Aa
asymptomatic & would prefer not to take suppression pills
I was diagnosed with HSV 2 genital herpes last year when I got checked after I started seeing a new man after my divorce. I realized that what I thought was a razer cut blister 10 years ago was actually a herpes outbreak, but I (to my knowledge) have not had any outbreaks since. I am not sure if my husband gave it to me or I had gotten the disease years ago and was having my 1st reoccurrence. My question is that if you are asymptomatic with the disease (the test also shows that I have been "exposed" to HSV 1) is there a way to test if I am still shedding? Since I don't have symptoms, my main concern is not passing it on to my partner & now that I am in menopause and pregnancy is not an issue, I don't want to use a female condom all the time with a monagamous partner. I assume taking a daily suppressive pill is best, but I was wondering if there was some other option like using some type of foam or jelly around the area of where I had that outbreak. I assume that is not enough, so if I do the pills, do I have to take the pill every day for the rest of my sexual life (hopefully about 20 more years! ) to prevent shedding, or is there a point when you can stop?
once you have hsv2, you are protected from getting it elsewhere.
if you want to retest to confirm your hsv2 igg, make sure it's with a herpes WB blood test.
if you want to retest to confirm your hsv2 igg, make sure it's with a herpes WB blood test.
I realize now that I did not know how to read ELISA test score. I was reading their legend information that gave info on how their scores relate to negative and positive readings. I am 4.41 for HSV 2 and 2.60 for HSV 1. I only have had one partner since my husband and my partner was negative after we had monogamous unprotected sex for about a year and a half. I know my ex had HSV 1 cold sores, but I never knew if he had HSV 2. From what I have read anything over a 3.5 is pretty sure to be positive, but I am still getting retested when I go for my yearly exam in a week. I will take the suppressive therapy because I don't want to infect my new partner, but I was wondering...can suppressive therapy help to keep me from getting HSV in a different area? I have never had symptoms, and it would be nice to know if I am taking suppression pills that will help me not to get any new HSV infection if I get a new partner.
you need to start them at least 5 days prior to sexual contact in order for them to be suppressing the virus.
Thank you for your help. I have scheduled a retest. And just one more question, if it does come back that they are both fully positive, is there a time frame for taking suppression pills so that they build up in your system? For example, if I am only having sexual activity once a month, can i just take the pills for a week before...would that be enough time to build up effectiveness? I am only taking the pills to reduce my partner's risk, so it seems a waste to be taking them when I am not sexually active.
a hsv2 igg result of 1.11 is a low positive and could be a false positive. repeating your test to see what the results are is the best thing to do at this point.
that was what was listed for the testing for both...1.11 IV or greater was positive for both HSV 1 & 2 testing. Now I am getting confused, should it say something different? there was a negative for an 0.89 I think and questionable for 0.90. And that is such a relief about the cancer...
you got 1.11 for hsv1 and 1.11 for hsv2 or was that the only result for herpes testing you got?
having had cancer in the past doesn't increase his risk for contracting herpes now.
having had cancer in the past doesn't increase his risk for contracting herpes now.
Thank you for your help. My tests were: HSV1 Ab Igg & HSV2 Ab Igg were both 1.11 IV or greater positive & 0.90 -1.10 IV questionable. I have only been tested once.This sounds like I have equal amounts of both so I don't know why they said I was "exposed" to HSV 1. So in reading your response it sounds like although I don't have ob's my partner could get HSV and have a different reaction than me. My biggest concern is not infecting my partner so I am fine taking the suppression pills...I just thought the potential to spread the disease decreased over time. And another question, is there any upside to taking these pills? Do they reduce the potential of catching the flu or Epstein Barr Virus or anything so I can put a positive spin on this when I discuss with my partner? And one more question, he is in remission for cancer & not doing chemo...is he more likely to get HSV since he has had cancer ? Thank you again for providing such great info!!
I will gladly take a look at your blood test results for you if you want to post them here. that way we can be sure you were properly tested and see if you need additional confirmatory testing done or not. just post the actual test results - e.g. hsv1 igg 9,8 and hsv2 igg 4.9 or whatever they are - thanks!
first off, you never, ever have to treat hsv2 if you don't want to. it's totally your choice. treating ob's when they occur just help them to heal a little faster and taking daily suppressive therapy helps to reduce recurrences as well as reduces transmission to a partner.
also there is no such thing as just being exposed to hsv1. if you tested + for it, you have it. once you post your test results, I can better help you with that part.
are you less contagious because you don't appear to be having obvious and frequent recurrences of hsv2? no you are not. we have multiple studies now that show that you are just as contagious whether you have 0 ob's a year or 10 ob's a year. the virus is still active periodically and can potentially be transmitted to a partner.
so what do you and a potential male partner do? Well make sure you talk about std's and testing. keep in mind that it is so not all about the herpes you know you have! also make sure they get tested for herpes too. it's typically not a part of routine std testing so odds are they weren't ever tested for it. No assumptions that they have been tested, make sure they have results. if a partner is hsv2 negative, if you two did nothing but avoid sex anytime you had anything going on genitally, he would be 96% likely each year NOT to contract hsv2 from you. If you use condoms and daily suppressive therapy, he'd be 99% likely each year NOT to contract hsv2 from you. Very good odds with minimal precautions even so discuss together what precautions you feel comfortable taking together :)
keep asking questions!
grace
first off, you never, ever have to treat hsv2 if you don't want to. it's totally your choice. treating ob's when they occur just help them to heal a little faster and taking daily suppressive therapy helps to reduce recurrences as well as reduces transmission to a partner.
also there is no such thing as just being exposed to hsv1. if you tested + for it, you have it. once you post your test results, I can better help you with that part.
are you less contagious because you don't appear to be having obvious and frequent recurrences of hsv2? no you are not. we have multiple studies now that show that you are just as contagious whether you have 0 ob's a year or 10 ob's a year. the virus is still active periodically and can potentially be transmitted to a partner.
so what do you and a potential male partner do? Well make sure you talk about std's and testing. keep in mind that it is so not all about the herpes you know you have! also make sure they get tested for herpes too. it's typically not a part of routine std testing so odds are they weren't ever tested for it. No assumptions that they have been tested, make sure they have results. if a partner is hsv2 negative, if you two did nothing but avoid sex anytime you had anything going on genitally, he would be 96% likely each year NOT to contract hsv2 from you. If you use condoms and daily suppressive therapy, he'd be 99% likely each year NOT to contract hsv2 from you. Very good odds with minimal precautions even so discuss together what precautions you feel comfortable taking together :)
keep asking questions!
grace
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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.
