I had unprotected anal sex (stupid of me, I know) with a new guy about 2 weeks ago. He claimed he was clean, but about a week later I noticed some itching and pain around my rectal area. Then about two days later blisters began to form. By then I was freaking out, because I'm only 22 and I have so much I want to do. These blisters then burst and are extremely itchy/painful. I decided to go to the doctor who performed a culture test. My results don't come in for another few days, but she was pretty confident that it was indeed genital herpes. She perscribed me Acyclovir 400 mg, which I picked up immediately. My question is: should I go ahead and begin taking the pills after my blisters have burst and scabbed over? Or should I hold onto them for my next outbreak? I'm beginning to feel slightly better now that they are scabbing over, but I want to be sure that that is a sure sign of healing. Thank you so much!
Yes, it is, so you don't have to take the meds if you don't feel the need. Two weeks is getting near the end of the outbreak. For the meds to be of any help, you need to take them asap upon developing symptoms.
I would take them!!
Thank for the information! I just got my results back and they tested positive for HSV-1, so oral herpes of the genitals. She said they are treated the same but the outbreaks aren't as frequent or as severe. What does this mean for my sex life? I know to never engage in sexual activities during an outbreak, but how can it be transmitted/how infectious am I when I am not experiencing an outbreak?
Actually, the more I've learnt about genital HSV-1, the more it seems like a non-issue, besides the first nasty outbreak. For most people, genital HSV-1 sheds and outbreaks much less than genital HSV-2 and even less than oral HSV-1. As a result it's not overly infectious or troublesome, and most people already have it orally, so should be immune from contracting it elsewhere. So, on the rare occasions you have outbreaks (or aren't sure), avoid sex, but apart from that, you're okay. Using condoms is always a good idea anyway, but no need for meds. A few unlucky persons get many outbreaks with genital HSV-1, in which case the above would be different, but that's not the norm.
Hello, I am understanding your struggle right now because I am 21 years old and having symptoms waiting for my results to come back. It is making me go crazy waiting for the results, as I'm wishing and hoping it is HSV-1 and not HSV-2. I've recently had sex for the first time with my best friend of five years and this is happening. We are both having a devastating time trying to get through our every day lives. Hang in there, there're many others who are going through this too..