Genital Herpes

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Em90
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2012 5:13 pm
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by Em90 on Fri Mar 23, 2012 5:36 pm

Genital Herpes

Hi,

Please help me as I'm really at a loss at the moment.

I am currently studying on a year abraod so am finding it difficult to get medical attention and advice.

A few years ago I contracted genital herpes but it has never been a problem. I had very few recurrences and they were only irritating not even painful.
Unfortuneately 6 months ago now I had a terrible experience and, long story short I was left with Mycoplasma Hominis and Molluscum Contagiosum (not really sure on the spelling there sorry). I was only checked out for STI's 4 months after infection and was given antibiotics for the Mycoplasma Hominis and cream (Imiqimod) for the Molluscum.
I recently went back to get retested for the mycoplasm hominis as the last time I saw my boyfriend I experienced pain whilst having sex.
I am waiting for the result on Monday.

My problem now is that as of Tuesday (three days ago) I had an outbreak of herpes. This would be normal but it is absolutely the worst outbreak I have ever had. I have many, many more blisters which keep on coming (I think there are about 11) and they are extremely painful and swollen. I haven't been able to sleep and am now finding it difficult to walk. I am taking aciclovir both orally 5 times a day and applying cream 5 times a day although so far it has not made a difference.

Basicalliy I am really worried. Why is this time so bad? Now it is really really affecting my life as I don't want to eat because going to the toilet is excrutiating as they are also around my anus. I have been missing classes as I can't face the walk to campus. I have lost energy and walking about or even showering wears me out.
I getting depressed because with the whole thing with the herpes and molluscum obviously my genital area is absolutely terrible at the moment.
I just don't understand why it is so bad this time?
I was checked for HIV and Syphilis which can affect the immune system and they came back negative and this was 4 months after the possible infection.

Could it be the Mycoplasma affecting the area?

Please help me!

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Mr Peter Greenhouse
Posts: 37
Joined: Fri Mar 16, 2012 12:51 pm
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by Mr Peter Greenhouse on Fri Mar 23, 2012 9:35 pm

Re: Genital Herpes

Hi - there are lot of things going on here, so I'll try to sort them out one by one.
1. If your HIV & Syphilis tests were negative 4 months after your assault (I assume that was the terrible experience) then you can be completely reassured that you didn't catch either of these infections.

2. Mycoplasma hominis is NOT a sexually transmitted infection. It is a "commensal" organism, which means that it naturally lives inside the vagina or urethra in around 30% of women or men and you don't have to have sex to get it - so it doesn't need any treatment. The reason you've been told it's a problem is that you are outside the UK and possibly saw a private doctor, many of whom send swab tests to private laboratories which routinely do more tests than necessary, which cost more money. This is very common in Eastern Europe - which country are you in?

3. Molluscum contagiosum is a cosmetic nuisance - and probably the least serious sexual infection you can get. It's caused by a single virus particle which gets walled off by the body's immune system, which causes a small firm circular spot to appear. The easiest way to treat it is to remove the spots yourself by simply pinching them off between your thumbnails. You'll find a small, pearl-like structure inside - provided you remove this, the spot should heal by itself over a week or so. But wait till your herpes heals before trying this.

4. If you are having a much more severe episode of herpes than ever before, it's probably because you are severely stressed out for a number of (obvious) reasons & your natural immunity is at a low ebb. You can reduce your symptoms by:
- Getting your doctor to give you a local anaesthetic lidocaine gel (such as "Instillagel"), which will relieve the pain within 5 minutes, and lasts a couple of hours at each application. This doesn't treat the herpes in any way, but just allows you to walk & get to sleep. Forget Aciclovir cream - it doesn't work on genital herpes.
- making sure you're on the right dose of Aciclovir: 200mg 5 times a day isn't a high enough dose. For a severe episode you need 800mg three or five times per day.
Also, you need to know that you're probably at the worst point of the attack, and that it will start to get better in the next couple of days, and should be completely healed within a week.

5. If you've survived a terrible experience, then returning to try to have pleasurable sex with your regular partner can be exceptionally difficult. It's normal to find it difficult to relax, and many women will get flashbacks, no matter how considerate their partner is. The deep internal pain with sex is more likely to be due to the tenseness (non-relaxation) of the upper vaginal muscles, than any infection (most commonly chlamydia - and certainly not mycoplasma hominis), but you're right toget another check-up just in case. This aspect of your life should improve with as time distances you from the event - formal supportive advice and counselling can be especially helpful in defusing the stress of this experience. Don't suffer in silence, but I can appreciate that it would be difficult to find this support abroad, especially if the local language is one you're not fluent in.

I hope some of this helps you through the lowest point of your current episode. Post again if there's anything else you need to know.
Mr Peter Greenhouse
Consultant in Sexual Health

http://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/on ... nhouse.php

Em90
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2012 5:13 pm
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by Em90 on Sat Mar 24, 2012 12:03 am

Re: Genital Herpes

Thank you so so much for you quick and detailed reply!!!

I am so relieved and all your advice has been so so helpful to me!

I'm actually studying in Chile and yes all of the healthcare is private so it is sometimes difficult to tell what is necessary. For the molluscum they actually advised seeing a dermatologist who I would have had to pay a lot of money to basically pick them off for me. I'm so glad that I can deal with it myself!

I expect you are also right about any pain being down to being tense, although I feel ready and happy with my boyfriend I think it will just take a lot of time to really feel comfortable after the assault.

And finally for the herpes, I really think I just needed some reassurance and support both of which I feel I have got now!
I will get the gel and the higher dose of aciclovir as in the farmacy I was only give 200mg to take.

Thank you so so much I really appreciate your help!

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