What are ALL the symptoms of genital herpes and what do the outbreaks look like?? Can a PAP smear test check for them? Please help, thank you. I had a pap smear on March 4. The results came back normal. They don't check for herpes during that exam, but if they see an outbreak, then they can tell you have it. I went back to the Dr. for a blood test on March 17, and it came back that I have herpes 2. At that time, I happened to be in the beginning stages of my first outbreak. I personally experienced:
-painful urination (but I also had a UTI at the same time by chance)
-achy muscles (flu-like symptoms)
-a cold sore showed up in the corner of my lip on my face
-2 days later, a small raised place showed up "down there"
-the next day, the raised spot looked like a blister
-Glands swollen-this hurt more than anything
-following day, blister looking sore erupted, dried to look sort of crusty.
-I was given the diagnosis 4 days after the blood test. I filled the Valtrex Rx, and the symptoms were completely gone (for me) in about 3 days.
-also got really painful muscle aches in my legs. They hurt so much, I had to take some Aleve and soak in a hot bath to ease the pain.
From what my dr. said, the first outbreak is the worst. For me personally, it wasn't all that bad, and If i hadn't known it was herpes, i would have thought it to be something like an ingrown hair and a mild cold. The majority of people who've been infected with HSV never know they have the disease because they have no signs or symptoms. The signs and symptoms of HSV can be so mild they go unnoticed. The first outbreak is generally the worst, and some people never experience a second outbreak. Other people, however, can experience outbreaks as long as 40 years after the initial outbreak.
When present, genital herpes symptoms may include:
Small, red bumps, blisters (vesicles) or open sores (ulcers) in the genital, anal and nearby areas
Pain or itching around your genital area, buttocks or inner thighs
The initial symptom of genital herpes usually is pain or itching, beginning within a few weeks after exposure to an infected sexual partner. After several days, small, red bumps may appear. They then rupture, becoming ulcers that ooze or bleed. Eventually, scabs form and the ulcers heal.
In women, sores can erupt in the vaginal area, external genitals, buttocks, anus or cervix. In men, sores can appear on the penis, scrotum, buttocks, anus or thighs or inside the urethra, the channel between the bladder and the penis.
While you have ulcers, it may be painful to urinate. You may also experience pain and tenderness in your genital area until the infection clears. During an initial outbreak, you may have flu-like signs and symptoms, such as headache, muscle aches and fever, as well as swollen lymph nodes in your groin.
Recurrences
Genital herpes is different for each person. The signs and symptoms may recur for years. Some people experience numerous episodes each year. For many people, however, the outbreaks are less frequent as time passes. Various factors may trigger outbreaks, including:
Stress
Menstruation
Immune system suppression, from medications such as steroids or chemotherapy, or due to infections, such as HIV/AIDS
Illness
Surgery
Friction, such as that caused by vigorous sexual intercourse
Fatigue
In some cases, the infection can be active and contagious even when lesions aren't present.
Screening and diagnosis
If you suspect you have genital herpes, see your doctor. Your doctor usually can diagnose herpes by taking a tissue scraping or culture of the blisters or early ulcers for examination in the laboratory. A blood test can also detect a herpes infection.
Because people with herpes commonly have other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), such as chlamydia, gonorrhea and HIV/AIDS, your doctor will likely examine you for these diseases as well. If you suspect that you previously had a herpes outbreak, a blood test can confirm past exposure to HSV-1 or HSV-2 infection. Wow, you have some people writing books on here!
I have genital Herpes, but I have never had any symptoms. However, typical symptoms can include rash-like blisters, paper-cut like open wounds, pimple-like blisters, swollen lymph nodes, flu-like symptoms, lower back pain, etc.
A doctor MAY visually diagnose Herpes during a pap, but it is BEST to get a type specific blood test to see if you have HSV1 or HSV2. Doctors have been known to make misdiagnoses, and it is best to be sure. Even complete STD tests do not include the test for HSV, so you have to request it specifically. I do not have herpes, but here is some info that may be of help to you:
A PAP Smear will not specifically tell you if you have herpes. "If you get a pap and the PCR HSV test portion is negative for herpes, does that mean you don't have herpes? Of course not. It means that there was no herpes virus present at the moment the pap was taken, but that certainly does not mean that you don't have herpes! Testing for herpes with a pap test is like someone did a pap looking for sperm and found none and saying, therefore, this person never has sex. It just isn't valid!"
http://blogs.webmd.com/genital-herpes-in...
http://www.health-science-report.com/pap...
http://www.4women.gov/faq/pap.htm
Often it's hard to tell by looking. The textbook symptom of genital herpes is a cluster of small fluid-filled blisters that break, forming painful sores that crust and heal during several days. Affected areas include the penis, scrotum, vagina, vulva, urethra, anus, thighs, and buttocks.
But many people don't get these sores. Some people have no symptoms at all, while others get symptoms that can be easily mistaken for razor burn, pimples, bug bites, jock itch, hemorrhoids, an ingrown hair, or a vaginal yeast infection.
After you're infected, the symptoms go away, but can flare up from time to time. Luckily, the first outbreak usually is the worst. And some people may have just one or two outbreaks in their lifetime.
Also visit these sites for more detailed info:
http://www.webmd.com/genital-herpes/guid...
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/genital_h...
http://www.cdc.gov/STD/herpes/STDFact-He... A pap-smear can determine if you have herpes if you have open lesions on or around your genital area. sometimes you can have herpes and not have a outbreak you can also have it in your blood so you need to go see a doc. if you think you might have it Symptoms of genital herpes vary from person to person. Not everybody gets an outbreak, and therefore many people do not know they have the virus. 1 in 4 women in the U.S. has genital herpes and 1 in 5 adults has it.
A pap smear cannot test accurately for herpes. The best ways to get tested are to have an actual sore cultured, or to get a type-specific IGG hsv1 and hsv2 blood test. These are two separate tests. If you test positive by the blood test and have not had any symptoms you may not know where your infection resides.
Symptoms include lesions such as blisters, pimples, "paper" cuts, ingrown hair-like sores, rash, UTI feelings and yeast infection. Many women get yeast infections with their outbreaks. Other symptoms include a tingling feeling near the base of the spine or around the genital area. After people get used to the virus they have a better idea of when they will get outbreaks.
The best website I have found is www.herpes-coldsores.com. It has the best information and it also has a message forum with some great people who can help support people with new diagnosis as well as those of us who just need to talk from time to time. |
