A few days ago I noticed itching, then swelling and then the typical herpes 2 blisters in the pelvic area about an inch away from the base of my penis. After over 25 years with genital herpes, I have always gotten the outbreaks at one of two spots on my penis and never anywhere else. Everything I have researched about the virus tells me it will return to the original sites of exposure. Now I have one in an area that isn't even genital! Does anyone have any similar experience and should I expect this to pop up somewhere else?

For the last 10 years, I have been averaging only one OB every 12-18 months. I did have an OB a month ago (after almost 2 years without) at it's usual place, starting taking Valtrex again, and a couple of weeks after I stopped, here comes this new one in this unusal location. Yikes, it's like the first year all over again.

SmartyMarty,

You're very lucky to have been having so few OBs the last 10 years. I hope I can get down to just one per year. I'd be happy with just one every 4 months! May I ask you what your overall OB history has been like? Like what was it like the first 2-5 years and then how did it evolve or slow down for you after that? Have you only taken Valtrex to stop your symptoms? I refuse to use prescription meds, as I don't feel it will help my body's own immune system to fight it off. I've had this virus for 2 years now and still deal with weekly tingling and some discomfort, but overall the OBs are less severe and less painful. I have found a product by Clear Products that takes away the tingling, itching and pain when there's no open sores. I am now experimenting with colliodal silver internally and topically on the sites. I've read it can cause a large OB and other run-down symptoms early on as the body is cleansing itself of toxins, and I am indeed experiencing that right now! It's the larges OB I've had in months! At least it reminds me of how much worse I used to have it. I'm also putting zinc gluconate on the OB areas. The zinc stings a lot, but it does seem to speed up the healing process greatly. I also take a few types of supplements that are supposed to help my immune system and kill the virus.

Regarding your concern, from what I have read and my own experience, an OB of genital herpes can happen anywhere in the boxer shorts area. It does not have to be just the area in which you were originally exposed. It can be anywhere along where the nerves run. During a small OB I typically only get it on one spot on my genitals. However, during a bigger OB it can hit 2-3 spots in the genital area. Over time, I've also gotten a couple bumps on my inner thigh that don't hurt, but they do seem to scar more and take longer to disappear. I've gotten one or two bumps on my buttocks. Some people even say they get OBs around their anus, but they originally got HSV-2 through vaginal sex. So what you're experiencing does indeed happen. Just when you think there's a pattern, it changes on you!

Hello Oceanus. First of all, from a old salt who spent 25 years boating I compliment you on your username. I'd love to find a "compatible" ocean going woman some day, but pardon me I am off course again.

Well my history......I have to say first that I am the most unlikely guy to ever get H. I married the woman I lost my virginity to and she was the only woman I ever had sex with until the day we divorced some 30 years later. Unfortunately, she could not claim the same fidelity. Yeah the first few years were bad, one outbreak after another. The Drs. in the early 80's knew nothing about herpes and thought that my (ex)wife and I could pass it back and forth. Of course we now know this is untrue. Only your own body, dertermines when you have an OB and another external exposure does not influence it at all. Zovirax was useless, as were the creams. Many times after I masturbated it would result in another OB, that was my trigger. The first initial OB was torture, like someone beat you all over with a baseball bat. After that, it was just a prodome sore muscle feeling in my thigh, then came the sores.

I sporadically did maintenance doses of Zovirax for many years until Valtrex came along and had much more better luck with that. I stayed on a maintenance dose of Valtrex for a few years and it worked great. I would stop and maybe 3 months later suffer an OB that was minor. I felt that the more my virus aged, the more it had been beaten down by my immune system and the Valtrex. I actually stopped it 4 years ago after my divorce and until this month had only an OB every 18 months or so, again usually from masturbating. Oh well, never learn I guess. I thought I was immune from more OBs, nope. I do believe 100% in the effectiveness of Valtrex, and now that I have proven to myself that I can still get OBs, I will stay on it.

I haven't tried the holistic treatments at all. I am involved in a support group here in New England and spoke at length to a guy who tried everything holistic, including the red algae stuff. Although he had a lot of faith in them, he admitted they did not work for him. Most of the people who I have met who have gone the holistic way are those who don't have prescription drug coverage and can't afford the $90 a month for Valtrex. Fortunately I have insurance so I will go with what is proven to work for me, although I hate taking any drugs.

Anyway, back to your situation, things will settle down and the OBs will become less frequent and less severe. Get on Valtrex and stay on it. Recent studies suggest that as the virus gets older, the likelihood of asymptomatic shedding decreases and that eventually, the virus may actually lose enough potency to infect another person. (wouldn't that be great, a life without latex!)

One last word of advice.....The problem is only as big as YOU make it. I have entered into several relationships with non-H people and have never transmitted it to anyone, despite not using condoms. And I have met people who have been together for a dozen years, had children and the non-H spouse was never infected. Know your triggers, recognize your prodomes and act responsibly. So keep your head up, your sails full and good luck to you.

Hi SmartyMarty,

I grew up in Mass, but moved a few years ago to get away from the cold. I love the ocean, but could never spend great deals of time on a boat. I prefer scuba diving and swimming, living close to the ocean, those types of things.

