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Positive swab after 15 monogamous years


Hi, this is not the way I'd hoped to bring in 2015 but I'm happy to have found this forum. I had what I thought was a yeast infection with an itchy rash and went to the gynecologist. I tested positive for yeast, but she also swabbed the rash, and it tested positive for herpes type 2. The verbiage of the test results  

POSITIVE FOR HERPES SIMPLEX VIRUS TYPE-2. TYPING WAS CONFIRMED BY
MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY MICROSCOPIC IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE.

I've been with my husband 15 years, we've both been monogamous for that long and I've never had an outbreak (until now). I had no idea. I'm freaked out and upset. He's been suffering with cold sores since he was a kid, and my diagnosis is really no big deal to him, thank god. Still, I'm trying to figure out how long I've had this, or where it came from....which leads me to my questions.

My gyno said the first outbreak is 'horrific,' so this can't be a new infection. Is that true?

Is there any benefit to my getting a blood test, looking for IGG? IGM? Would that tell me anything? My gyno said no...but I'm willing to pay out of pocket if it'll tell me something.

I was hoping that this would have been caused by my husband's HSV-1, but if I read the test results correctly, I have HSV-2, so they're not related. Is that correct?

Is it true that HSV-1 provides some possible immunity to HSV-2? We're not going to start using a condom at this late date.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.
Best Answer
Avatar universal
The numbers above 5 are essentially meaningless and simply confirm that the antibodies and thus the HSV1&2 viruses are present.

As mentioned, this indicates that you have had the virus for a period of time, at least prior to this current rash appearing.

Did your husband test? Sometimes it is better not to know so I really wouldn't encourage him to be tested.
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Avatar universal
thanks, howardh. i was under the impression that a low number (which these are obviously not) would indicate a more recent infection. it's a moot point, clearly.
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Avatar universal
also--isn't that hsv-1 number really high? is that something i need to be concerned about?
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Avatar universal
Both are positive, but the numerical value says nothing about duration. Either or both HSV1 and 2 could have been present anywhere from a few weeks to many years.

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Avatar universal
okay, i got my lab results today...this was an igg type-specific test.

hsv-1, 44.10
hsv-2, 11.80

i'm assuming this means the antibodies are high enough that it means i've likely had both types for a long time, is that correct?
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Avatar universal
Perhaps a better way of restating what your doctor meant is that "the first few outbreaks are almost always much worse than future outbreaks". But even that is a general rule rather than an absolute thing. Some people really do find that an outbreak years later is much worse than the original outbreak--and one reason might be that the person's body is experiencing a change, such as a new infection from something else that lowers the immune system or medication which also lowers the immune system.
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Avatar universal
Thanks, atypical, for your post (which I knew was meant for me, and suspect  HowardH did as well); that dovetails with what I have been reading--that one can have it for years and not know it. If that's the case, it's highly unlikely that one's first outbreak would be "horrific". We remember horrific things. I'm certainly not going to forget this, and while it was unpleasant and extremely distressing, I can't call it "horrific" in any sense of the word.

Regardless, I have gone to get a blood test and will get results in a day or so. I plan to post them here and hope you all can give me some interpretation as to what the numbers may mean. Hubby will also get a blood test in due course and if I have questions I will post those results as well. Thanks.
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Avatar universal
*meant* for Boomchicka, not mean. argh, I wish we could edit our own posts for errors.
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Avatar universal
Sorry, my reply was mean for Boomchicka.
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Avatar universal
All good advice, though I have to say your doctor is wrong when he says most HSV2 outbreaks are initially "severe". Most people (75%) don't ever know they have contracted the virus becaue the symptoms are so innocuous. Some people have severe initial outbreaks. Most have a mild outbreak initially or no noticeable outbreak at all.

And some people have it for many years and get a noticeable outbreak only years after they first came into contact with it.

Consider that over 80% of adults have exposure to HSV1 (cold sores) by the time they reach their 40s, and yet most adults will say they've never had a "cold sore". If it was a "severe" outbreak for everyone affected, they'd all remember it distinctly. They probably had a tiny pimple or nothing.

All that said, a person can have HSV2 for years and not know it. Or you can contract it recently and not know it either.
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Avatar universal
Hi, thanks so much for the encouragement and suggestions. It's just so weird to have this crop up now, rather than in my misspent youth.

I have no doubts about his fidelity, but I like the suggestion about both of us getting an IgG blood test. I will find a place to get one tomorrow, despite my gyno's reticence, and hubby will get one the next time he sees his GP. It would just be nice to have some answers, even if this ends up being a mystery.

I've never even had a cold sore, so all of this came as rather a large unpleasant surprise. Here's hoping whatever comes next is infrequent and/or mild.

Thanks!

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Avatar universal
Welcome to the forum. I'm also sorry your new year is starting this way.

However, this may not be a big deal. You gyn is partly correct, that the first episode of herpes usually is severe. But there are plenty of exceptions, and some initial infections are mild or even entirely asymptomatic. And as you suggest yourself, it is especially likely to have a mild initial infection with HSV2 in people who already have HSV1.

There are two basic possibilities to explain this. First, you may indeed have a new infection -- and since you haven't had previous outbreaks, that seems a good bet. But this doesn't necessarily mean you or your husband has had other partners recently. Your husband could have been infected all these years and only recently transmitted the infection to you. It is often many years into a monogamous relationship before HSV2 is transmitted. Of course I can't rule out the possibility that he's had other partners and recently acquired HSV2. You're in a much better position to judge whether that's likely. But for sure it isn't necessary to explain a new infection in you.

Second, it is possible you have been infected all these years, without knowing it -- and only now having your first recognized outbreak. As noted above, the mild symptoms favor this possiblity.

Blood testing could indeed sort this out. Both you and your husband could be tested. You in particular should be tested now (ASAP after onset of symptoms) and again in several weeks. If your HSV2 infection is new, your blood test should go from negative to positive, and your husband should have a positive result. If you've had it a long time, the first blood test will be positive.

I hope this is helpful. Best wishes.
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