I've been lurking around the past couple of days while waiting for my test results and I think this is a wonderful place.....I'm sorry if this is lengthy but I have so many questions. I just found out today I have type 2, I never really had any symptoms other than a single bump occasionaly that the doctors said was a clogged hair follicle. This time there were more bumps. I've been married for five years and completely faithful and am sure my wife has been too. She shows no signs or symptoms, and the her doctor say they can't test here unless she has an outbreak... I thought they could do a blood test. I am concerned because she is midway along with our second child....how worried should I be? My outbreaks seem to be mild...I should be thankful for that. Would you still recommend suppressive therapy? The doctors didn't give me any advice just a phone call saying yep you're positive. I know it would help keep from transmitting it to her if she doesn't already have it...but how do we know if they won't do a test? Do I have to worry about passing it on to my kids if they use my towel or something like that? Any advice or experiences would be greatfuly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

:wave: Sorry that your doctor wasn't very understanding.Try to find another who is more supportive or informative.I am not a type 2 sufferer myself,but i was unfortunate to get type 1(down there),due to an ex partner having a coldsore on his mouth at that time.Now that you know about it,remember to protect your wife(as she may not have caught it).Try to avoid sexual contact when you are having an outbreak,as this is the time when she will be most at risk.As for towel sharing,i am not 100% sure.I would say no,and use separate for your own peace of mind,it won't hurt to be careful.This may feel like a big blow to you at the moment,but it is NOT the end of the world.Look forward to the birth of your child and enjoy life.I hope somebody else can give you FULL advice.I am not an expert.I am a mother of three just trying to help in the little way i can.Best of luck to you. :)

Relax... My friend, you will be okay. I know how you feeling, because I to am in your situation. What you need to do is relax and be thankful that you got something like herpes ... They are more serious stuff such as Herpes 6,7,8 or CMV that can cause CFS like I have. But anyways, you should daily :

Take: 500 - 1000 mg of Vitamin C (keeps your immune system up and prevent ob)
If you get an ob take: Red Marine Alge (kills herpes at cellular level)

Put Colloidal silver on your OB, it will heal the thing quick and fast.

Hope this helps..

Yea, dont share anything that contacts yours genital with your wife...

Dont have intercourse while you feel sick or anything...

Oh remember, when you feel like you will get the fever.. Start Start taking vitamin C 1000 mg, because if you dont, you will get an ob and it will not be plesent.

I use a towel and washcloth with a certain pattern on it, and have told my children never to use that pattern. I did tell them when they were young that I had a disease that I didn't want them to catch. Herpes has been cultured off of damp towels, but never off of dry ones. You don't need to worry about doing laundry together, as the detergent would kill any h virus right away.

If no one has bumped up the "Happy Couples" thread for you, I will. Even though the thread is long, try to read the whole thing. It has many suggestions for keeping a partner h-free. My soulmate and I have been together almost 14 years now, and he has never contracted my genital herpes. So it can be done. I am very careful never to have sex when I feel at all strange, tired, itchy down there, unusually irritable, etc. no, we don't always have sex when we want to, but we do come up with other ways of enjoying each other. Of course, since I don't have oral herpes, I can give him oral sex any time. But we have also found a lot of joy in nonsexual contact, snuggling, talking, and especially taking long walks together in the woods. And when we can have sex, it's really great! We never take it for granted!

I also had two of my four children since contracting herpes. Check out a thread I answered a few minutes ago for some info on that; HSVmom also wrote very factual, helpful posts in that thread.

Thanks for the great advice. I have more questions, what is the difference between type one and two? I've heard that one is above the waist and two is below, but I don't think that is entirely correct. Is there any way of telling if my wife has it and is just asymptomatic? The doctors sais a blood test would really be inconclusive. I'm not too upset about this aparently I've had this for the past few years and didn't realize it. The "happy couples" thread is gives me great hope that after we have our baby life can go back to normal.This place is a great resource and there seems to be many people who have learned to make the best out of what we've been delt.

:) Type 1 is usually the common coldsore that is found around the mouth.Type 2 is classed as genital herpes.Both are transmitable through contact and as i found out you can get type 1 down there.I was told that the chances of me having more outbreaks was slim.I had two more after the first but they were very mild and thankfully i haven't had one since.Good luck.

Thanks for the great advice. I have more questions, what is the difference between type one and two? I've heard that one is above the waist and two is below, but I don't think that is entirely correct. Is there any way of telling if my wife has it and is just asymptomatic? The doctors sais a blood test would really be inconclusive. I'm not too upset about this aparently I've had this for the past few years and didn't realize it. The "happy couples" thread is gives me great hope that after we have our baby life can go back to normal.This place is a great resource and there seems to be many people who have learned to make the best out of what we've been delt.

Type 1 and type 2 used to be referred to as "above" and "below" the waist, but we know that's not true anymore. I am not sure why the doctors think a blood test would be inconclusive except that if your wife tests positive for herpes, it's not for certain that she has it genitally - she could have it orally. The thing is, if she tests positive for type 2 (which is quite possible as you also have type 2), it would be a reasonably safe bet that it was genital because although oral type 2 is possible, it is comparatively rare. If it was type 1, it would be less conclusive - an oral infection would probably be assumed because of the virus's preference for the area.

Does your wife suffer with yeast infections or any kind of genital irritation? I am just wondering if she is getting symptoms she doesn't recognise as outbreaks (some OBs are really very mild and easily mistaken for something else).

Hi and yes i agree with al that has been written above..
Just a few things to add..
Your wife must be tested!.. if she has it she can pass it on to her child during birth. They need to know, because if shes having any type of outbreak at the time of the birth they will do a C section so not to risk the health of the baby.
Second.. yes you can pas it on by accident with the use of towels etc so always have your own and don't let others use them. Its very unlikely, but in my opinion not worth the risk at all!

Hope this helps and good luck with your impending fatherhood ;)

Nikki x