Aa
How early can I test for herpes?
About almost four weeks ago I decided to have sex with a massage woman (first and probably my last time). I freaked out a little bit finding about skin to skin stds. It was protected sex and it lasted a few minutes not long at all. After the encounter I decided to trim my hair down there and after that I started feeling the itching which I assumed it was from trimming all my hair. I also experienced a bit of burning sensation in different areas but idk if it’s from my anxiety (I get worried a lot) or from me constantly pulling and grabbing everything down there checked every part of my groin around my man parts. The itching stopped after a week and the burning has decreased after two weeks of it (I also cut back on checking so much). I never saw any blisters or anything else unusual on my skin. I only had itching and burning sensation and occasional tingling on the scrotum. I want to get tested ASAP to calm me down a bit. But is an igg at four weeks good enough to calm me down? I know it won’t be 100 percent accurate. My anxiety is getting the best of me lol what is the percentage of it being accurate at 4, 6 and 8 weeks?
COMMUNITY LEADER
So first, your chances of getting herpes from a one-time, protected encounter are about 1 in 10,000, which means it's very, very unlikely.
Your symptoms sound like anxiety more than herpes, or perhaps it's the clothing choices. But after a month, you've had no sores, which really means you've had no herpes symptoms.
I would really caution you on testing. You have anxiety, and this forum is full of people who've tested and gotten false positives, which is fairly common. It takes several weeks - in your case it would take months, since you aren't at the 12 week point for a conclusive test - and lots of money (easily hundreds of dollars) to unravel that, not to mention the stress. If you aren't in the US, it is even harder.
If you feel the need to test, test once at 12 weeks. I would urge you to really, really think that through first. Your risk is very low, and I don't see any reason why you need to test. Your anxiety is playing with your mind, so address that first. If you are willing to spend time and money on testing for herpes, spend some time and money on your mental health. After you get to the 12 week mark, see how you feel after some counseling. (I say that only with compassion, no judgement or criticism.)
Your symptoms sound like anxiety more than herpes, or perhaps it's the clothing choices. But after a month, you've had no sores, which really means you've had no herpes symptoms.
I would really caution you on testing. You have anxiety, and this forum is full of people who've tested and gotten false positives, which is fairly common. It takes several weeks - in your case it would take months, since you aren't at the 12 week point for a conclusive test - and lots of money (easily hundreds of dollars) to unravel that, not to mention the stress. If you aren't in the US, it is even harder.
If you feel the need to test, test once at 12 weeks. I would urge you to really, really think that through first. Your risk is very low, and I don't see any reason why you need to test. Your anxiety is playing with your mind, so address that first. If you are willing to spend time and money on testing for herpes, spend some time and money on your mental health. After you get to the 12 week mark, see how you feel after some counseling. (I say that only with compassion, no judgement or criticism.)
2 Comments
I’m glad you responded. I have actually been on this website quite a bit the past few weeks and seeing comments from you and other such as Dr. Hunter (I see that he has not been active here in years) and what you all have said to others before on their situations has eased my mind up a lot. And I wanna day THANK YOU for all that you do for everyone on here. For your time and patience for us.
You are right on I need to work on my mental health. I do worry a lot about things and overthink a lot sometimes. I just wanted to post on here and actually have a response towards me and my situation to help me ease up a bit. I agree and I will wait til the 12 week mark to test just to make sure I’m 100 percent in the clear.
You are right on I need to work on my mental health. I do worry a lot about things and overthink a lot sometimes. I just wanted to post on here and actually have a response towards me and my situation to help me ease up a bit. I agree and I will wait til the 12 week mark to test just to make sure I’m 100 percent in the clear.
Dr. Handsfield hasn't been on the site since 2014 because we no longer have experts - long story that I don't know most of the details about, but it's unfortunate.
If you've been reading recently, you've seen the false positives. I don't know if you've read this one by Bird_lover93, but it's a must read for testing if you have low risk - https://www.medhelp.org/posts/Herpes/Second-IgG-test-done--Now-HSV-1-and-HSV-2-positive-Please-help-I-am-freaked-out-/show/3057809
It also has a thread mentioned my monkeydoctor, who also had a false positive, and all she went through. Bird's situation is not yet resolved, but monkey's is. Monkey's took 6 months to resolve, so just keep that in mind.
So while you wait, get counseling. If you take nothing else away from this, take that away. If you don't get it now, you'll for sure be getting it if you get a false positive. Many do. And your mental health is as important as your physical health. If you're willing to invest this much time into figuring out if you have herpes when the chances are so, so low, invest this much time into your mental health. :) (I'm going to keep saying that lol.)
And I'm happy to help.
If you've been reading recently, you've seen the false positives. I don't know if you've read this one by Bird_lover93, but it's a must read for testing if you have low risk - https://www.medhelp.org/posts/Herpes/Second-IgG-test-done--Now-HSV-1-and-HSV-2-positive-Please-help-I-am-freaked-out-/show/3057809
It also has a thread mentioned my monkeydoctor, who also had a false positive, and all she went through. Bird's situation is not yet resolved, but monkey's is. Monkey's took 6 months to resolve, so just keep that in mind.
So while you wait, get counseling. If you take nothing else away from this, take that away. If you don't get it now, you'll for sure be getting it if you get a false positive. Many do. And your mental health is as important as your physical health. If you're willing to invest this much time into figuring out if you have herpes when the chances are so, so low, invest this much time into your mental health. :) (I'm going to keep saying that lol.)
And I'm happy to help.
Also- itching was mild and only itches so often
Burning sensation was mild and only so often and I felt like it would only happen from wearing tight underwear/pants
Tingling rarely happens/ maybe a few times throughout the day.
Burning sensation was mild and only so often and I felt like it would only happen from wearing tight underwear/pants
Tingling rarely happens/ maybe a few times throughout the day.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Herpes Community
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
