Aa
Is this Herpes? Abrasions? Im so scared!
I went to Malaysia for vacation and I hooked up with a fellow american. He was an intern from Boston College - anyways we had a one night stand and we both had unprotected sex. He claimed he was clean and that he was confident about it.
Anyways,I went back home 2 days later and I started to itch. My vagina was all red and inflamed. I went to the doctor immediately (4 days after this incident) I had an internal exam and she did a number of swabs. She said I had a vaginal yeast infection. I was given medication and a cream. The itching eased - everything else eased (took approx 5 days)
I had no signs of lesions, blisters, no flus, no muscle aches, no fevers - just redness, cottage cheese like discharge, itching and inflammation which the doctor has diagnosed as thrush.
Give or take... 9 days later, I had protected sex with a partner. He was using latex condom - and as we were having sex i could feel a little itch on the vulva, then it started to sting - so we added some lube - and it felt great. After the sex however - it got red, itched, kind of looked raw, it stung that night when i took a shower and im certain there were abrasions. Now im not sure if thats from sex or if its herpes. I thought it was just from sex...the next day - i felt fine. everything eased... it looked better and it didnt sting anymore. I had sex today - and my gosh - it got all red, worse than the other day, abrasions, it stings big time and it hurts with the slightest touch! all this redness and stinging is found in my labia minora and my vulva (vulva opening)
Im just so confused! Ive read that you dont need blisters you can just itch and burn to have herpes. inflammations dont necessarily have to progress into blisters. so now... i dont know if all this is from sex or from herpes. I have had abrasions from rough sex and they have never felt like this -the ones i had felt fine in a day. The one im experiencing now feels like its gonna take 3-4 days.
I went to a site (www.gotherpes.com) and asked a few people there some questions. (there is a chat room) I told them I was confused if it was rough sex or herpes - they reckoned that if it gets better by the day then its from rough sex. however if it keeps itching or exacerbates then its probably herpes.
Im just so lost and scared! I mean... I dont understand why it stings -the itchiness is not that bad in fact i can only feel it itch when i touch it. in fact i can only feel something when i touch my vulva. Im so sorry - i practically wrote a novel! Im so scared and Im so confused. I just dont understand why it felt that way when i had sex again - does that mean i havent fully recovered from the yeast infection? is it just abrasions? was it herpes the whole time and am i suffering from a 'mild blister free' outbreak due to the friction in sex?
Ive went to the doctor 3 times for the last 3 weeks. she says its looks fine - these symptoms (redness, abrasions, etc)come out only after sex.
thank you for ur time
Anyways,I went back home 2 days later and I started to itch. My vagina was all red and inflamed. I went to the doctor immediately (4 days after this incident) I had an internal exam and she did a number of swabs. She said I had a vaginal yeast infection. I was given medication and a cream. The itching eased - everything else eased (took approx 5 days)
I had no signs of lesions, blisters, no flus, no muscle aches, no fevers - just redness, cottage cheese like discharge, itching and inflammation which the doctor has diagnosed as thrush.
Give or take... 9 days later, I had protected sex with a partner. He was using latex condom - and as we were having sex i could feel a little itch on the vulva, then it started to sting - so we added some lube - and it felt great. After the sex however - it got red, itched, kind of looked raw, it stung that night when i took a shower and im certain there were abrasions. Now im not sure if thats from sex or if its herpes. I thought it was just from sex...the next day - i felt fine. everything eased... it looked better and it didnt sting anymore. I had sex today - and my gosh - it got all red, worse than the other day, abrasions, it stings big time and it hurts with the slightest touch! all this redness and stinging is found in my labia minora and my vulva (vulva opening)
Im just so confused! Ive read that you dont need blisters you can just itch and burn to have herpes. inflammations dont necessarily have to progress into blisters. so now... i dont know if all this is from sex or from herpes. I have had abrasions from rough sex and they have never felt like this -the ones i had felt fine in a day. The one im experiencing now feels like its gonna take 3-4 days.
I went to a site (www.gotherpes.com) and asked a few people there some questions. (there is a chat room) I told them I was confused if it was rough sex or herpes - they reckoned that if it gets better by the day then its from rough sex. however if it keeps itching or exacerbates then its probably herpes.
