| Re: worried, please help.........
1. DH got a yeast infection that way years ago. He is always worried it will happen again. From his experience, I would assume that you would KNOW if it was something like that. He was burning, itching, and drippy. He'd be so upset to know I posted that!!! He took diflucan and was fine within a few days.
2. I don't know what kind of strange reactions you've had, but stress can trigger an outbreak. So it is possible that, like you said, could have had it a while with little to no symptoms (I have NEVER had an outbreak! so it's possible!)
3. You did not contract herpes from your mother. Whoever told you that, trust them. Neonatal herpes is a very devestating and deadly disease. You would have been incredibly ill as an infant. Without treatment, you would have only had a 20% chance of surviving and that would be with very severe impairments. So rest easy and know that it is totally unrelated.
4. Shingles is Herpes Zoster (there are 6 herpes viruses that infect humans). While there are a lot of similarities, I don't believe they are similar enough to appear like genital herpes on your penis if your infection was on your ribcage.
5. Coldsores are typically Herpes Simplex 1. You can have it anywhere, but most commonly orally. It is becoming pretty common genitally and can be passed through oral sex. While the theory says that it is highly unlikely to have hsv-1 in both locations b/c of antibodies, there are several here (myself included) who will tell you they DO infact have hsv-1 both orally and genitally.
6. Chicken pox is Herpes Varicella. It is not the same virus as HSV-1, so I don't think that having chicken pox twice would indicate that you have HSV-1 (although the coldsores do). While it's strange to have had it twice, it is definately not unheard of. however, I don't think it would be related to anything that looks like genital herpes.
7. By protected sex, I assume you mean you used condoms. That is really important! But unfortunately, doesn't always offer protection from herpes because it is spread by skin to skin contact. Many people get it near their thighs, anus, pubic hair, etc. And like I mentioned, lots of people get it from oral sex.
I also doubt it would be due to the piercing, unless she got stuck with a cheap piercing. They tend to make those things out of pretty hypoallergenic metals, kwim? And how do you typically react to metals that you have an allergy to? Bumps?
While the usefulness of testing is pretty controversial among some people, I would say get tested. Chances are you are positive for HSV1, but that's pretty common. If nothing else, have a doc check it out.
As always...someone please correct me where I am mistaken or misinformed!
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Mom to two HSV-1 survivors!
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