Hi everyone,
Overall I am seeking advice on whether i possibly have genital herpes. Here is my story...
In 2009 roughly I had unprotected sex with a girl who rang me a few days later saying she had been diagnosed with genital herpes. Literally this was 3 days later hence i dont think herpes could evolve that quickly plus i never had any sores prior to that.
Anyway, one day in 2014 after a massive drinking session i work up with two sores on the tip of my penis- the first time i have ever noticed anything like this! Reason i had noticed was that they were absolutely agony to both touch and urinate. They looked like sores with yellow puss in them. So around 5 days later i went to the clinic and through a visual inspection said i had herpes. They theb took a swab and gave me valtrex. At that time the sores were very much the same in both appearance and pain level. However much to my surprise the swab came back negative! Now this is the dilemma.. Do i take that as a true negative? The sores at that point didn't seem to be healing; in actual fact it wasn't until a week later that they healed. When they did heal the yellow fluid almost 'wiped' off and i was left with purplish marks (which are still very lightly present to this day)
I have never had any sores since but i have reas about how long the disease can lie back but simultaneously read that swabs on sores are reasonably accurate.
It is worth noting that i have moderate psoriasis and have had yeast infections in the past but i dont know if the latter can cause sores?
Given the time and testing elements does this sound like herpes or what else could it be?
I have had unprotected oral but never unprotected sex since 2008
1-A girl whom you slept with has herpes.
2-Sores developed on your penis and a doctor first impression based on visual inspection is that he think what you have is herpes
One of the above alone may not be sufficient to judge. But the two together increase the odds significantly.
An IGG blood test would give you a definitive answer. That's the only way to know. It can be spread even with condoms. So you are risking infecting the women you are with.
The thing is they showed 5 years lately and never had a potential outbreak since plus swab was negative!
Would a swab test in the 'height' of the pain and visibility of the sore not he accurate?
Not always from what I have read. But an igg five years later would most certainly tell you. Why are you asking now if you don't think something is wrong?
Ok but do routine clinics test for that? Its just something which had played on my mind recently. Never been 100% content
You have to ask for it generally. Say I want a igg test for hsv 1 and 2. It's a blood test. Better to know than not to.
Ok thanks for the info much appreciated
Viral culture swabs for herpes lose accuracy with each passing day, and in your case, you left it for five days. If they were still pus-like at the time, you might expect a positive, but I wouldn't count on it 100%. Pcr swab is a different story, however (very accurate regardless), but it's unlikely that's what you had done.
Agree with the others on here that you should get tested for HSV IgG antibodies. If it was actually herpes from oral sex, you should be positive for Type 1. However, the IgG test for Type 1 is not as reliable as that for Type 2, and a positive could mean you have it orally without symptoms like so many people do. Best thing is to have tested the lesions within 1-2 days of appearing.