How to know whether I am contracted with genital herpes?

Resolved question:

Hello doctor, I am a 19 years old female. I am sexually active with my only boyfriend. Now-a-days, I fear the most that I am affected with genital herpes. I suspect that my boyfriend has got genital herpes and passed it to me. He performed an oral sex with me the last night. Today when I woke up, I noticed several cold sores. I have soreness there and have got small red and blister like spots. But I am sure that he hasn’t got any sores like this yesterday. I used to be careful with things like this. But I am very much disturbed that he might have given this to me. Because of his stubble, I have got sensitivity in the region and I asked him to stop. However, I noticed this after applying Veet hair remover cream, to remove hair from my ‘that’ area. Can it be due to a reaction from the cream as I may have left it for long time? I used to apply veet for removing hair, without any side effects. What could be the cause of my problem? Please help.

Submitted: 4 Days
Category: Community

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

Thanks for your question and concern. But it is difficult to say whether you are contracted with herpes virus or not. It is possible that you may have contracted with it, as you have done oral sex with your partner. You can get affected with herpes type 1 virus, if you have oral sex with an affected person. This is because herpes type 1 virus is transmitted mainly through saliva and affects mouth and related mucous membranes. It is common that affected people may not recognize themselves to be carriers of the infection and transmit the infection to others who have sex with them. This is because, HSV infection can stay dormant in some people without causing any outbreak or visible appearance. Anyway, a doctor can easily recognize a herpes blister from allergic blisters through a simple physical examination. You can also go for lab tests to find out infection. However there is no medical cure available for genital herpes. But there are certain antiviral medicines available like acyclovir, to treat sores and blisters relieving pain. They can relieve the severity of infection to certain extend. Hope my answer helps. Take care.

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