I did have health insurance for a long while, but I still refused to take Valtrex. I've used Acyclovir some which I got from Planned Parenthood, but after a while I felt it was less effective. But since I didn't have a limitless supply, I often would only use it sporadically, maybe that's why it stopped being as effective. I guess I'm also nervous about having this medical issue end up on my medical records for all sorts of reasons.

I can barely ever bring myself to take over-the-counter medication, much less prescription meds. I never take cold meds and only rarely a headache medicine, and I'm in the medical field! So it's not just about lack of healthcare for some people that we choose to avoid prescription meds. I've used herbal, holistic, acupuncture, and chiropractic services that have helped me greatly for other problems, so I have much more faith in complimentary medicine for this problem since even mainstream medicine can't find a cure. I've also read on here how people use Valtrex for years, get off it and their OBs come back just as strong, so that doesn't give me much hope going in that direction. I'm glad it's been different for you. Valtrex just sounds like a pain relief without actually combating the virus.

I think the only reason why I'm having a strong OB now is because sometimes our bodies go through a strong cleansing of the virus once we find something that is effective at combating the virus. I hope that is the case with colloidal silver. I haven't had an OB this large in months, but it does seem to be healing now and not getting any worse. I will keep all posted on how effective I find this new treatment course. Maybe you are just going through a stressful time in your life now and that could be why you're having an OB?

Thanks again for explaining to me your history of OBs. I wish, however, there was someone who could say that a certain natural treatment regemin helped them drastically reduce their OBs and found lasting results for years and years with it.

Hey Oceanus, for God's sake (whichever God is in power these days) I hope you at least moved to another blue state! Latest development and another vote for Valtrex, my second favorite blue pill. What started out as one of the worst OBs in my long history with H, seems to be receeding without bursting the blisters. This has happened before with small OBs, but not on any one this large. I am at day 5 now and have been using neosporin on the area twice a day. They appear less "angry", diminishing in height and basically receeding without opening. In the past when this has happened, I thought maybe letting them run their course was a good thing, kind of like the old bloodletting cure from the middle ages. But now I think, why should I have to get scarred, maybe infected and generally uncomfortable with an open wound near the fun parts?

The other odd thing, though is that I have had a recurrence of the same prodome from a week ago before the OB. A burning sensation in my right thigh. Could this mean that I will have another OB back to back? Any input from others that have had this happen would be appreciated. Will keep you posted. Thanks for your replies, and by the way, my real name is Neil.

I was wondering...why would anyone NOT take Valtrex? I mean, it obviously works, and if you have a prescription plan, it's affordable. I take it everyday and I don't have OBs. If I think one might be coming, I double up the Valtrex. Other factors? I also am on a high lysine to arginine diet, I take red marine algae and olive leaf extract, I try to get more sleep, I cut way back on smoking cigarettes, cut back on alcohol, switched from beer to wine, and wash/change panties a couple times a day. And I am in a long distance relationship so I don't engage in sex except maybe a couple times a year. But I know people who have this aversion to taking Valtrex on a regular basis and I don't know if there is some kind of negative side to the drug or not. Except that when you stop, you get OBs. Is there something I'm missing here?

If Valtrex really did anything to help me cure myself of future OBs, then certainly I would take it, but it doesn't. I don't want to mask the symptoms, like taking a headache medicine simply does. If you were a person who got headaches daily would you just take a headache pill everyday? I sure wouldn't! Daily headaches would be a signal to me that there's something more underlying wrong with me that I need to address and fix in my system, and not just cover it up with a pain killer.

Besides, how can I know if any of the alternative treatments I am using are actually working if I take Valtrex at the same time? Anyway, it's a choice I've made for my own body, and you've made your choice. I've never taken any prescription medicine that didn't have an end-date and I'm not going to start now. I don't trust taking drugs long-term either. Who knows what other damage it could be doing to my body? For example, it's not healthy to take birth control pills for years on end. I don't want to risk it or be beholden to pharmaceutical companies who can't even find a cure. Instead, they just focus on keeping us hooked on their semi-helpful drugs.

Hello Oceana and Oceanus. Wow you two are completely different. Oceana, one of the ironies in medications is that when patients see that they are "cured" or the symptoms for which they originally took the medication disappear, they think they don't need it anymore. It happens all the time with people on anti-depressants. Like yourself, I hate taking any drugs so if I think I don't need them anymore, I stop and test the waters. Same with Valtrex, no OB for a year and a half, so I must have reduced the virus to nothing. Another reason is that I have been in a relationship for the last 2 years with another "club" member, who questioned the need for it given our monogamous circumstances. I guess stopping Valtrex seemed like a statement at the time. I started taking it again, because I still feel weird about having sex after an OB even with my H partner. I guess I didn't trust her diagnosis.

Now Oceanus, I don't have the faith in holistics as you do. I respect your faith, but I like science and sure things. Plus my insurance will pay for Valtrex but not the seaweed concoctions. After over 25 years of H, I think people would probably reassess experimenting with herbals and holistics, especially if they want to continue with any normality of a sex life. My experience talking with others is that holistics is only a choice when you don't have insurance. You are the only one I have ever met who would prefer them over Valtrex, even with insurance coverage. I do hope it works for you, but at age 54, I'm sticking to the blue pill for my infrequent OBs.

well i wish i had the pleasure of Taking Valtrex But it makes my tounge swell like a beachball...So im on acyclover 2 times a day everyday it seems to work great less i have 2 much sexual contact lol which seems to irritate it... anyways ty