Im just so lost and scared! I mean... I dont understand why it stings -the itchiness is not that bad in fact i can only feel it itch when i touch it. in fact i can only feel something when i touch my vulva. Im so sorry - i practically wrote a novel! Im so scared and Im so confused. I just dont understand why it felt that way when i had sex again - does that mean i havent fully recovered from the yeast infection? is it just abrasions? was it herpes the whole time and am i suffering from a 'mild blister free' outbreak due to the friction in sex?
Ive went to the doctor 3 times for the last 3 weeks. she says its looks fine - these symptoms (redness, abrasions, etc)come out only after sex.
thank you for ur time
A related discussion, Hoping the diagnosis was wrong was started.
Hi,
For the past two months I've had 2 yeast infections. The second one was really bad. The doctor tried me on two different creams before he prescribed me the pill that starts with D for two days. On the day after I finished the pills I got my period. I got my period for 6 days. A week later I noticed a red pimple like thing on the lower left side of my vulva. I got worried, because I have had been having the problems with the two yeast infection. I saw my doctor and he took a culture and bloodwork for to test for HErpes. I told the doctor that there was only one bump, it didn't itch, no other symptoms other than when I wiped after urinating it grazed it and made it itch a little then the itch went away. I'm scared because the doctor mentioned herpes and put me on Valtrex just in case i do have herpes. This has me so anxious. Having to wait for results. CAn you tell me if this sounds like I have herpes, please?
For the past two months I've had 2 yeast infections. The second one was really bad. The doctor tried me on two different creams before he prescribed me the pill that starts with D for two days. On the day after I finished the pills I got my period. I got my period for 6 days. A week later I noticed a red pimple like thing on the lower left side of my vulva. I got worried, because I have had been having the problems with the two yeast infection. I saw my doctor and he took a culture and bloodwork for to test for HErpes. I told the doctor that there was only one bump, it didn't itch, no other symptoms other than when I wiped after urinating it grazed it and made it itch a little then the itch went away. I'm scared because the doctor mentioned herpes and put me on Valtrex just in case i do have herpes. This has me so anxious. Having to wait for results. CAn you tell me if this sounds like I have herpes, please?
The vast majority of people do not even know they have genital herpes, this is what makes it so easy to pass on unfortunately, the only way of really knowing is by having a test to see if your body has the herpes antibodies...
If I have herpes as the moment, should the symptoms get worse by the day? I mean lets say if it is herpes, will the symptoms exacerbate or stay that way as time progresses, especially if i dont take any medications?
Like I said earlier, the abrasions,the redness and the stinging get worse after sex. So far, the symptoms get better as time goes on - they havent healed completely but they feel a lot better than they did earlier. - Does that really sound like a yeast infection? I thought it would keep getting worse or atleast they symptoms will remain that way - like i said the symptoms get better when time goes by.
Thank you for your time
Like I said earlier, the abrasions,the redness and the stinging get worse after sex. So far, the symptoms get better as time goes on - they havent healed completely but they feel a lot better than they did earlier. - Does that really sound like a yeast infection? I thought it would keep getting worse or atleast they symptoms will remain that way - like i said the symptoms get better when time goes by.
Thank you for your time
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Sorry if my cute comment about the intern wasn't clear. I just meant that you didn't catch anything from him. (You probably don't have herpes, and women don't catch yeast from their sex partners.)
To confirm, I really don't think you have herpes. The stuff you have read about itching and not having lesions applies to people who have positive blood tests but no previous diagnosis. Many of them in fact have had mild symptoms like an occasional mild itch, a little irritation, etc. In people with the fairly prominent symptoms you have, herpes would always cause discrete sores, not diffuse redness; and itching would not be a prominent symptom.
The time course of discomfort etc it you have herpes really can't be predicted, not is there any particular pattern with time of day. Most likely the symptoms would improve within 7-10 days of starting. Any genital irritation, whether herpes, yeast, or something else, can feel worse during sex.
Yes, it really sounds like a yeast infection. But as I said in my first reply, none of this is certain; all I can do is state the probabilities based on the information you provide. Seeing a health care provider and perhaps additional testing, as I said yesterday, is the only way to sort this out for sure. Do not attempt to solve it by getting further opinions on line, from me or anywhere else.
