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Can Antibiotics allow for a harsh outbreak?

I recently had a case of prostatitis, went to the doctor and was given Cypro. Felt better in about 4 days. But then I had the worst hsv2 attack I have ever had. I am asymptomatic or have been as far as I know, I only found out that I had hsv2 after STD when I was scared a strip bar experience may have given me something. Silly me it was all just guilt. There was no vaginal, oral, or mucous membrane touching this testing was many years ago where all tests came back negative except for the HSV2 test which came back inconclusive but the doctor reviewing the test said there was a good chance I have it. I don't recall an outbreak in my life or maybe I thought they were simply rashes or something else. Now I believe there is no doubt. I feel emotionally horrible because I am married for 20+ years and now for sure I most likely have given this to my wife. Again she is also pretty much asymptomatic a long time ago she said she had itching and said there were some bumps but she ignored it because it went away in a week. I thought and she thought that could be anything, We never thought STD  I was holding to a bit of faith that maybe the Dr. was wrong since the test said inconclusive. Today I have this horrible burning in my legs, anus, and I developed a white spot that hurts inside my Penis it's in the urethra, I can see it. It burns when I urinate. I feel run down with body aches. I am more than sure this is herpes. Looks just like typical herpes but inside my urethra. It couldn't be much of anything else I have almost finished a full course of Cipro. I believe I caught this when I was a kid and was abused by an older person who had it. I know they had it because that person had a blister on their lip and as a kid no way for me to know to stop it. Weeks after I thought I scratched my Penis and figured maybe caught my Penis on the zipper. No real symptoms that were obvious for me to go to the Dr. I never reported the abuse and my wife has no clue about it. E don't talk about things like this. I don't want to delve into the abuse further, It is what it is, now I am simply looking for medical advice from the community. With all that said has anyone noticed that the use of antibiotics can cause harsh outbreaks or could it be my immune system was low since it was fighting the prostatitis which my doctor said was no big deal?
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207091 tn?1337709493
COMMUNITY LEADER
I'm confused about your testing (and sorry for missing that in your first post).

You had "high numbers" but it may be inconclusive? Can you get a copy of that test result?

The IgM is a totally unreliable test for herpes and shouldn't be done on adults. The concern is what the IgG says.

To be honest, if my husband came to me and said he just found out he had herpes, and has no idea where he got it from, he hasn't cheated, and it could have been from a traumatic experience in his childhood or from partners prior to me, I don't think it would be that hard for me to swallow.

Of course, we don't know that you have it yet. We do know that you have an incredible amount of guilt for what seems to be not your fault. You might have a pinched nerve, or your prostatitis is not cured.  I don't know what the white thing is, but have your doctor check it out. If you can't get copies of your test, ask for another one.

All of this can be answered easily. You just need to get the info.

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I have been meaning to get to the hospital to get a copy of my tests. In the mean time. I have a few very painful blister or pimple looking things that formed on my penis head. They really sting. In about a day or so they dried up and scabbed over. The scabs seem to have washed off in the shower. My penis is still very tender and I have heat feeling in my legs  and buttocks still. I discussed with my wife that i need to be tested again. She was upset not by the fact that I have herpes and passed it on to her but that I never discussed it before. She felt betrayed as we tell each other everything. She said you could have told me so I could have been tested. Man she's right, it may have been selfish of me to just agree with the doctor that heck no symptoms no worry. What sucks is the Dr. That did the test said if you have no symptoms there is nothing to worry about, live your life and forget about it.  I recall him saying all the tests said is I have been exposed to hsv2. I know I owe you my test numbers i will get them but right now the pain I am in physically and mentally is dragging me down. I have had these symptoms before but very subtle this has been the worst I can ever remember.
Okay, so listen. The best thing you can do is get to a doctor and see if they can swab these sores and see what they are. It may be too late, since they blistered and scabbed, and the scabs have come off, but give it a shot. If any more appear, call your doctor as soon as you see them, tell them you need to have a possible herpes sore tested, and need to be seen within 24 hours. Most places will get you in. If not, get to an urgent care center.

You don't owe me anything. Your wife, however, deserves all the info you can get, as do you.

If this is mentally dragging you down, ask your doctor for a referral to a counselor who is well versed in sexual issues (herpes isn't necessarily a sexual issue, but one who works with sexual issues is more likely to be well versed in STDs). Also, ask about one who is trained in working with victims of child sexual trauma.

You deserve to work through this, and get to a place of peace. Your wife does, too. You can be happy after herpes, if this is what you have.

