Can an initial herpes outbreak last 5 weeks?

[janedoe0]

First, I have has hsv-1, prob since childhood, but have never had any sores.

HERE'S MY SITUATION:

*i've been seeing my b/f only on weekends since may of 08.
*On 12/22/08, after leaving his house, I began feeling vaginal pain, I thought maybe I had a tear from intercourse
*this pain lasted all week and had barely started to feel better when I saw him again the next w/e.
*I had my yearly physical on 1/23/09 (yesterday) and told her about the pain. She looked and saw what she said 'could' be herpes. But since she wasn't certain she did a blood test. She said it could just be a tear, but it's hard to tell. (apparently they don't do swab cultures, i asked)

HERE ARE MY Q'S:

1. if it were hsv2 would the sore stil be here? it's been nearly 5 weeks.
2. could having intercourse every weekend be preventing the sore from "crusting/healing" if it is hsv?
3. given that the vaginal pain began on 12/22, if it is hsv, would it be fair to assume i contracted it sometime during december/end of november? (i see my b/f EVERY weekend)
4. if these results are negative, how conclusive are they? when should i retest for accurate results?

**also** my b/f has had no visible symptoms that i've seen.  I told him last night we need some time, but i didnt' say why. when i get my blood test back i will either break up w him permanently(if it is +) or stay on hold til further, more conclusive testing is done.

[gracefromHHP]

Your bf needs to get himself a type specific herpes igg blood test to know what his status is too.  He'll need one anyways so you two know ifyou need to take precautions together or not from here on out.

chances are good that you've never been tested for herpes before this either. Assume absolutely nothing about either of your test results when you get them - he most definitely didn't have to have recently cheated on you for this to just be showing up now.

grace

[auntiejessi]

He could have had it and not been infectious.  People with herpes aren't infectious all the time.  If it is hsv2, you only have about an 8-10% chance of getting it from him per year if all you do is avoid sex during an outbreak.

If he did cheat, that's another story, but this alone isn't enough evidence that he did.

AJ

[janedoe0]

Well, because if it IS herpes, that means he cheated b/c we've been together since may of 08...and i had a negative result in feb of 08 at my last yearly appointment. if he had herpes from before we got together and didn't know it, then i would've gotten these symptoms before now. besides, i really suspected he cheated on me over thanksgiving w/e adn the timing is all lining up.

[auntiejessi]

5 weeks is a long time for a herpes sore, but its also a long time for a tear to not heal.

Why would you break up with him if its positive?  There are lots of possibilities here - he could have it and know it, he could have it and not know it (most people with genital hsv2 don't know it - 90% don't), he could have type 1 orally and never had a cold sore, but still have given you genital hsv1, or you could have had it long before you met him and just didn't know it.

The blood test is accurate, but if its negative, test again in a few months.  It can take up to 4 months to show positive.  I can see why they didn't culture it - they wouldn't have been able to get a good sample from it 5 weeks out.

I don't understand why you wouldn't tell your bf about this.  I'm sure he'd want to know you are hurting, and needs to know if you suspect herpes.

Aj

[janedoe0]

****Each week the pain started to heal a little but then hurt again after seeing him on the w/e and even prevented us from having intercourse as often as we normally would have***The pain is still there, and the doc showed me some sort of 'tear' down there yesterday...this has been going on since 12/22!!