I'm 17 and been with the same person for a year. For a while I had been noticably itchy and I assumed it was a yeast infection since there was also discharge from time to time. I'm not really sure if this has anything to do with things but I ended up using cream meant to help yest infection (forgot what it was called) then a few day later I (as dumb as this sounds) used nair to help me shave then a day later I ended up having sex with my boyfriend. For what I seem to remember things seemed to be fine but I was still kind of itchy then suddenly I was sore and when I peed I let out a scream or had to hold one back. I decided to look and see what was going on my first initial thought was maybe I got cut or something when having sex but then again why so late after an I noticing it. I automatically go to my phone and google it and of course the first thing that pops up is herpes I looked through the pictures and it didn't really seem to look like what I had. Initially I didn't see any blisters just a few flat sores that were white kind of like my skin was scraped off so then I started think maybe I chemically burned my self. A few day go buy and it starts to get worse now I start to see blisters and sores and my labia was swollen I couldn't walk correctly, I tested up every time I used the bathroom so I barely peed, and I couldn't even sit at times. Still thinking it was a likely possibility of a chemical burn and too embarrassed to tell my mom I made an appointment at Family Planning. I described what had happened and the doctor too a look and swabbed for herpes. Not even a minuet into the exam I say is it likely it's a chemical burn rather than herpes and she didn't hesitate to say that she highly doubt it a chemical burn it herpes. I instantly wanted to die. She told me that I had a mild test infection and that the sore were fresh which was good cuz if the results are negative then "I probably don't have herpes" but she was pretty positive it was. I started balling and I haven't stopped for the past three days when I'm alone. Every free second I'm looking up stuff on my situation which is how I found this thread and it gave me some hope and eases my mind a little. Deep down I feel like there's a good chance the doctors right and I'm trying to prepare myself for the call but I just can't stop thinking about how I could have prevented this or how my life is ruined which I know isn't exactly true but I didn't think that I would be 17 with having been with one guy and already have and STD that oh isn't curable....I just don't know what to think and I'm dying waiting for the results it's the scariest thing in my life and I would be so thankful if it's not herpes. I know a lot of people have it and it's not really that big of a problem but I'm so sorry for anyone that has to go through this much pain and emotional distress.
Hey, idk if you’ll see this but I saw where you posted 3 days ago so I figured i’d try and ease your mind the best I could. I posted on this forum probably 2 months ago freaking the heck out about what was going on with me. Like less than 48 hours after sex with this guy (used a condom but it broke), I came down with fever and chills. I had gotten realllyyy run down that same weekend we had sex (2 hours of sleep, out in the hot sun) so I figured I would end up getting sick. So when I got a fever I wasn’t surprised. Well, not long after I noticed I was kind of swollen down there. I got a hand mirror and was horrified when I saw like 3 tiny ulcers. It completely traumatized me, and I honestly can say I haven’t been the same ever since that moment. I’ve been a complete nervous wreck.
I went to a nurse practitioner at a health department, and of course she told me it looked like herpes. Well, I wasn’t completely convinced, and even she said she didn’t think I got it from the guy I recently had sex with since it came on so fast. She thought I had probably had it dormant in my body for a while. She prescribed me antivirals and bactroban, because she was concerned that there were boils on my body as well, and a boil RIGHT next to my vagina. My ulcers didn’t hurt to the touch, though, which baffled my doctor. Welll, the next few Days were hell. Couldn’t pee, nothing worked for me. Finally found a really awkward way using a water hose OUTSIDE MY HOUSE (I live in the country thank god). Anywho, the midicne aha gave me didn’t seem to help at all. It took 3 weeks to fully heal. I never got tested for herpes. I have no medical insurance, so a $120 blood test for this 22 year old wasn’t an option. Wellllll, 2 weeks later, sure enough. Here came another problem.
This time, I had ulcers ALL OVER my mouth. Couldn’t eat, talk, nothing. I also somehow developed them in the back of my throat. (??) also, I developed a huge boil/cystic pimple on my cheek. It was horrible and made my entire face swell. I started feeling fever type symptoms again, so I instantly started looking for ulcers down there, even though I think it had to have been related to that thing on my face. Sue enough, there was a tiny dark brown scab looking thing on the inside of my vagina. I was like wtf but instantly started worrying. Sure enough, that thing exploded into something that BAFFLED my doctor. When I went in to her, she honestly had no clue what was going on with me. This thing on my vagina was like a reddish mass... she said it reminded her of chancres you get was syphilis, and there was only that one. It was probably the size of a dime but didn’t hurt when she touched it with a q-tip which confused her. So she gave me antivirals, which didn’t seem to work (again) but she did have a nurse give me two HUGE shots of penicillin, which was for in case I had syphilis (that’s how u treat syphilis). Anyway, long story short, after those massive doses of penicillin, my throat ulcers were gone in 3 days, my mouth ulcers were better, the boil began to heal, and the mass type thing on my vagina flattened out into an ulcer which again caused trouble peeing. But I find it odd how it flattened out RIGHT after those shots.
I haven’t had a single boil since those shots so I’m almost positive I had a staph infection on my skin. Also haven’t had any bad breakouts of mouth ulcers, throat ulcers, OR genital ulcers now for almost 2 months now.
Was what I was suffering with herpes? Idk. It might have been, it may not have been. If it comes back, I’ll break down and get tested forreal this time. But I’m just relaxing and enjoying being able to urinate pain free (never taking that for granted again).
As for sex, I haven’t had any since I broke out the first time in September. I’ve felt dirty and unclean for the longest time, not knowing what was wrong with me. I felt like I have no control over my body and still feel check my vagina with a hand mirror twice a day to make sure I’m good with no new things starting.
I feel like I’m a herpes expert. I know everything there is to know and I wish I had NEVER been as careless as I had been, regardless if that’s what I have or not. I guess what I’m trying to ultimately say is, anyone can be unlucky. It’s not just the promiscuous.. hell its usually the most innocent that get sh*t like this, if what you and me have is herpes.
But there is also MANY other things it could be. So many. People are just so used to associating Genital ulcers with herpes, because a lot of the time that’s wht it is.
Regardless of what mine and your outcomes are, I wish you the best. I know we’ll get through this. If it is herpes, it’s just a dumba$$ skin condition anyway. It’s wayyy more stigmatized than it should be. There’s so much worse we could have contracted (like HIV).
Hit me up on here if you need someone to talk to!! XO
I had a very similar situation to the OP's experience. I had two swabs that came back negative for herpes when my body was presenting every symptom of an initial outbreak (I was positive for yeast and was treated for that though). I have a lot of other genital issues going on aside from that outbreak I had, like pain during sex, vaginal dryness, itchiness as a result of dryness, and thinning of the vaginal wall on one side.
I have no idea if all of these symptoms are related or if I have multiple things going on at once. But I am still at a loss as to what those lesions were. Multiple doctors thought it was herpes. But two negative swabs, and also having had the same partner for 6 years it wouldn't really make sense.
I am just really confused and frustrated with the uncertainty of what's going on. I am scared for my life of having another outbreak because it was so excruciatingly painful. If anyone has any advice or experiences to share with what it could have possibly been if it wasn't herpes, I'd love to hear it.