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HERPES
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From: Jackie
To: drgian
Subject: I don't know what it is ???????
To Dr. Gian:
Two weeks ago, I had unprotected sex with a guy, now i have this like type mosquito bites because is like a red bump and it itches. It appeared first on my face but I put triple antibiotic on it and it didn't work, the next day, I put pimple cream and It didn't work either, it stayed the same. However, the one on my face doesn't itch. After the one on my face, one came up on the side of one of my breast, and that's when I became really concerned. After one came up like in my lower admonen area and another one on top of my vagina. It's not close to the inside of my vagina, is like there on top. The one on my breast and the ones on the lower admonen itch, but only a little bit and it doesn't hurt at all. Ive researched but i don't find out what can this be???? Please contact me as soon as possible so i can have some hints on what this may be. I also wanted to know, because I'm 16, a girl, and i don't want my parents to know about this at all, if I could go somewhere and get a confidential std test??? I don't know what to do ???
Hi Jackie,
If, by now, the blisters have gone away you may want to consider the possibility of Herpes type1. It may or it may not be related to the intercourse because type 1 is very common in adolescent children and you could have been infected in the past and this could be a flare up. Or this could be a primary Herpes infection since 30% of Genital Herpes is due also by type 1. Be vigilant, observe and see what happens but so far do not jump to conclusions. You can always test for herpes later on, maybe in 3-4 months and see if you do have antibodies for type 1 or 2 herpes simplex. Let me know how this situation evolves
Be well.
Dr. Gian
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From: Kathy
To: drgian
Subject:
Hi dr grian
I cant seem to pinpoint an answer to this question: how long can herpes stay dormant for before an outbreak? Ive heard that once you are infected you will usually have an outbreak within 30 days. Ive been with the same partner -- only about 10 times of protected sex and the rest oral -- for 2 and a half years. He has not been with anyone else, either…. What are the chances that herpes has been dormant in me for over 2 and a half years or longer (sexually active for 6 years) and also, that I have passed it to my partner and it also has been dormant in him for these 2.5 years?
--helpme
Hi Kathy,
Dormant Herpes....How long before it shows up? Hmmmm!. Searching for certainty with viruses behavior could be almost as disappointing as searching for certainty in human behavior. Have you noticed that in Medicine we always use "ranges, may be's, 92-99% and so on". Whereas a path of one's life may be determined by the presence of a virus, it is never predictable.
So I invite you to give that up. Get tested if you wish. Learn more about the virus and keep yourself and your partner in good shape. You probably have more to do with the virus behavior than you think. Takes two to tango...right? The virus and you. Some people do not even know to have been infected, some people have a flare up every month. How is that as a range for Herpes?
Thanks for your concern.
Dr. Gian
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From:
To: drgian
Subject: Herpes among wrestlers
My son is a senior wrestler in southern Oregon. Within the last two weeks several of the area wrestling teams have contracted herpes. One team postponed their tournaments. The other teams are using a wipe on body protector and supposedly screening their wrestlers. My sons' team is very concerned about contracting herpes (and I agree). They want to have their entire team tested for the virus. I wonder if the viruses antibodies can be present and the subject not have the active virus. Is there a test that can help these wrestlers be comfortable that they are not vulnerable from each other. What preventative action can they take to help insure that they will not contract herpes. several of these wrestlers have an excellent shot at a state title and I would hate to see them miss the opportunity if there was a way to give them peace of mind.
I am a survivor of Herpes zoster/simplex encephalitis, iridis, keratitis, conjunctivitis. I know that I will always have the antibodies present for herpes. Couldn't that be true for someone who was exposed and yet does not have the active virus?
thank you for your time.
Hi,
Yes, the case of "Herpes Gladiatorum", a well known case of Herpes present in wrestlers because of the close skin contact, friction and the sharing of the virus. It is especially complicated by the fact that – although this is usually a Herpes Type 1 infection – the carrier of the virus may shed the virus even when the skin appears to be perfectly normal. This happens 10 percent of the year. Abrasions and underlying skin conditions increase the likelihood of acquiring infection. Consequently, areas of the body prone to direct skin contact and abrasion, such as the head, upper extremities, and trunk, are the usual sites of infection Herpes Gladiatorum is an "occupational hazard" of wrestling.
Although therapy may allow some wrestlers to return to competition sooner, wrestlers with active infections should be barred and disqualified from physical contact during practice and competition until their scabs are dry and they have no further vesicles, open ulcers, or drainage.
The best way to find out if someone has been exposed to and has an infection of Herpes, either Type 1 or 2, is to take an antibodies test. The dynamic of the serology is a little bit complicated by the fact that each of us builds antibodies according to his/her time table. Therefore we use a range from two weeks to four months from exposure. One should periodically check for the presence of Herpes antibodies. The presence of antibodies is sign of infection even though a person may never have shown symptoms of the disease.
Thanks for your concern
Dr.Gian
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From: Tanya
To: Dr.Gian
Subject: herpes and my daughter
My husband and I have herpes and my 4 year old daughter has been getting real red in her private area. I am concerned that she has in some way contracted it from us by toilet, us wiping her when she uses the bathroom or something like that. I had a blood test done on her at the doctors office. The first part came back fine but the second number came back just slightly elevated. What does this mean?
Hi Tanya,
There are several tests for Herpes. The culture of the blisters content, if present, is the gold standard, though there are many false negatives. Blood tests for Herpes are also available. They are done to detect the presence of antibodies to the virus which appear during the acute phase of infection, usually within a week from contact. They increase to a peak level and then slowly fall down to the point of being no longer detectable while a second class of antibodies start to appear. This second group of antibodies stays with you the rest of your life as a memory of the infection. There are two small windows of time, the first few days and at the end of the second/ third month when you could get some false negative tests. The is why is better to retest one or more time to be sure. Since the test involves both type 1 and type 2 what you get is a ratio of the two whose normal value is between 0.00 and 0.90 . Between 0.91 and 1.09 the test is equivocal and over 1.09 the test is positive.. When one does the test for "long term memory antibodies" also called IgG antibodies, which appear in your blood between 2 weeks to three months from the date of suspected contact and stay with you for the rest of our life, one can also do a typology and clearly distinguish between type 1 and type 2.
Give a big hug to your daughter for me.
Dr. Gian
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From: Ruan
To: drgian
Subject: Question?
Hi Dr. Gian,
My name is Ruan and I had a question about me possibly being infected with an std. I recently had sex, to be exact its been exactly19 days ago. Yesterday I just noticed some small little round pimple looking bumps on the tip of my penis, right now they don't hurt, and it does not hurt when I urinate, but I feel kind of tingling sensation, and just a little bit of irritation, but I think thats also some what due the frequent feeling and touching of the bumps. I would really appreciate your advise and suggestion as to what this might be, I really hope to hear from you soon as to what I should do about this. Hope to hear fron u soon, thank you.
Ruan
Hi Ruan,
By the time you read this email it is probably late to get a Herpes culture of the small little round pimples but that is what you should do if this happens again. See a Doctor, and get a swab culture of the pimples content. If your are lucky you get to know not only if you are positive or negative for Herpes but, in case it is positive, you will find out if it is type 1 or 2 with no additional testing. There is however a caveat. The Doctor only has a limited interval of time to get a good culture, may be one or two days of the entire cycle of the sores and by the time cultures reach the lab many of the viruses die. Therefore culture have a high degree of false negatives. But it is still the gold standard in primary Herpes infection. Later on you can always get an antibody test, of the type specific kind. You can find more info in this web page under Herpes.
Good luck Ruan.
Dr. Gian
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