If it's something else, you deserve to know that, too.
I did not get to the Doctor in time to have anything swabbed, my Dr. Thought there was no need for STD testing and thought if it is HSV2 it bothers me so little that all these years didn't even know I had it said. Don't worry about it. Next time we will swab it. I wasn't happy with the answer. Not wanting to discuss with my doctor anymore of this because to me it seemed embarrassing. I paid for a comprehensive STD test from a lab. I am waiting for the results and I will share them here. I also found it easier to pay for the tests than go find my old records. This way I get something up to date and if needed I can have something to compare. I will provide the info here when I get the results. I have questions regarding suppressive therapy if I do that and my wife doesn't is it worth it etc. So I will wait for my results before I ask these questions. May even pay for a doctors review.
I have my results positive for HSV2: HSV 2 IgG, Type \ Spec: 2.85 : Number is HIGH. 0.00-0.90 index01. positive = >1.09
I screened for a 12 panel test, from HIV, to Tritch, all negative. This is good thing I guess. My wife is still very angry she barely speaks to me but I am slowly getting her to come back. She let me kiss her hand yesterday. This has to be so hard for her to take. Anyways auntiejessie now that i am as sure as can be that i am positive i have HSv2 i want to begin questions about management. Natural vs medical and what can happen if one partner goes under successive therapy and another does not. I will start new threads for this I am interested in your view because you mentioned a partner or significant other.
Okay, so it looks like you have hsv2. Continue to work with a doctor - and find a new one if you aren't comfortable with this one - about your symptoms, as I still think some are related to the prostatitis.

I'm sorry about your wife. What is she so angry about? You didn't know you had this. It doesn't have to be this hard to take - couples face this all the time.

As far as suppressive therapy and management - the only things that help prevent transmission are medications like valtrex or acyclovir. Those have been studied and proven effective. Since you are male, and your wife is female, these are the rates of transmission per year (it assumes intercourse about 2-3x week):

If you:

Avoid sex during an outbreak - about 8-10% chance of transmission

Use condoms OR daily suppressive therapy (and avoid sex during an outbreak) - about a 4-5% chance of transmission

Use condoms AND daily suppressive therapy (and avoid sex during an outbreak) - about a 2-3% chance of transmission

She should also be tested with a type specific IgG blood test. If she comes back positive for hsv1, you don't need to worry about that - hsv2 protects you against hsv1. Hsv1 doesn't protect her from hsv2, though.

You've been married for 20 years. This may be difficult now, but really, if you plan to stay married, it should end up being a blip in the big picture.

Don't let yourselves get caught up in the stigma of all this. You have herpes. It's a virus. That's all. It's not a moral statement, it doesn't determine your worth.

If you haven't before, read the Herpes Handbook, and have your wife read it. It's written by Terri Warren, one of the world's leading experts on herpes. It's free, and you can find it here - https://westoverheights.com/herpes/the-updated-herpes-handbook/

No need to start new threads - if we keep it all in one place, it's easier for me to follow. :)


Auntiejessie  I really want to go under suppressive therapy. For as long as I remember I have symptoms of hemroids I went to the doctor once and they told me I had no hemorrhoids. Also for years now, I have thought that I have urinary infections I go get checked and nothing. This all has to be related to HSV2. The week of the episode that woke me up to the possibility of herpes, I had prostatitis but also got into a fight with my boss and I recall being so stressed out that my chin was shaking. My heart rate reached 200, This may have killed my immune system for a bit. I got a cold and strep throat.  In the middle of it all though I got the burning legs and then the burning inside my urethra this all has been the worst episode I ever had, these pains feel like fire. I developed itchy rashes on my hands too. I am guessing I may have unknowingly caught herpes there too. If suppressive therapy helps all of these symptoms then I will know they are all related. I am going to see my doctor again and have a sit down to discuss solutions.
As an update, my wife is still wickedly soar and almost in denial. She believes my escapade at the strip bar had more to deal with it and that I may have had sex there. I continue to tell her I did not but HSV2 positive doesn't help any. I am interested in finding a marriage counselor that specializes in STDs as you mentioned but I have no clue where to find one and much less believe she will ever accompany me to one but I want to do it for myself. She hasn't left me though and I gave her some flowers and she didn't throw them away.
Also, I am feeling a bit depressed over all of this but as you said this does not define me. I am trying to begin a regiment to keep myself healthy. I am joining a gym. Changing my eating habits, beginning to meditate, ensure my sleep is enough every night. I am even whitening my teeth just to make me feel better. I know I can't best this virus because we are now stuck with each other but I don't have to make its stay pleasurable. Is there any creams I can use on my groin on a regular basis that I can spread liberally without concern of spreading this more? I believe a few years back I thought I had hemorrhoids and spread that cream and now I have spread the virus I have way more painful spots than ever before.
Okay, so first - everything that happens in the genital area isn't herpes, even if you have herpes.

