Recommended testing after encounter with a

[mijalp]

Hello,

First, thank you to the doctors and contributors on this forum. It has been a great help.

Yesterday, I had unprotected vaginal sex with a new partner. Shortly afterwards, I discovered that this person has previously been diagnosed with genital herpes. I do not know whether the person was symptomatic at the time. Being told only afterwards was quite a shock. Suffice to say, my mind has been working overtime since.

I have done a decent amount of research on the topic. I understand that the chances of transmission from a single exposure are quite low (reported by doctors on various posts here as around 1 in 1000). I also understand that as a circumcised male, with a history of cold sores (presumably HSV1) the chances might be even lower. Anyway, there is little use speculating on the odds - it's simply wait and see from here. However, I remain concerned about knowing my 'status', to avoid the possibility of passing on an infection to someone else in future. My questions are therefore:

1) How common is a genuinely asymptomatic HSV2 infection? I understand that many cases of genital herpes are not diagnosed. However, I'm interested to know whether that is because there are no symptoms whatsoever, or whether the symptoms are mild and/or for various reasons never presented to a doctor for diagnosis. Put simply, if I am relatively thorough in examining myself over the next couple of weeks and notice nothing out of the ordinary, is there much likelihood I may have contracted HSV2?

2) Most importantly, if no symptoms are noticed, would any testing be recommended in this situation? I ask the question at this early stage, because I understand IgM testing may be useful within a relatively small window following exposure (perhaps in the 10 - 17 day period). Would that be appropriate following a known exposure even if there are no symptoms?

Thanks in advance. Please let me know if any other details would help.

Note: I do plan to do a routine sti test in a few weeks (which obviously won't test for herpes)

[auntiejessi]

How did you discover this? I ask because unless she told you herself, it may not be true. We've had so many stories about rumors here, so just proceed carefully if she didn't tell you.

1) How common is a genuinely asymptomatic HSV2 infection? I understand that many cases of genital herpes are not diagnosed. However, I'm interested to know whether that is because there are no symptoms whatsoever, or whether the symptoms are mild and/or for various reasons never presented to a doctor for diagnosis. Put simply, if I am relatively thorough in examining myself over the next couple of weeks and notice nothing out of the ordinary, is there much likelihood I may have contracted HSV2?

90% of those with ghsv2 don't know they have it because their symptoms are mild, or because they don't get symptoms. This is especially true with people who have an existing hsv1 infection, which tends to temper hsv2.

If this were a relationship, the chance that you'd get herpes from her (assuming she has it), is about 4-5% a year, if all you did was avoid sex during outbreaks. Chances of getting anything from a 1-time encounter are slim.

If this is a relationship you'd like to continue, herpes isn't a big enough deal to play a role in ending it.

There are things you can do to reduce the transmission:

Ghsv2 transmission, female to male, over the course of a year, assuming sex 2-3 times a week:

Only avoiding sex during an outbreak - 4-5%

Adding condoms OR daily suppression - 2-3%

Adding condoms AND daily suppression - 1-2%


In any case, you should get a type specific hsv IgG test now, to see if you already have hsv2. If you don't know what type of genital herpes she has, you should find out. If she has ghsv1, and you already have it, you all don't have anything to worry about.

Also, if you heard this from someone else, talk to her first before freaking out. (And really, don't freak - none of this warrants freaking out.)