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possible herpes symptoms?
Hi doctor,
I am 27 year old male who hooked up a promiscuous girl on the 23rd, the 27th and 29th of november 2013. All three times I used protection, although please note my condom slipped inside her once and I was unprotected for a little bit (I think maybe a minute because I was drunk, then I got a new one). The condom slip happened on the 23rd. Also note that she had a lot vaginal fluids that squirted out while she was orgasming and got all over the the bed and sheets and on me.
Anyway, around the 27th or 28th I was noticing a tingly sensation around my penis and balls, like I was getting small pokes by a needle or something. Also my balls felt a burning sensation as well and I have been having flu like symptoms. No fever, but just fatigue and that feeling you get when there is a bug in your body and I felt weak. I have looked EVERYWHERE for lesions and there are none. I have been reading around the internet and many websites have suggested that there are pre symptoms like burning itching and flu like symptoms before any lesions appear.
But the internet is the internet so I figured I would ask an expert. Is there anyway that I have herpes? It's 12/2, should herpes have showed up now, or am I one the people that it never shows up on? Also I got tested for chlamydia, gonorrhea, hiv, herpes 1 and 2 at the urgent care on the 30th so I have to wait for the results on wednesday. They did tell me the results will determine if I have had herpes before but not currently so I will probably have to get retested in 3-4 weeks I guess.
Lastly, I have had chlamydia before so I know what it feels like to get an std. This time it doesnt hurt when I pee and there is no discharge, but the other symptoms felt similar.
Thanks for your help doctor! And I wrote all this on my phone so please excuse any misspellings or grammatical errors.
I am 27 year old male who hooked up a promiscuous girl on the 23rd, the 27th and 29th of november 2013. All three times I used protection, although please note my condom slipped inside her once and I was unprotected for a little bit (I think maybe a minute because I was drunk, then I got a new one). The condom slip happened on the 23rd. Also note that she had a lot vaginal fluids that squirted out while she was orgasming and got all over the the bed and sheets and on me.
Anyway, around the 27th or 28th I was noticing a tingly sensation around my penis and balls, like I was getting small pokes by a needle or something. Also my balls felt a burning sensation as well and I have been having flu like symptoms. No fever, but just fatigue and that feeling you get when there is a bug in your body and I felt weak. I have looked EVERYWHERE for lesions and there are none. I have been reading around the internet and many websites have suggested that there are pre symptoms like burning itching and flu like symptoms before any lesions appear.
But the internet is the internet so I figured I would ask an expert. Is there anyway that I have herpes? It's 12/2, should herpes have showed up now, or am I one the people that it never shows up on? Also I got tested for chlamydia, gonorrhea, hiv, herpes 1 and 2 at the urgent care on the 30th so I have to wait for the results on wednesday. They did tell me the results will determine if I have had herpes before but not currently so I will probably have to get retested in 3-4 weeks I guess.
Lastly, I have had chlamydia before so I know what it feels like to get an std. This time it doesnt hurt when I pee and there is no discharge, but the other symptoms felt similar.
Thanks for your help doctor! And I wrote all this on my phone so please excuse any misspellings or grammatical errors.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
I suspect all your symptoms -- "needle like sensation", "burning sensation", and your sensations of weakness, etc -- are due mostly or entirely to anxiety, making you notice minor symptoms or normal body sensations that otherwse you wouldn't be aware of or would ignore.
Some herpes is asymptomatic. But that mostly occurs in people who are unaware, not aware of risk, paying no attention. People as hyper-anxious as you are would usually have typical herpes symptoms -- i.e. blisters and sores.
Trust me on this: with my 40 years experience in this business, I am highly confident you were at low risk for herpes or any other STD and that you did not catch herpes or anything else. Also, in the nearly 10 years since this forum started, there must have been at least 100 questions very much like yours -- maybe several hundred -- and not one ever confirmed that s/he had actually caught herpes.
It's time to move on. Do your best to accept the reasoned, science-based reassurance I have tried to give and move on with your life. I won't have any further comments or advice.
Some herpes is asymptomatic. But that mostly occurs in people who are unaware, not aware of risk, paying no attention. People as hyper-anxious as you are would usually have typical herpes symptoms -- i.e. blisters and sores.
Trust me on this: with my 40 years experience in this business, I am highly confident you were at low risk for herpes or any other STD and that you did not catch herpes or anything else. Also, in the nearly 10 years since this forum started, there must have been at least 100 questions very much like yours -- maybe several hundred -- and not one ever confirmed that s/he had actually caught herpes.
