Herpes?

[lp100]

Hello- Two days after receiving oral sex, I briefly experienced fever chills (the fever chills may however have been caused by my oral herpes recurrence, which started at that same time and lasted for one week).  Two days after that, I experience burning/itching in the vagina and watery vaginal discharge.  A rash developed in the bottom of the vaginal area/anal area which disappeared in a couple of days.  I douched with baking powder and the burning/itching subsided.  A few days later, a pimple formed in the labia.  I also had one enlarged lymph node in the groin area.  I had again douched with baking soda, but this time it burnt and the vaginal area became very inflamed (with a few cuts).  The doctor did a herpes culture on the cuts and it came back negative.  But he wasn't sure if it was a false negative.  Over the next few weeks, there has been vaginal irritation (on-and-off itching, sensitivity, tender spots along the anus).  These symtoms would come and go.  In the fourth week, I experienced clumpy white vaginal discharge.  The doctor checked under the microscope and found a yeast infection.  After taking 2 diflucans (150mg each), some of the symptoms disappeared, but the vaginal itching continued.  I then noticed a vaginal rash.  There was also some rash on the outside (labia).  I went back to the doctor in week 6 and they have again performed a herpes culture, but have also given me fungal creams.  Week 6 is almost over - the itching has almost gone away but the rash has persisted (some has cleared).  My question is: is this herpes that is taking time to clear or could this be something else?  If it was just a fungal infection - how long would it take for the creams to clear it away?

[gracefromHHP]

Your hsv1 igg is negative.  Don't let the equivocal range fool you - it's negative in that range as long as enough time has passed before testing.

Yes indeed any sort of infection down yonder can cause swollen nodes in that area.

Hope you feel better soon  now that you know better what is going on and are treating it  :)

grace

[lp100]

Hi -
I went to the doctor and found out that there was bacterial overgrowth (streptococcus and other bacteria).  So I guess, it was a combination of a yeast and bacteria infection.  So - can this cause a swollen groin lymph node?

Additionally, I found out that my hsv1 blood test results are .99.  Even if it hasn't reached the positive mark (1.09 I think), it's not as if the number is going to go back down to being in the negative range (below .90), correct?  So, why wouldn't it be considered a positive?

[gracefromHHP]

I want to clear up some confusion here between what I believe you are asking lp100 and what Jess told you.  You start developing protective antibodies against herpes from a few moments after you are infected with herpes.  The 4 months number jess said is how long it can take until you have detectable igg antibodies present to be picked up on the blood tests.  There are different kinds of antibodies out there - our immune systems are very complex - and the herpes blood tests we currently have look at only a very small part of the igg response even.  Does that make sense? Pretty much after a month of being infected with herpes - you are protected against contracting it on other body parts. You can still contract it on other body parts but the risk is greatly minimized.  

Now about your hsv1 igg results you posted.  If you can get a copy of your blood work so you can more accurately post the results we can better help you somewhat. I say somewhat because even the most accurate herpes blood tests we have right now still aren't as good at detecting hsv1 as they are hsv2.  There's a huge difference in interpreting your test results between if it's 0.9 or 9.0.  I'm guessing it's a 0.9 from the way you described it which is actually negative but your provider might be a little confused by the equivocal range on the tests.  The best way to confirm your mouth issues as being hsv1 would be if you can get your provider to get you the materials to do a few daily pcr swabs of the oral area the next time your symptoms reoccur.  You can do that at home yourself - just swab the area of the symptoms and the entire oral area with the sterile q tip and then break it off and put it in the transport medium and drop it off at the lab.  No hsv1 detected when you have these issues then you know it's not hsv1 causing them.  

baking soda douches can really throw off your vaginal ph.  If it was off already and allowed overgrowth of something you might've thrown it off even more. Why not send for the free sample of femdophilus from the jarrow website to try to get it back to normal?  ( http://www.jarrowmail.com/?p=subscribe&id=5 )   If the mods edit that out just google jarrow for it.  

At this point the best you can do is continued follow up on any symptoms that occur. Do not self treat for anything. I know it's a pain going back monthly to the clinic but you do what you have to do to get to the bottom of these things.  And yes swollen lymph nodes can result in response to any infection going on in the body. It's a sign that the body is working hard to protect you like it was designed to do.  Were you also tested for other std's too to cover all the bases?

grace

[lp100]

Hi - just one correction to my note above - I remember that the first number in the blood test was 9, but don't remember the second number.  I will have to re-check.  But basically, my doctor said that it's in the middle of negative and positive and that I would have to repeat the test in 6 months.  Does that mean that there may not have been enough antibodies?  It's strange, considering that the infection occurred 8 months ago.

[lp100]

Regarding the hsv1 blood test - I think the number was around 90 (although I may be mistaken because I only saw it briefly).

Regarding the enlarged lymph node - fungal yeast infections wouldn't cause swollen glands, would they?

[auntiejessi]

Antibodies can take up to about 4-6 months to develop for HSV1.   Do you know the number you got on it?

Its possible there was something in the bed, if both you and your partner felt it.  

And any time you get an infection, you can get swollen glands.  Its part of the body's response to fighting it off.

Aj

[lp100]

Thank you for the response.  I have been tested for other stds - I am waiting for results.

Regarding your comment above about antibodies exist from oral hsv-1: I got the oral-hsv-1 infection only last October/November.  This time in late July/early August was only my second recurrence.  So, can antibodies develop this quickly (or do they need a few recurrences to develop)?  I had taken a blood test in late July to confirm oral hsv-1 (since I don't get cold sores, but only tongue/lip inflammation).  My blood test had shown that I was at the halfway mark between negative and positive.  One doctor stated that he believed that to be a positive test result.  Another doctor indicated that he would take another blood test in 6 months to confirm.  So - at this point, would there be enough antibodies to prevent the genital hsv-1?

Second, I keep thinking about the enlarged lymph node, which I don't think is caused by fungal infections.  So, other than herpes, the other thing I was thinking is possibly bacterial infection?  I remember that during the night I was with my partner, I was itching on the bed and he kept saying that something is biting him.  Is it likely that mites/bacteria from bedsheets could cause bacterial genital infections (which could cause an enlarged lymph node in the groin).  At this point, I don't know if this sounds like a stretch or a possibility.

Thank you for your thoughts on this.

[auntiejessi]

Its tough to tell if this is herpes, or if you caused some major irritation from douching with baking soda.   (Douching is never a good idea unless you are directed to do so by a doctor.

The thing is though, if you have oral hsv1 already, it is highly unlikely that you would get genital hsv1 from oral sex, as you have antibodies to protect you against that.

Have you been tested for other stds?  

If its fungal, you need to use the cream for at least a couple of weeks.

AJ