Second - herpes infects nerve groups. Genital herpes infects the sacral ganglia, which means that the entire genital area is already infected. The sacral ganglia covers the area that boxer shorts cover.

You can't "spread" it from your penis to your anus, for example - it's already there. Some people get outbreaks in one spot over and over, some get them in multiple locations. Your antibodies will also protect you from getting it in a different location on your body, like your eyes.

You can not get herpes on your hands. The skin is too thick for the virus to penetrate. Your itchy rashes are likely something else. Herpes is not a systemic (all over your body) infection in anyone other than newborns who get it during childbirth, or perhaps those with serious immune issues, like AIDS (not HIV, but AIDS), advanced cancer patients on chemo, etc. Even then, it's rare.

Your hemorrhoids could have been hemorrhoids, or it could have been herpes. Hard to know now.

I don't know the specifics of your diagnosis with prostatitis, but I'm assuming they did some pretty thorough work ups, etc. I'd believe that diagnosis, and when you talk to your doctor, mention that you are having similar symptoms.

I do think you should try suppressive medication. Your wife is presumably negative, and you need to know what's herpes and what isn't.

I also 100%. wholeheartedly agree with the counseling. If your wife won't go, go by yourself. Ask your doctor for a referral or google counselors in your area with a specialty in sexual health or sexual abuse. Contact your local rape crisis center and see if they can help. Good for you on this decision!







Auntiejessie I have a question for you. I asked for a copy of my medical records and I have to say they are hard to read, but I found my lab result in 2008 where they tested me for herpes. My doctor then must have had some concerns. The result was equivocal. It says Hsv 2 igg : (H) 0.95  I see a note of no current active infection as IGM is <1:10  same as the reference range.  So my doctor at that time suspected old infection or no infection. So here is my question. Is this when I could have been infected? Since the igg is so low as it lists as equivocal and now my recent results say high? My doctors who have tested me in the past have told me that I don't have anything not to worry about it. Could past test come back the same equivical and have caused the confusion of me not having anything, I understand there is a margin for error here but if my theory is correct and I have had this since I was a kid why are these numbers so low and now so high? I suspect the high number is because I have a current infection as I still have pain when I urinate. My mind is starting to go to some dark places. Could I have really caught this at a strip bar and my wife is right? I have only had sex with 3 people the person who took advantage of me when I was young, a girlfriend before my wife and my wife. I never placed my penis, mouth on any other the women at the strip bar. The worst that happened is a stripper did rub her genitals then mine but I doubt an infection could have been caught that way.
It's possible, but you are never going to know for sure exactly when you got it.

Nothing you did at the strip club puts you at risk for herpes. However you got it, it's not from the strip club. Maybe your wife is mad that you went to the strip club and had some activity with the stripper, so in her mind, she wants to punish you even more for it, and "omg you got herpes from the strip club!" is a good way to do that, but you did nothing that puts you at risk for herpes there.  

So to me, there are two separate issues - herpes, and the strip club. You'll have to deal with the repercussions of the strip club. I'd be mad if my husband/bf/whatever played around with a stripper, too.

Herpes is separate because you couldn't have gotten it from that encounter.

I hope you are following up on the counseling.
Auntjessie,  it's going to be 2 months now and I keep getting repeat episodes this has been the worst. It's the reason why it killed my denial about having herpes. It just won't stop.  This is very strange but I blame the antibiotic specifically Cypro this is the second time I have been given this drug and have an unbelievable reaction to it. This time my herpes has been reactivated to an abnormal rate. I found this study that talks about antibiotics waking up the virus in some individuals. I know I am not nuts. I have had an outbreak week after,  week, after week. I am a healthy individual about 5'9" 210lb  all my blood work comes out normal. It may also explain why there is a really high count on my IGG vs previous ones which usually came out as equivocal. I am pending another visit to the MD to get on Valtrex.  I am writing this so others may know and not freak out. It could be that an antibiotic in certain individuals that may be causing a violent set of episodes. I am losing weight and don't really feel hungry lately just another symptom.  I will continue to follow up with my Dr. I know my body will regulate itself soon. Once I am episode free I will write back. For now to get on suppressive therapy and convince my Dr. I need it.

outbreakhttps://www.reuters.com/article/us-drugs-herpes/study-links-severe-drug-reaction-to-herpes-virus-idUSTRE67O4QQ20100825
You absolutely need to get into your doctor promptly. Whether it's this DRESS reaction to the antibiotic, or something else going on, you need to be evaluated. I don't know what "pending another visit" means, but get in soon.

