False diagnoses of genital herpes or yeast infection?

Resolved question:

Hello doctor, I am a 23 years old female. I have been suffering from acute pain in vagina during urination. To get a medical aid, I went to my doctor about 3 days ago. After diagnosis, she told that it was yeast infection and nothing more to worry. She prescribed some medicines and sent me back to my home. After taking the prescribed medication, the itching and burning sensation was suppressed and to my surprise, the condition lasted for just 5 hours or so. Later, I found that Ibupropfen also helped in soothing out the situation. But that night, I was woken up by severe pain and burning sensation again and I was taken to the emergency care. After running out some tests or so, they found that there is some urinary tract infection. After sometime, the burning sensation and some of the pain went away. But adding to my fear, I got a call from the hospital saying that in the test results, it was found that I am tested positive for genital herpes and what I had was just symptoms of herpes. I was prescribed to use Valacyclovir and after using it for a day, all symptoms of herpes were gone. But there was some swelling and discomfort remaining. So, to make things clear, I searched for genital herpes pictures and photos of herpes infections. But I don’t think that herpes symptoms will go away as soon as it happened to me. Please help me how I can rule out the possibility of any other infection or disease? Is it due to yeast infection as suspected before? Thanks for your time.

Submitted: 4 Days
Category: Community

Expert:  Dr. Cecelia J. Russ replied 4 Days.

Thanks for your detailed question about herpes. As you told, you might be having some urinary tract infection and the symptoms you have told about, makes it clear and valid. But later you were done with a test for HSV type 2 infection which came out with a positive result. It need not mean that you have got an outbreak of the disease. It is because, you haven’t got any visible herpes eruptions or cold sores or fever blisters in your genital areas. So you need not worry about the infection till you get an outbreak. To ease out, let me inform you that in almost 80 % of cases, herpes infection stays asymptomatic. But even at the dormant stage, an infected person can cause infection to other people who come in sexual contact with them. HSV is one of the most common type of sexually transmitted infection and millions of people are getting infected year after year. It has become one of the major sexual health concern since its outbreak. Management of the disease is difficult and depends on immunity power of the infected person. Symptoms are seen to disappear in a matter of 1-2 months in healthy people, while it stay there for years in some others with feeble immunity. Touching of saliva or skin to skin contact with cold sores or blisters can cause transmission of infection. Usually this infection is treated symptomatically using antiviral medicines. However treatment for cold sore or herpes is not possible to eradicate the infection entirely and once infected, it will stay with the human body for a lifetime. Hope my answer helps. Take care.

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