shingles and genital herpes? - Shingles Message Board

joddjohnson · 07-09-2008, 11:33 PM

Is there a relationship between the two? Right before I had my first outbreak I had a rash on my left side of my back in the ribcage area. A doctor told me that it was probably shingles but couln't say for sure as it had aleady gone mostly away. About a week later I had my first genital herpes outbreak. Is there any relation?

Ornament · 07-10-2008, 07:05 AM

Possibly, there are many "strains" of the herpes virus. Shingles in one of the strains, genital herpes & oral herpes are also different strains. Was either of your areas swab tested? Any chance you were recently exposed to anyone with a herpes virus, it's usually transmitted via skin-to-skin contact.
Wondering, -Orn

TopGeek · 07-10-2008, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joddjohnson

Is there a relationship between the two? Right before I had my first outbreak I had a rash on my left side of my back in the ribcage area. A doctor told me that it was probably shingles but couln't say for sure as it had aleady gone mostly away. About a week later I had my first genital herpes outbreak. Is there any relation?

If you had shingles you would know. It is quite painful. It is caused by the herpes zoster virus which is a by-product of chicken pox and it occurs on the torso, particularly in times of stress. It does not cause genital herpes although it could be transferred to that area by, for example, towelling-off after a bath or shower. If that happens, it is unlikely to happen again. On the other hand, if you contracted genital herpes (Herpes Simplex) as a separate incident, it will continue to break out in that area.