See an infectious disease doctor if you can get into one. Feel better soon!
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I am thoroughly convinced now that I have herpes. I was denial for so long thinking maybe I had a rash or it was normal to sometimes have the head of my penis feel a bit raw. Today I feel similar to what many have described as the symptoms of their first infection it has never been this bad before and truthfully I am not stressed because I have felt these symptoms before just very mild almost not noticeable. I have an angry hot rash on my bottom hard to see any bumps though. The worst I have ever had, In the past, I always thought I wiped too hard and maybe got a small infection I ignored it because in a week or so it was gone. Once or twice I tecal getting a large bump on my penis when I grind against my wife with jeans on and thought it was a skin burn from rubbing to hard. Today it's the worst its ever been, when looking inside my urethra where I feel something annoying, I see most of it pink but there, it's a white bump very visible in there not pink at all. This doesn't seem normal. The worst of it all, my energy level is at about a 4, I feel like I just want to sleep. My legs and thighs feel sunburned but I have not been in the sun. Now I am feeling sad because this means that I for sure have this and have passed this on to my wife who before me never had a sexual partner. I know I did not do it on purpose I just feel horrible because she doesn't deserve it. Should I tell her all of this? I am scared it may hurt our marriage. Should I keep it until her doctor says hey look what I found. She constantly gets skin rashes that she blames on getting pregnant 16 years ago but now I am thinking it may be something else. The rashes are red and bumpy and they itch her a lot. They are in places I frequently kiss her like her like her breasts neck and so on. No cream she has used helps her, she has tried steroid and beauty creams. But the rash goes away in about 2 to 4 weeks
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So first, this whole question can be put to rest with some testing. Ask your doctor for a type specific IgG blood test.

Now, if you have genital herpes, you are only infectious from your genitals. If you have oral herpes, you are only infectious from your mouth. If you think you have genital herpes, you won't transmit it to your wife by kissing her anywhere.

Also, the skin on her neck, breasts and other places is too thick for the virus to penetrate. Rashes can be caused by lots of things, and that she has had it for so long, and it keeps recurring means she needs to see her doctor.

Some of your symptoms can be caused by prostatitis, so follow up with your doctor about those. Also google Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome and see if those fit some of your symptoms.

You can have genital herpes type 1, if you mean that the older person who abused you performed oral sex on you, but if you have sores, your doctor can culture those. If they do, make sure they type it. It does you little good to only know you have herpes, but not which type. If the person who abused you did more than just oral, and there was genital to genital contact, you can have genital herpes type 2. (The number indicates the strain, not the location.)

In any case, if this is herpes, which doesn't sound a lot like it to me, your marriage can survive it. Many people have herpes and never know it because they have no symptoms or get mild symptoms they dismiss as something else.

Again, though, this isn't sounding like herpes, and a simple blood test will tell you if you even have either type.

Auntie Jessie, thanks for the response you help a lot of people here and for that you are an angel. The reason why I mentioned I have a good feeling about having Herpes is because of an std test that was done years ago as I mentioned in my first post. Where they did the Igg Igm and some other blood tests. No cultures were taken because for the most part, all I have ever had is sunburn feeling in my lower body.  They came back with high numbers for HSV2 and zero numbers for HSV1. I have had what could have been soars in my groind but never ever put these together because it seemed like an ingrown hair or painful pimple. I tend to get those. Since the doctor told me I had Hsv2 but the test said something about inconclusive and I have never had symptoms like the kind you see on the internet that give you the yup that's Herpes so I ignored it. This was also the advise somewhat from the doctor he said you may  have hsv2 but with no symptoms we can't be 100% sure.  I liked the last part of his answer so I went about my life. I was married for years at this point and no issues or complaints from my wife so maybe selfishly I ignored it. Yes, I agree that some of the symptoms may be caused by prostatitis but after the third day on the antibiotic, I was whistling Dixie. I felt great almost all symptoms had subsided. Then on the 10th day of the antibiotic my last pill down the hatch. Later that evening a burning feeling on my rear, back and front of my legs and burning in my anus. A Burning in my urethra then felt lethargic and crappy. These symptoms intensified feirecly. No visible soars tho and days later I see this white thing in my urethra where my penis has become very sensitive. Today I started to feel better the symptoms have gone from fierce and firey to sunburn and scratchy. You are right I am going to ask my doctor for another blood test or go to a private clinic. I have been reading a lot about Herpes and I am not scared as this is a very common illness and manageable. It sucks though I feel guilty I may have unknowingly brought this to my marrage. I know I could have caught it anywhere, anytime I was intimate or sexually active. I have only had 3 sexual partners including my childhood. It's going to be a tough pill to swallow for my wife though.
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