Just itchy. No blisters. Is it herpes?

[Susan1989]

Please can someone help me. I'm starting to get really dark thoughts due to this whole saga now and i've really had enough.

I've been searching on the net and i've come across your posts and realised that you are incredibly informative and useful when it comes to the issue of genital herpes.

Since i started sleeping with my current boyfriend in december of last year I have become increasingly paranoid of having contracted this virus as my housemate contracted it which lead to me researching it and realising that you can have it without knowing and so always being convinced I have it!

When I got into a new relationship I had a blood test done which came back negative however I had to beg for this test to be done as it is not readily offered here in the u.k. and was surprised it came back negative as I get oral herpes.

Regardless, after hearing that all was good my life got back on track and i have been incredibly happy however, 2 1/2 weeks ago i got a mild aching in my legs. The next day the left side of my vagina was very itchy and it has not stopped itching since. The itch is not intense it is just annoying. My doctor said it isnt thrush as there is no discharge however it was burning inside so i took a thrush pill and the internal burning stopped immediately yet the external itching didn't. Also about 2 weeks after this itching started i came down with a runny nose and sore throat which now has my boyfriend extremely worried.

I treated the external itch with a plethora of creams and have only used thrush cream on it's own for about 4 days but still the itching has not stopped. The skin is completely normal and not even red just  itchy. I have been with the same guy for 7 months now and he has had no symptoms at all although he has slept with 15 different people in his time.

Out of fear i called the hva and the woman said to me that the left side of my vagina being itchy and no lesion/bump/anythign wrong with the skin could still very likely be herpes. I went to the doc today to get the area swabbed but she refused to do it as she said clinically there is nothing wrong and she doesn't want to feed my paranoia. Do you think I should chill out or go to a GUM clinic?

Any advice would be so greatly appreciated as I really don't want to get into the same depression I had a few months ago.

many many thanks,
Susan x

[itchyaandcratchy]

Hey Susan,

I was just reading your post and it sounds a lot like what currently have! I am a male though and suffer from continuous itching, crawling and tingling throughout my genital areas. At night the itching seems to intensify making it extremely itchy around the scrotum and anus. I have gone to get tested for all the std's including herpes. I have always suffered from cold sores so i knew I would test positive for hsv-1 but I cant seem to put my finger on what I have contracted. The itching began immediately after having unprotected intercourse with a girl. I am at a point where I dont know what I have. I was wondering if you still suffer from these symptoms?

[gracefromHHP]

glad you found something that is helping :)

[Susan1989]

Hi Grace,
Just thought i'd update you and anyone else who has been reading as so many of these issues are never actually reported once they are resolved! Went to the doctor yesterday. She said she was the best one to see in my g.p. office as she used to work in GUM and Ob/Gyn. After having a good chat she looked at the area for me and said herpes is absolutely definately not something for me to be worrying about. She then prescribed me a 1% hydrocortisone cream. Told me to stop checking, stop putting powder as it only dries the skin out and leave it alone. 1 day later and i'm absolutely itch-free! It's no nice not to be thinking about my choofy all the time!

Thank you for your help. I truly appreciate it and I hope this saga can help others to calm down and realise that just because there's an itch it's not necessarily herpes!

Thanks again
Susan

[Susan1989]

Hi Grace,

Thank you for your speedy reply. I'm very glad to hear that, you have lifted a massive weight off my crazy little mind!
My tests came back negative for both yeast and bacteria - I found that strange as the burning inside disappeared so quickly after i took a pill for thrush.
My doctor said she thought the testing would be negative but that wouldn't cause need to worry as it could be a simple skin irritation seeing as i've always got one somewhere!
Also as I get brazillian waxing done quite a lot one doctor suggested that it could be a second layer of hair coming through and so that could be pricking me.
I also realised I slept with my boyfriend whilst this itching was going on and he's got no symptoms so I think things are ruling in my favour.
Anyway, all in all I think this may be a case of what I like to call "cyber-chondria" Thank you very much for your help though. If you have any other remarks please let me know!

Susan

[gracefromHHP]

no, herpes lesions won't heal that quickly. they also won't switch sides like that.  

having a history of dermatological issues can happen in the genital area too. some of us are "delicate flowers" and it doesn't take much to irritate our already sensitive genital skin. no harm in continuing to use the cream you are using at this point to soothe and protect your skin.  

did you ever find out if your original testing showed yeast or bacteria?

[Susan1989]

hi Grace,

Thank you very much for your support and co-operation I truly appreciate that you are a volunteer and at times this must get incredibly tedious. I have an appointment on monday however I was wondering if you could answer 2 last questions for me jsut to get me through the weekend!

Firstly, at the beginning of all this itching and scratching I did notice a teeny tiny bit where the skin was gone. Sort of like if you very lightly grace your skin, a very thin layer was gone. I applied Vagisil cream and 8 hours later it had completely healed. Would a supposed "lesion" heal this quickly?

Secondly, yesterday the itching moved from the left side to only the right side in the afternoon and by this morning it was back to only on the left side. Could herpes possibly move so quickly from side to side?

I have suffered from eczema and psoriasis since a littlegirl and my dermatologists suggested it could jsut be a mild skin rash/irritation occuring so I used a very mild emollient, aqueous cream o the area for the past 2 days which has helped drastically- would this cream make a difference if it was herpes?

Perhaps this is a question overload and I understand if you don't have the time/patience to answer but it would really help whilst I have to wait til monday.

