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I have sores that look like canker sores on my vulva, what could they be?
On Friday night, I noticed some pain near the opening of my vagina... a weird type of pain that almost felt like pressure/swelling. I looked and there were some dark red patches or something in that area. On Saturday morning, I looked again and the area seemed to have expanded, and had white on top of it, kind of like when you get a canker sore in your mouth. Today (Sunday) the whiteness on top is way more pronounced, almost raised off of the top of the sores a little bit if that makes sense? I was going to wait to go to the doctor but decided to go to urgent care today because I'm panicking. The doctor who saw me said that it doesn't look like "classic" herpes to him but he did do a swab, he said he scraped it and couldn't get much of the white stuff to scrape off, and nothing broke open like a blister which baffled him a little bit. The largest sore is on my right side, near the opening, and is sort of a long skinny oval shape (like a line but wider I guess) about 3/4" long. Then there are three smaller ones on the left side near the opening as well. Has anyone experienced something that looks like this?
This happened about two days after I came down with a cold and, weirdly, I had something sort of similar happen about 5+ years ago while I was sick, but it was only one sore near my vagina and was WAY smaller and less severe. I was tested for herpes then and it was negative.
I'm in my 40s, have been married almost 10 years, have not stepped out of the marriage and trust my partner. This is causing both of us a lot of anxiety.
This happened about two days after I came down with a cold and, weirdly, I had something sort of similar happen about 5+ years ago while I was sick, but it was only one sore near my vagina and was WAY smaller and less severe. I was tested for herpes then and it was negative.
I'm in my 40s, have been married almost 10 years, have not stepped out of the marriage and trust my partner. This is causing both of us a lot of anxiety.
You did the right thing by going to an urgent care instead of waiting. Too many people just wait until they can get in with their regular doctor and by that time, symptoms can change.
It’s hard to say what exactly is going on but yes, hsv is a possibility. Since you are married, I assume you have unprotected sex. Has your husband ever been IgG tested for herpes? Please note, hsv testing for HSV1 is not that great and can miss up to 30% of infections. Did your husband recently perform oral sex on you? I ask because oral to genital transmission of HSV1 is common and could be the cause.
The best thing to do now is try to relax and wait for the swab results. If it was a PCR swab, you should have results by end of week. If it was a culture, it could take up to 2 weeks. I suggest seeing your regular doctor in the interim and you AND your husband get hsv IGG testing to be more sure.
If the doctor at the urgent care was able to get a sufficient sample and it comes back positive, that can be taken as definitive. If negative, you can still do IgG testing to be sure the swab didn’t miss anything. Good luck!
It’s hard to say what exactly is going on but yes, hsv is a possibility. Since you are married, I assume you have unprotected sex. Has your husband ever been IgG tested for herpes? Please note, hsv testing for HSV1 is not that great and can miss up to 30% of infections. Did your husband recently perform oral sex on you? I ask because oral to genital transmission of HSV1 is common and could be the cause.
The best thing to do now is try to relax and wait for the swab results. If it was a PCR swab, you should have results by end of week. If it was a culture, it could take up to 2 weeks. I suggest seeing your regular doctor in the interim and you AND your husband get hsv IGG testing to be more sure.
If the doctor at the urgent care was able to get a sufficient sample and it comes back positive, that can be taken as definitive. If negative, you can still do IgG testing to be sure the swab didn’t miss anything. Good luck!
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Thank you. Yes, my husband and I have unprotected sex. He has not been IgG tested for herpes but I have (when I was tested 5 or so years ago they did a blood test in addition to the swab), and all was negative. At that point we had been together for more than 7 years having unprotected sex, so it would be weird if he hadn't transmitted it to me by that point, right? Meaning, I would have shown up positive 5 years ago if he was a carrier? Yes, he has performed oral sex on me recently but also has in the past (well before my negative test), though I guess he could have picked up oral HSV almost anywhere if I understand correctly how cold sores can spread.
The doctor at urgent care said he will have results back tomorrow and he did recommend I follow up with my gynecologist.
The doctor at urgent care said he will have results back tomorrow and he did recommend I follow up with my gynecologist.
Someone can be the carrier of the HSV1 virus and have absolutely NO symptoms. Many, many people pick up the virus when they are young.
Also, people can be asymptotic for years and years before passing it to a partner. Without knowing his hsv status, it’s hard to say what is really going on.
