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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Herpes / November 2006blood test for herpes
Well, I don't know how this happened... My husband and I just got married a month ago. We honeymooned at a house that is only 2 years old and had a whirlpool bath. A week back from the honeymoon and I had my first yeast infection in about 12 years. A few days later he was very sore and crusty around the tip of his penis and it was just confirmed yesterday that he has herpes. Is there -any- chance that his herpes was contracted through the bathtub? It occurs to us that a recirculating water system like a whirlpool would be very hard to clean, and, unlike a hot tub, the temperature is not kept particularly warm so bacteria might not get killed. We have been partners for about a year and a half and all of a sudden we have had this pair of medical problems. Herpes is a sneaky disease and we both might have been exposed previously but he has never had a sore of any kind and I have had infrequent single "pimples" but nothing like people describe. When I was in college there was a night when my boyfriend woke me up laughing because he thought I must have been having a wild dream because I was breathing so heavily. It turned out that I had a very high fever that was never diagnosed and went away in a couple of days. The useless student infirmary was saying it was mono but it just went away. There were no vaginal or other herpes-like symptoms. This was in 1982. That boyfriend was once diagnosed with warts - not herpes. He was not promiscuous and neither was I. Heck, I have too many questions for one topic. The main thing I really want to know is this: seeing as it has been years since the possibility of herpes for me, would a blood test be able to detect if herpes is, or has ever been, in my system? My husband is not concerned with assigning blame but I feel awful. I think that I kind of stuck my head in the sand since there is so much misinformation out there. I hate to think that I have brought this into our marriage. Thanks for any help. LL Hi LL, Welcome to the group. I'll comment below: > Well, I don't know how this happened... That's not uncommon. :) > My husband and I just got married a month ago. Congratulations! >We honeymooned at a > house that is only 2 years old and had a whirlpool bath. A week back > from the honeymoon and I had my first yeast infection in about 12 > years. How do you know it was a yeast infection? Did you go to a doctor, or self diagnose? Mild herpes outbreaks are often mistaken for yeast infections in women. You could have been having herpes outbreaks all this time. A few days later he was very sore and crusty around the tip of > his penis and it was just confirmed yesterday that he has herpes. How was it confirmed? >Is > there -any- chance that his herpes was contracted through the bathtub? Probably not. The herpes virus is very delicate and doesn't live outside the body for more than a few seconds--unless conditions are perfect, and then it will live a few seconds longer. Soap and water easily kill it. > It occurs to us that a recirculating water system like a whirlpool > would be very hard to clean, and, unlike a hot tub, the temperature is > not kept particularly warm so bacteria might not get killed. Herpes is a virus and not a bacteria. >We have > been partners for about a year and a half and all of a sudden we have [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > previously but he has never had a sore of any kind and I have had > infrequent single "pimples" but nothing like people describe. Unless you've both had a herpes blood test, then you really have no idea if either of you had herpes prior to your relationship. >When I > was in college there was a night when my boyfriend woke me up laughing [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > boyfriend was once diagnosed with warts - not herpes. He was not > promiscuous and neither was I. Unless that boyfriend had a herpes test, you won't have any idea if he had it. My boyfriend had warts and herpes...and guess what...then so did I. :( > Heck, I have too many questions for one topic. The main thing I really > want to know is this: seeing as it has been years since the > possibility of herpes for me, would a blood test be able to detect if > herpes is, or has ever been, in my system? Herpes blood tests test for herpes antibodies. If you have the virus, you have antibodies. It takes about 12 to 16 weeks for a person's body to build up enough antibodies for accurate testing. >My husband is not concerned > with assigning blame but I feel awful. I think that I kind of stuck my > head in the sand since there is so much misinformation out there. I > hate to think that I have brought this into our marriage. I can understand how you feel. But take a cue from your husband and don't worry about it. What a great guy you have there! Just make sure that you have a blood test to find out if you really do have it. Your husband might be the one with herpes and not you. Also, if either of you have ever had a cold sore, then you have herpes. Oral herpes gets passed on to the genitals through oral sex. Oh, also, find out if your husband has type 1 or type 2. It's actually kind of important to know. Keep asking questions and we'll keep answering. Take care, ar LL, Herpes is not spread through hot tubs. However, Pseudomonas bacteria live in hot tubs so I suppose there is a chance that it could be that. None of your "yeast infection" or his "discharge" symptoms sound like herpes, but you'll want a doctor to verify this. If he got a blood test, was it type-specific? Most people will test positive for HSV-1 so this may be a factor. Talk to your physician about this. > Well, I don't know how this happened... > [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > > LL Hi Eric! > LL, > > Herpes is not spread through hot tubs. However, Pseudomonas bacteria > live in hot tubs so I suppose there is a chance that it could be that. > None of your "yeast