days, i have a lot of really really dry skin and along the line of my lips little bumpbs. My mom gets cold soresadshe sys thats what it look likes but my question is if it is wouldnt i have antibodies to it and because i am taking an anti viral medication, wouldnt i only get one bump? its freaking me out how i could have transfered this to my mouth :( i am always so careful when it comes to washing my hands. so if this is a cold sore it must be type 2 and if so how often to bpeople with this type break out on their mouths?

Answer:
maybe u already had hsv1 and the gloss flared it up??

u said your mum gets coldsores, and she always had them? if so i bet she kissed u alot as a kid?

Answer:
you only have antibodies when you have a outbreak.
when you dont have outbreaks for long periods of time, there would be no antibodies detected.

your body does though set up a resistance for the virus, but like its been said, you can still transfer it. its hard- but still possible.
having herpes in one area, doesnt prevent you from getting it other places.
\ also you said your mom gets it, how good is your mom at not kissing you when she has a ob

Answer:
you only have antibodies when you have a outbreak.
when you dont have outbreaks for long periods of time, there would be no antibodies detected.
Wouldn't this mean that asymptomatic people never test positive for HSV? Pertaining to me, wouldn't this mean that I'll never get a positive result for HSV unless I get another outbreak? I had my primary outbreak but blood tests have been negative so far. I was under the assumption that after your body develops antibodies, any time after that you would test positive with an HSV blood test.

Answer:
any time after the outbreak, you will be able to detect the antibodies,~ until they gradually go away. but if you are not having a active outbreak, and the virus is not active, your body doesnt need to make something for something thats not happening.
which is why most people will test negative if they have a outbreak, and wait months to get tested, and never have another outbreak.

the only test that would though detect herpes if you never get another outbreak would be the western blot.

i know that i didnt get a positive test result until i was actually having a ob when i had a blood test done. the rest all came back neg each time

Answer:
I thought I understood this but now I am confused again.

I understand how antibodies work and that the body develops them to fight the virus and that once that virus resurfaces the body instantly sends the best defense it remembers from the past exposure. But I thought that there were antibodies that remained kinda like sentry's to guard against the existing infection and to send alerts to the immune system.

I'm applying the logic of how antigens are detected in the blood for cancer cells even when it is in remission. I thought it would be the same with viruses.

Answer:
well i went in to another doctor today for a second opinion and he always agreed saying that it was not a cold sore and was dermatitis. he prescribed a cortisone cream ( a very low dose) and told me to come back if it got worse. True my mom has kissed me before but none of the bumpbs are clustered so bnoth doctors i went to didnt think it was a old sore. Supposedly i had a really bad reaction to the lip gloss and from what i have been told i am not the first girl that this has happend to with this line of cosmetics. So i am not too sure, i will keep an eye on it but i must say i am relieved. It just looks like i have dry skin all over my lips because of the rash thas healing over. if i hear anything new i shall keep you gus posted. thanks for the support!

Answer:
oh and sorry i forgot to answer a question. My mom NEVER kisses me when she has an outbreak, she has always been very good with it. sh always feels it coming a couple days in advance. she gets really big ones. nasty little buggers

Answer:
Antibodies are proteins made by the body's natural defense system (immune system) to attack and destroy foreign substances, such as bacteria and viruses. Antibodies attach themselves to the foreign substance, allowing other immune system cells to attack and destroy the substance.

The surfaces of viruses and bacteria contain chemicals called antigens. To destroy viruses and bacteria, the immune system creates antibodies that are specific for each antigen.

* The first time a person is exposed to a type of bacteria or virus, the immune system makes antibodies to that specific bacteria or virus.
* Some of these antibodies remain in the immune system after they have attacked and destroyed the bacteria or virus.
* If a person is exposed to the bacteria or virus again, the immune system will “remember” the first exposure. It will quickly reactivate its antibodies and destroy the bacteria or virus again.
* These antibodies often protect a person from becoming ill when exposed to the bacteria or virus again. This is called immunity.

Antibodies cannot attack pathogens within cells, and certain viruses (such as HIV, HSV and HBV) "hide" inside cells for long periods of time to avoid them.[3] This is the reason for the chronic nature of many minor skin diseases (such as cold sores); any given outbreak is quickly suppressed by the immune system, but the infection is never truly eradicated because some cells retain viruses that will reactivate later, causing a resurgence of symptoms

If those antibodies are not present, either the person has not been infected, or the infection occurred a very long time ago, and the antibodies have naturally decayed.