Thank you very much yet again!
Susan

[gracefromHHP]

we don't scare people needlessly here. We provide them with accurate information.   the UK does offer type specific herpes igg blood tests, just the gum clinics do not offer them so you have to seek them out on your own elsewhere.   you had testing before so you know you can get it done.  

if you continue to itch, see a private obgyn for further evaluation if the gum clinic isn't willing to work with you to find out what is causing your itch and irritation. so many things can be occurring in our genital areas to cause these sorts of symptoms. ruling out yeast and bacterial vaginal infections is always the first and proper step.  

sounds like the gum clinic is convinced it's all in your head :(  Best to find someone more compassionate to follow up with.  

grace

[Susan1989]

Hi Mistakeguy,

I just read your journals and I must say it was almost as if I was reading something I could have written myself. We seem to have gone through (be going through) exactly the same ever-looming fear of the herpes virus. I was jsut wondering. You say in your journal that from week 4 onwards you were diagnosed with fungal infections. Well I have been tested for both thrush and b.v. and both came back negative. I was wondering- are there other fungal infections you can get in that area? You see, I too have had an itch that is making me crazy but I inspect the skin every single day and it seems completely fine. The itch is in a relatively localized area but it tends to move around every now and then, i jsut focus on it more when it's in a particular area. It's been almost 3 weeks now. All my doctors are telling me to shut up. Was just wondering if other fungal infections are possible and if you know any remedies?

It's very refreshing to know i'm not the only one whose life has been shattered by this ridiculous fear and any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Susan

[Susan1989]

Went to the clinic. They said I must stop coming unless there's actually something wrong. No thrush. No B.V. and they outright refuse to do a swab for herbes on skin that's only slightly broken. They said it's just irritated and dry from all the creams and powder i've been putting on it. They also said blood tests are not availale in the U.K. and made me show them this page. The Dr said that you shouldn't go around scaring people like me into thinking they have something they don't especially if it is an issue which has brought them depression in the past.

I  feel very lost at this point

[gracefromHHP]

offer to share your itch with your bf and I"m sure he'll be less annoyed :)


I'd go back to the gum clinic monday since you are still having itching issues.

grace

[Mistakeguy789]

Weird I responded to this and for some odd reason no post.

This doesn't sound HSV related.  It does sound more like a yeast infection / bacterial infection.  You need to work with your provider.  

[Susan1989]

The itching seems to be on both sides today but it's very mild and isn't constant. Talcum powder works a treat for a few hours. Does this sound more like a rash/allergy? I don't man to be a pain i'm just very very worried and my bf is getting very offended and annoyed!

[Susan1989]

Ok thanks that makes it a bit better then. I think perhaps I might just be obsessing about the idea of having this and it's making me focus more on the area which is making me more itchy. I know that my boyfriend and I certainly both have oral herpes and we are always very careful not to do anything when an active outbreak is present but the lady from the hva said we most likely have the same type orally anyway. I suppose what i'd like to know from you is does this case sound typical of herpes to you or more typical of a herpes obsessed hyperchondriac! I will also try to look into type specific testing however I know when i tried back in feb no one could tell me where to find it and the one place I did find basically refused to do it for me. This is so frustrating! It seems to me as though it is a far more straightforward procedure elsewhere in the world!

[gracefromHHP]

no a runny nose and sore throat are not flu like symptoms - those are common cold symptoms.

darn shame you have to wait a week to find out if you have yeast or bv going on. a simple look at your secretions under the microscope is so much faster.

type specific tests are worthwhile to see what your status is. the rates of hsv2 infection in the UK are fairly low but hsv1 infection rates are pretty high.

[Susan1989]

Sorry to be a pain I also just wantedto know- is a runny nose and sore throat what is meant by flu like symptoms or have I misunderstood that and made this a bigger deal than it is?

Thank you so much for your help

[Susan1989]

The first one looked and said it wasnt and the doctor I went to yesterday looked and said it was thrush. She also did a test but it will only be available next week. It's verydifficult to get proper testing here and I went to a private clinic to ask for a blood test yet again the woman told me not to as she said it makes no difference. She said it may come back as just hsv1 but that could be my cold sores and a genital infection. When i said to her "surely it's one or the other" she said, "only if thats what you want to believe." The tests also cost 100 pounds each and my boyfriend and I simply don't have that kind of money- he would outright refuse as 3 specialists have told him there's nothing to worry about and over 15 doctors have told me to stop obsessing. The itching has started to subside now that I have not mixed my thrush cream with other things but still I worry. Do you think I should be or should I take the advice of all these people and just let it go?

[MadeaAwfulMistake]

I am in a similar predicament, how did u get the blood test done. Did u go to the sexual clinic or did u go to ur GP i would also like a blood test as i was informed a 4 week test for a igg herpes blood test and then a 4 month igg blood test again to confirm results. Can you please tell me how did u request the blood test thank you  

[gracefromHHP]

did they properly test you for yeast and bacterial infections vaginally or just look and say you didn't have thrush and didn't do much else?  

your bf needs tested for herpes too to know his own status. you can't make educated decisions about what precautions to take until you know who  has what. It's my understanding that gum clinics don't offer type specific testing and you need to seek that out from a private clinic.  

even the best blood tests still miss 1 out of every 10 hsv1 infections. you have a history of cold sores so you should assume you really do have hsv1 orally even though you tested negative for it.

grace