Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Severe HSV1 pharyngitis, please help!

Hello, I am a 26 years old male, previously healthy, non smoking, had tonsillectomy at the age of 3. I never had cold sores in my life, and after sharing a bottle of water without attention with a friend who had Hsv1 since long time ago, within 2 days of this event i started feeling fatigue and a bit of pain in my throat. At the 3rd day the pain became sharp and severe and vesicles appeared where the tonsils used to be before they were removed and also in the oropharynx down to the posterior pharynx with inflammation that was notable around the vesicles. I started having also malaise and low grade fever, then my neck lymph nodes enlarged bilaterally and added to the pain. I started taking Ibuprofen 600mg together with paracetamol 500mg every 6-8 hours to sooth the pain, but i felt no relief and couldnt eat nor drink water! The pain on the 4th day reached a point where i had difficulty swallowing my saliva! So i got Lidocaine spray just to be able to swallow the meds and got oral rehydration solution to compensate for the lost saliva am spitting. I also added azithromycin 500mg ( am allergic to augmentin ) for 3 days to cover for any bacterial superinfection that might kick in later in this ugly course.

Today is the 5th day of this painful journey, i still have the same pain in my throat cant swallow anything without crying from the pain the hits from my pharynx all the way to both ears. My question is how much time does it still need to heal and should I add Acyclovir or it's useless right now after all this time?  And if you recommend that I do add Acyclovir, what is the dosing please?
7 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
3149845 tn?1506627771
Acyclovir is for folks that have herpes. I would suggest having your throat swabbed to confirm what it is. And if your sexually active have a blood test to confirm your herpes status.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
That is great to hear then :D !!!!

Sorry to insist that it was herpes but i was really desperate! So this might be as you said something viral such the enteroviruses Coxsackie A or B or other :D ???

So i forget totally about Acyclovir?

And thank you so much for turning my attention to this point!
Helpful - 0
3149845 tn?1506627771
your really taking this in the wrong direction. If you contacted oral hsv from sharing the water bottle, it would be on you lips not inside. The herpes virus is not floating in the water but is passed by direct lip rubbing contact. Herpes has to be forced into  nerve. Your article has nothing to do with you but those that either just contracted it from giving oral sex, esp to a male who had herpes sores on this shaft or a recurrent outbreak from someone who has an established oral infection.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have the read the following on Medscape what do you think about it?

Acute herpetic pharyngotonsillitis
In adults, oropharyngeal HSV-1 infection causes pharyngitis and tonsillitis more often than gingivostomatitis.
Fever, malaise, headache, and sore throat are presenting features.
The vesicles rupture to form ulcerative lesions with grayish exudates on the tonsils and the posterior pharynx.
Associated oral and labial lesions occur in fewer than 10% of patients.
Helpful - 0
3149845 tn?1506627771
Again, if she did not have any lip sores at the time your risk that you contacted herpes from this one time affair would be close to zero. Getting herpes sores inside the mouth would be more of a risk if you gave a male oral sex or were having a recurrent outbreak from an established oral infection. First time outbreaks from a recent infection from kissing would more be on you lips from point of contact.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Sorry I forgot to mention also that I have 3 big ulcers inside my mouth, on the right and left cheek from inside, and one under my tongue but none on the vermilion border of lips or outside. I also forget to mention that I kissed that friend not just shared a bottle of water!

Would this make herpes pharyngitis primary infection more likely then other viral causes? especially that I am taking azithromycin 500mg for 3 days and their was no exudates or pus at all during the whole course!
Helpful - 0
3149845 tn?1506627771
HI, contacting herpes from sharing a water bottle would be a risk for young children whose immune systems are not yet strong but for adults it really nothing to be overly concerned about, and if they did not have any lip sores at the time, your risk would be as close to zero as one could get.
What you describe is not any real risk for contacting oral hsv. Also your symptoms are not hsv related  but would appear more of a strep throat or other flu type germ.
you really should see a doctor and have your throat swabbed but as for herpes any outbreak would be on your lip, not in the back of your throat.
Also since upward of 65% of the adult population would test positive for hsv1 oral, there a big chance you already have it from childhood.
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Herpes Community

Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
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.