confused about condition and misleading test results

[wilsonpatwilson]

i'm a male, mid 20s.....about 8-9 months ago i kissed a girl, and 7 days later had a small (2-3 mm) bump/blister on my lip and one on the tip of my tongue...they both sort of hurt...more when the skin drier and cracked on my lip and when my tongue touched my teeth.

i  went to a GP, he looked at and immediately said i have HSV.

by the way, both lesions were whitish, sort of bone colored.  on only one on each location (at least that's all i could see with my naked eye).

I've had these bumps come and go for the past 9 months or so, each time lasting no more then 2-3 days, maybe a little longer sometimes to completely dissapear.

this whole time i thought it was HSV, mind you, i've never had this happen to me before.

just last week (8 months or so after the exposure and first symptoms), i did a type specific HSV Igg test for both HSV 1 and 2.

the result came back negative for both.

i guess, that is a good thing...however...i'm worried about two things:

1)  could i have gotten a false negative?
2) if these blister like lesions mostly on my lip aren't HSV, then what is it?

Please tell me where to go from there...the lip lesions, are a bit visible and embarassing, but not a big deal...I would like to know what they are though.

FYI, besides the HSV blood test,  i also tested negative for ALL other STDs, i'm not sure if this info helps.

Oh, and the girl i kissed didn't have a visible lesion.  I showed my derm doc the STD results and asked him to explain the lesions (he has never seen them fyi), he said most (90%) of lip lesions are HSV.  So now, i'm really wondering what this is.

thanks doctor!

also, doc please tell me where to go from here.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Given the negative blood test, it is clear that the doc who diagnosed oral herpes was wrong; you don't have it.

I am skeptical any dermatologist said 90% of all lip lesions or other abnormalities are due to herpes.

Where do you go from here?  If the same sort of oral lesion/sore reappears, see the dermatologist when you have an abnormal lesion.  But in the meantime, don't worry about herpes.

Oral herpes is not an STD, of course.  It can be transmitted by kissing, but that doesn't make it an STD.  Over half the population has oral herpes (although most don't have symptoms).

HHH, MD

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

I really don't have any ideas.  You need to see a provider, preferably a dermatologist, within 1-2 days the next time the symptoms appear.

On re-reading your description, I am even more convinced it isn't herpes. No herpes lesion can totally clear up in 2-3 days.  Either oral or genital herpes always takes 7 days minimum until complete healing, usually 10+ days.

HHH, MD

[wilsonpatwilson]

thanks doctor

one more question

do you have any guesses to what it might be? if it isn't herpes?

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

A different herpes test won't help.  The problem with the older HSV blood tests is understanding what a positive result means.  But a negative result means you are not infected with either HSV-1 or HSV-1.

See the dermatologist within 1-2 days the next time a sore appears.

HHH, MD

[wilsonpatwilson]

I forgot to add, that i do not feel any tingling or itchiness before these sores appear.

[wilsonpatwilson]

also, should i try a different HSV test? perhaps herpesselect?

how reliable is my result?