It's time to move on. Do your best to accept the reasoned, science-based reassurance I have tried to give and move on with your life. I won't have any further comments or advice.
Also what are the chances one has genital herpes, but will not show any signs or symptoms? Is it rare? Is it true that within 2-20 days one typically will show symptoms making it possible for me to still have it?
Thanks for the response and the peace of mind. What do you suppose the needle like sensations in my genitals are? I still feel it. Skin sensitivity from rough sex? Could that have contributed to the burning sensation as well? I guess I never had true chills, so I must have been fighting some sort of bug because I only felt weak but never had a fever.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
I saw these comments before replying above; they do not change my opinon or advice. With one exception: true chills are not just a chlly sensation, but refer to uncontrollable shivering (like malaria chills are often portrayed in the movies) and are evidence of high fever. If you take your temperature and it's in fact quite elevated (101F or higher), or if you're having real chills, see a doctor promptly. I would suspect an infection, perhaps a serious one -- although probably not related to the sexual encounters descrived avove.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the forum.
Congratulations for using condoms and otherwise having safe sex. You are at low risk for STDs from these exposures. Even among "promiscuous" sexually active men and women, at any point in time, most have no active STDs. And most STDs are transmitted inefficiently; for example, if the woman is infected and has unprotected vaginal sex, chlamydia is probably transmitted less than half the time, and for HIV and HSV-2, it's closer to once for every 1,000 exposures. With a condom the transmission risk is still lower, even with possible partial slippage as you had.
The "vaginal fluid" exposure doesn't mean much. Female "ejaculation" is a squirt of urine, not vaginal fluid -- and urine rarely if ever transmits STDs. (In fact, urine is toxic to STD bacteria and viruses.)
As for your symptoms, they are not typical for herpes or any other STD. The sort of nonspecific symptoms you describe can occur in herpes, but only along with more typical symptoms (usually obvious blisters evolving to open sures). And the "flu like" symptoms of initial herpes are much more dramatic than you describe -- headache, obvious fever, muscle aching -- and although these may precede herpes lesions, that's uncommon. Usually the lesions start first, and they certainly would appear within a day or two of fever etc. So the lack of overt lesions by this time is evidence against herpes as the cause of the other symptoms.
You are correct that your blood tests are valid only as a baseline to show you weren't infected previously; they require 4-6 weeks for HIV and syphilis and up to 3-4 months for HSV. However, the chlamydia and gonorrhea urine tests will be valid. In my opinion, there really is no need to follow up on the HSV blood test; the chance you caught herpes is very low. I would suggest you just have follow-up syphilis and HIV tests in a few weeks. But if you do decide to have repeat HSV testing, wait until late March (4 months).
I hope this has helped. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
Congratulations for using condoms and otherwise having safe sex. You are at low risk for STDs from these exposures. Even among "promiscuous" sexually active men and women, at any point in time, most have no active STDs. And most STDs are transmitted inefficiently; for example, if the woman is infected and has unprotected vaginal sex, chlamydia is probably transmitted less than half the time, and for HIV and HSV-2, it's closer to once for every 1,000 exposures. With a condom the transmission risk is still lower, even with possible partial slippage as you had.
The "vaginal fluid" exposure doesn't mean much. Female "ejaculation" is a squirt of urine, not vaginal fluid -- and urine rarely if ever transmits STDs. (In fact, urine is toxic to STD bacteria and viruses.)
As for your symptoms, they are not typical for herpes or any other STD. The sort of nonspecific symptoms you describe can occur in herpes, but only along with more typical symptoms (usually obvious blisters evolving to open sures). And the "flu like" symptoms of initial herpes are much more dramatic than you describe -- headache, obvious fever, muscle aching -- and although these may precede herpes lesions, that's uncommon. Usually the lesions start first, and they certainly would appear within a day or two of fever etc. So the lack of overt lesions by this time is evidence against herpes as the cause of the other symptoms.
You are correct that your blood tests are valid only as a baseline to show you weren't infected previously; they require 4-6 weeks for HIV and syphilis and up to 3-4 months for HSV. However, the chlamydia and gonorrhea urine tests will be valid. In my opinion, there really is no need to follow up on the HSV blood test; the chance you caught herpes is very low. I would suggest you just have follow-up syphilis and HIV tests in a few weeks. But if you do decide to have repeat HSV testing, wait until late March (4 months).
I hope this has helped. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
And the chills... I have had the chills
I forgot to mention a couple more things as well... I did receive oral sex from her (*******) and my condom did not cover all the way to the base. Not sure if this relevant info.
One more thing, it does not itch anywhere
You are reading content posted in the STDs Forum
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.
