I am 22 and I contracted genital HSV1 about 5 weeks ago from my boyfriend's cold sore. I was initially very, very sad because I've been only with my one partner so I had hoped to be safe from contracting an STD. This message board has been a tremendous help to me.

My question is this: My initial outbreak began around December 16 and ended around Christmas. I also had a concurrent yeast infection that I took Diflucan for.
On Monday, January 11 I was afraid I might be experiencing prodomal symptoms so I went to my ob/gyn. She didn't see anything but she also ran a yeast culture which came back negative. I considered that I might be imagining the prodomal symptoms because I was feeling a lot of anxiety about it.
On Friday, January 15 though I noticed a bleeding line (like a cut) on the inside of the labia. I called my ob/gyn and spoke to a nurse practicioner who told me that sometimes HSV-1 can appear as a cut instead of a blister or lesion. I took the 5-day Acyclovir from January 15-20. I experienced a little bit of pain when washing the affected area but other than that I thought the outbreak was probably "aborted" with the Acyclovir.
Now it's January 25 and I have another line or cut on the same labia. I'm not sure what to think of this. Could it be the last outbreak still healing? Is it a new outbreak? Is it just a cut? I do have a sore throat now so I suppose my immune system could be down, but it seems odd to have 3 outbreaks within a 5-week period.

I considered trying to get in to see my ob/gyn again, but I'm a little worried about crying "wolf." I'm thinking maybe the safest thing to do is just to be patient and wait it out so I can learn a little bit about my symptoms.

A second question I have is, if these two episodes (January 15 and January 25) are in fact recurrences, does that mean that my recurrence rate is likely to be very high? Is it possible to have an HSV-1 outbreak more than once a month? Also, I understand that the virus becomes less aggressive (or your immune system adjusts) after the first year. Is it possible to have a rough start (like the irritation I've been describing) but then still be among the 1-outbreak-per year carriers?

Thanks so much for reading and responding--I really sincerely appreciate it.

It could be hsv1 reoccurring but so many other things it can be too. If it reoccurs or isn't healed by the end of the week, return to your provider for further evaluation.

No, having 2 ob's initially like this doesn't mean you are in for increased recurrences down the line - no worries there!

betsy

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