ember919

I've got a question about whether different kinds of sores are associated with different kinds of herpes. (HSV-1 vs. HSV-2)

I first got oral herpes as a teenager - textbook case, missed a few days of school, no biggie. Went years without another outbreak, then in my mid-20s got my first big cold sore on my lip. That cold sore popped back up 2 or 3 times a year, always in exactly the same place, for about the next ten years, until a doctor finally prescribed Denavir (a topical cream) and Acyclovir (an oral antiviral). I started using those any time I felt the warning signs - tingling or numbness at the site - and that pretty much kept the cold sore away.

My husband has had cold sores, too, but they are very infrequent, like once very few years, and he does not take any kind of medication for them.

About two months ago my he started complaining about painful pimples around his mouth. I didn't really pay close attention, other than to notice that they seemed to be getting worse and had started looking infected. He complained that they were very painful, too, so I finally convinced him to go to the doctor. To our surprise, the doctor diagnosed herpes.

Neither of us had seen herpes like this before, in this cluster of pimple-like blisters around the outside of the mouth. For both of us, it had always been a big blister on the lip. But my husband took two big doses of Valtrex and it did seem to help the stuff finally start clearing up.

But then a few days later he started developing more blisters. And then I got the first (lip) cold sore I'd had in maybe 3 years. And then I started getting a few of the little, pimply blisters on the outside of my mouth, and then on the inside of my mouth, inside the cheeks. I was completely freaked out.

I saw my doc and took Famivir, which seemed to clear up my problem. My husband took more Valtrex, which got him back to healing again. All good. But now he's had 4 or 5 recurrences in the past two months, and now I have some of the little blisters on the inside of my mouth again.

We've been super, super careful about not spreading anything. We're both familiar with all the rules about washing hands, not touching sores, etc. - all the safety/sanitation rules you're supposed to follow during outbreaks. So I think the recurrences might be because of stress, as we're both unemployed right now and our financial situation is becoming downright grim.

However, what's with the little blisters around the mouth and/or inside the mouth, which neither of us had had before? Is it a different kind of virus; i.e., could it possibly be HSV-2? Does that virus present itself differently? I've looked at bit on the internet, and it appears the answer is no, but I wanted to hear from people with actual experience.

I have never had any genital symptoms and neither (to my knowledge) has my husband, so there is no reason other than the unfamiliar types of blisters to suspect HSV-2. But I do plan to ask my doc to test me for both types the next time I see her.

Thanks.