Even if carrying the virus, I would say a large percentage of people don’t have any symptoms that they point to herpes.
Let me know what the swab says. This could very well be bacterial or some other cause but it’s good to know your hsv status regardless. Good luck!
Also, people can be asymptotic for years and years before passing it to a partner. Without knowing his hsv status, it’s hard to say what is really going on.
Even if carrying the virus, I would say a large percentage of people don’t have any symptoms that they point to herpes.
Let me know what the swab says. This could very well be bacterial or some other cause but it’s good to know your hsv status regardless. Good luck!
Here's my update - The PCR swab I had done yesterday at urgent care came back negative. It says result was obtained using the FDA approved Real-time PCR system by Quidel. Is this test reliable?
Because, although this is good news, I'm still freaking out because I was also able to get in to see my regular gynecologist today and she actually said what she saw DOES look more like herpes than anything else, and she did yet another type of swab (one that doesn't come back for 5 days, ugh) and a blood test. I guess I won't know anything definitively until next week despite the results I got today.
Because, although this is good news, I'm still freaking out because I was also able to get in to see my regular gynecologist today and she actually said what she saw DOES look more like herpes than anything else, and she did yet another type of swab (one that doesn't come back for 5 days, ugh) and a blood test. I guess I won't know anything definitively until next week despite the results I got today.
The PCR swab is the most accurate swab there is. I don’t know what your OBGYN will be using that is different but let’s see what her results say. Good news is the swab came back negative but since two trained clinicians both commented that it DOES look like herpes, it’s a good idea to have follow-up testing.
The hsv IgG is very, very reliable for HSV2 once the body has time to build detectable antibodies (12-16 weeks after exposure). If this is a new infection, this may also be negative. I think a really smart course of action is having your husband IgG test as soon as possible. A dormant infection is so, so common. This could be something he has carried for years and just never had symptoms. It also could be HSV1, which is harder for the IgG test to detect.
Let’s see what your new swab and blood test shows. Keep your head up. Even when it’s hard. The best thing we can do for ourselves is take care of our health, mental and physical. You’ll get your answers.
The hsv IgG is very, very reliable for HSV2 once the body has time to build detectable antibodies (12-16 weeks after exposure). If this is a new infection, this may also be negative. I think a really smart course of action is having your husband IgG test as soon as possible. A dormant infection is so, so common. This could be something he has carried for years and just never had symptoms. It also could be HSV1, which is harder for the IgG test to detect.
Let’s see what your new swab and blood test shows. Keep your head up. Even when it’s hard. The best thing we can do for ourselves is take care of our health, mental and physical. You’ll get your answers.
Thank you. Good to know that the PCR test is usually accurate so that gives me peace of mind. It did say no evidence of HSV1 OR HSV2 but I guess regardless of the outcome of all of this do you still recommend my husband get tested? How does he get tested without any signs of anything showing? Everything we have read says that you must have active sores to be accurately tested. And, we have done some reading together over the weekend and found that blood tests can show false positives so I'm not sure what to make of that?
Have your husband go to any stdcheck or std express website and order a type specific herpes igg test out of quest or labcorp. The igg is really accurate for hsv2 about 70-75 perfect for hsv 1
False positives do happen and those usually fall within the 1-3.5 index range, though sometimes index values even higher can be a false positive. But Clover is right! The IgG test is very good for HSV2. And you don’t need any symptoms. Type specific IgG tests search for antibodies. Your doctor can order the test.
I know it’s all very confusing but eliminating HSV2 as the cause of your issues can be reassuring. There is a possibility it’s HSV1 but when that is a genital infection, it tends to recur less.
I know it’s all very confusing but eliminating HSV2 as the cause of your issues can be reassuring. There is a possibility it’s HSV1 but when that is a genital infection, it tends to recur less.
Hello all, I got my results today and everything that the doc tested was negative. She said she did a full "ulcerative panel" including blood test for HSV2 and it was all negative across the board. She is stumped but told me to maybe see a dermatologist and look into Behcet's syndrome which I did just now but I don't have any of the other symptoms that go with it. Anyway, I'm relieved at what this is NOT, but now I guess I need to find out what it is.
That is good news. If she did an hsv IGG, then that test is very reliable for HSV2. I still believe you should have your husband test since it takes time for antibodies to develop. Whether or not you decide to pursue hsv as a possible cause is up to you. No matter what, good luck!!
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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.