infection" or his "discharge" symptoms sound like > herpes, but you'll want a doctor to verify this. Actually, the yeast infection could have been a mild outbreak. Maybe. Of course a doc would be the one to say for sure. I have had mild OB's like that before myself and that's what I thought it was too. Wanda > If he got a blood test, was it type-specific? Most people will test > positive for HSV-1 so this may be a factor. Talk to your physician [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > > > > LL >A week back >from the honeymoon and I had my first yeast infection in about 12 >years. Do you know for sure it was yeast? Sometimes the symptoms are hard to differentiate from Herpes. >A few days later he was very sore and crusty around the tip of >his penis and it was just confirmed yesterday that he has herpes. With a culture type test? (a blood test probably wouldn't show positive unless he'd been infected at least 12-16 weeks) >Is >there -any- chance that his herpes was contracted through the bathtub? No. >not kept particularly warm so bacteria might not get killed. Herp isn't a bacteria, it's a virus. And it can't survive in bathtub water no matter what the temp is, hot or cold. >he has never had a sore of any kind and I have had >infrequent single "pimples" but nothing like people describe. Most people don't have symptoms at all or at least no symptoms that can be identified as Herpes. The only way to diagnose those folks is with a blood test. Btw, an "infrequent single pimple" can't be ruled out as Herp. >The useless >student infirmary was saying it was mono but it just went away. There >were no vaginal or other herpes-like symptoms. This was in 1982. In 1982 there were no blood tests available. At least not accurate ones. And back then there was even more misinformation about Herp than there is now. >That >boyfriend was once diagnosed with warts - not herpes. He was not >promiscuous and neither was I. He could easily have been hsv positive though, but asymptomatic. It's very very common. And by the way, it wouldn't matter whether either of you was promiscuous or not. >seeing as it has been years since the >possibility of herpes for me, would a blood test be able to detect if >herpes is, or has ever been, in my system? Yes. Definitely. M2 > >A week back > >from the honeymoon and I had my first yeast infection in about 12 [quoted text clipped - 50 lines] > > M2 Hi everyone. Original poster here... Thanks for all of the feedback. My husband was diagnosed with a culture. They are treating him with something for the herpes itself (5 pills at once for 10 days) and with an antibiotic for, I guess, a secondary infection. He is still sore and red but almost all of the crusty is gone. We haven't called about the type I vs type II but we will. I have an appointment for a blood test next Tuesday. I'll post when I know the results. Thanks! LL >They are treating him with something for the herpes itself (5 >pills at once for 10 days) Before he throws all five of those pills down at once, get him to check his instructions one more time, just to be on the safe side. The usual dosage for 200mg Acyclovir (and sometimes 400mg pills) is 5 times a day for 10 days (sometimes longer). That works out to one pill every 4 hours during the day. Not all five at once. Or maybe he's being treated with something else, but it wouldn't hurt to check. M2 Hi, Call today to get the type 1 or 2 info from the lab. Unless the doctor requests to have the culture typed, they won't do it. But labs keep the culture for a bit so if you call early enough, the lab can run the test. ar >> >A week back >> >from the honeymoon and I had my first yeast infection in about 12 [quoted text clipped - 63 lines] > Thanks! > LL > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 71 lines] > > Thanks! > > LL Hello! OP again with a follow-up. My blood test came back positive for HSV2. My husband's original culture was positive for HSV2 and his subsequent blood test was "positive for a new outbreak of HSV2". The doctor was specific about calling it a new outbreak (the word may not have been "outbreak" but the emphasis was on "new"). My poor hubby was finally comfortable having an erection by the middle of last week, but still gets very sore very quickly. I cannot believe how long this outbreak has lasted!! Our big goal now is not to get anything on our mouths. I know we can deal with it but we both work in forms of customer service and it is just easier if our newly-discovered status stays private. Thanks for all of the help and information. LL > Our big goal now is not to get anything on our mouths. I know we can > deal with it but we both work in forms of customer service and it is > just easier if our newly-discovered status stays private. > > Thanks for all of the help and information. > LL the good news is that type 2 generally doesn't infect the oral area. But always proceed with caution. ar >My blood test came back positive >for HSV2. Well, the good news is, since you're both infected with the same type, you're not subject to the worry of transfer as you otherwise would be. >My husband's original culture was positive for HSV2 and his >subsequent blood test was "positive for a new outbreak of HSV2". The >doctor was specific about calling it a new outbreak (the word may not >have been "outbreak" but the emphasis was on "new"). I know "primary" and I know "initial" but I thought every outbreak could be considered a "new" one. Including the recurrent ones. I'm not sure what he meant by "new". >I cannot believe >how long this outbreak has lasted!! 2-3 weeks isn't uncommon. How long has it lasted? >Our big goal now is not to get anything on our mouths. That's not likely, but be careful for now anyway. The longer you both have it, the less likely it becomes. The antibodies you build up over time will protect you from a new infection in other locations. No guarantees, especially for people without normal immune systems, but it usually works that way. M2 |
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