Best wishes--- HHH, MD
To confirm, I really don't think you have herpes. The stuff you have read about itching and not having lesions applies to people who have positive blood tests but no previous diagnosis. Many of them in fact have had mild symptoms like an occasional mild itch, a little irritation, etc. In people with the fairly prominent symptoms you have, herpes would always cause discrete sores, not diffuse redness; and itching would not be a prominent symptom.
The time course of discomfort etc it you have herpes really can't be predicted, not is there any particular pattern with time of day. Most likely the symptoms would improve within 7-10 days of starting. Any genital irritation, whether herpes, yeast, or something else, can feel worse during sex.
Yes, it really sounds like a yeast infection. But as I said in my first reply, none of this is certain; all I can do is state the probabilities based on the information you provide. Seeing a health care provider and perhaps additional testing, as I said yesterday, is the only way to sort this out for sure. Do not attempt to solve it by getting further opinions on line, from me or anywhere else.
Best wishes--- HHH, MD
Thank you for your reposponse doctor but one more thing, you said "But in this case, I don't think your intern hook-up is the problem." Why do you say that?
Secondly, A person infected with the herpes virus does not necessarily have blisters, lesions or sores correct? In fact, most people dont have symptoms at all. There are also others who have itching as a symptom - you really dont think this is herpes?
Thank you for your time,
mortified
Secondly, A person infected with the herpes virus does not necessarily have blisters, lesions or sores correct? In fact, most people dont have symptoms at all. There are also others who have itching as a symptom - you really dont think this is herpes?
Thank you for your time,
mortified
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Man, you can't trust those doctor types, can you? But in this case, I don't think your intern hook-up is the problem.
You describe very typical symptoms of yeast infection. The problem is that in women, yeast is the single health problem most commonly confused with herpes--i.e., herpes being misdiagnosed as yeast. Still, your symptoms are so classical, and if a doc used the term "thrush" it's a good bet you really had yeast. Further, yeast often recurs or persists despite standard treatment--and if you had a borderline persistent infection, sex could irritate it and cause immediate symptoms just like you describe. Finally, diffuse redness, stinging and itching definitely don't sound like herpes, which normaly would cause discrete blisters, pimple-like lesions, or open sores. The symptom clues you got from participants on the herpes website don't sound especially helpful to me.
Bottom line: I think it's all yeast and that herpes is unlikely. Some yeast infections are resistant to standard therapy, especially if you happen to be in the 10% of cases caused by Candida glabrata, not the more common Candida albicans. You may need more prolonged treatment. But if you have been treated with the standard antifungal creams, another possibility is that you are allergic to it; so even though this implies yet another doctor visit, I think that's a good idea.
If it turns out you don't have yeast or allergy, it still be a good idea to be tested for HSV. See numerous other message strings about the kind of HSV blood test you need; search for "HerpeSelect test" and "herpes diagnosis".
Good luck-- HHH, MD
You describe very typical symptoms of yeast infection. The problem is that in women, yeast is the single health problem most commonly confused with herpes--i.e., herpes being misdiagnosed as yeast. Still, your symptoms are so classical, and if a doc used the term "thrush" it's a good bet you really had yeast. Further, yeast often recurs or persists despite standard treatment--and if you had a borderline persistent infection, sex could irritate it and cause immediate symptoms just like you describe. Finally, diffuse redness, stinging and itching definitely don't sound like herpes, which normaly would cause discrete blisters, pimple-like lesions, or open sores. The symptom clues you got from participants on the herpes website don't sound especially helpful to me.
Bottom line: I think it's all yeast and that herpes is unlikely. Some yeast infections are resistant to standard therapy, especially if you happen to be in the 10% of cases caused by Candida glabrata, not the more common Candida albicans. You may need more prolonged treatment. But if you have been treated with the standard antifungal creams, another possibility is that you are allergic to it; so even though this implies yet another doctor visit, I think that's a good idea.
If it turns out you don't have yeast or allergy, it still be a good idea to be tested for HSV. See numerous other message strings about the kind of HSV blood test you need; search for "HerpeSelect test" and "herpes diagnosis".
Good luck-- HHH, MD
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.
