Herpes Medication found in my husbands bag

[countrysidefields]

I have just found empty packets of tablets from an online pharmacy box dated 17th dec 2024 for anciclovir in my husbands laptop bag.
All the empty packets and packing was also in the box, like it was hidden in there.
When I googled that medication it's used for genital herpes. He doesn't and never has had cold sores.
I am obviously thinking the worst seeing how it was hidden away. Please don't judge me, I wasn't actually looking on purposes, I happened to come across it.
Am I right to be assuming the worst?

Maybe he has genital herpes that pre-dates your relationship, and maybe instead of telling you about it, he’s chosen to be super-careful about flare-ups so not to pass it on to you. It’s very possible.

Sorry meant to say, it would be impossible to know if his first flare up is from catching it recently or not
Obviously if he's been unfaithful and admits it then yes very likely, but could also not be

This is a possibility but it would still be a horrendous thing to do.

I have been with my husband 20+ years. If I found out that he had known all that time he suffered from genital herpes, chose to keep that secret from me, had sex with me for over 20 years knowing that there was a risk it could be passed to me (however careful he was)….. I would be utterly outraged. Honestly would consider if I wanted to continue the marriage or not. Such a betrayal of trust, plus risking my health.

I was prescribed oral acyclovir as a preventive measure before getting my face lasered at a private clinic, because I'm very prone to cold sores. I couldn't have hidden the lasering though, I had to hide out for a few days while my face went from bright red to flaking off.

I hope you manage to get to the bottom of the situation.

Just to go against the grain - perhaps he’s having a herpes flare up from contracting it long before your time together, but was worried you’d be suspicious/or immediately think he’d been unfaithful?

Looking at the leaps made here on MN, he might have been too ashamed or worried to tell you.

Wrong thread!

Do you honestly think it ok for someone to hide for 25 years that they have genital herpes from their sexual partner / their spouse? That’s just as bad as cheating to me.

Yes. It can lay dormant, for decades he may never have known he had it FFS… I am urging a conversation with her DH and a GP - not the pitchfork brigade that congregates here. Replies like yours, with their passive aggressive patronising are utterly sickening. Just eff off with the picking over a woman’s fear, scavenging on someone else’s drama, and allow her to get to the bottom of things.

While everyone is arguing/discussing what the drug can be used for or whether Superdrug will supply it, I think OPs main problem is the secrecy around it. Most people admit to shingles or chicken pox especially as the virus is bad for pregnant women and babies, and I'm fairly certain OP would have noticed if he had ever had a cold sore after 26 years together.

Only one diagnosis would cause such secrecy in a long marriage. Just one.
I'm sorry OP.

it can lay dormant for years before popping up, can be triggered by stress, have you been together long and there’s a possibility it’s been from a former partner? (Although of course if it is GH he still should have told
you!)

Not sure if mentioned but could you try and log in to the pharmacy website rather than on his emails?

They've been together 26 years....

If he's away from time to time I'm afraid I'd be thinking the worst. Especially if he's off sex. He knows he might pass it on.

From the sounds of things, it's for genital herpes. He's been playing away and he's contracted this - probably didn't know it could happen or he might have been a lot more careful.

I've just read that 23% of the adult population have genital herpes - HSV-2? Can this really be right?

https://yoursexualhealth.co.uk/blog/how-common-is-herpes-in-the-uk/

It's also used to treat infections of the mucus membranes - often for oral thrush or other yeast infections.

I would have probably worried and thought the worst, but I also think you should consider it's used for other less concerning conditions.

Sorry to be blunt but why can't you just take the packet to him and ask what they're for? I would have no problem doing that, as in my mind, it's a normal everyday question to ask your husband. Just don't tell him you googled it or posted about it on here.

It can be used in a preventative way as well. My DH had it for months when being treated for cancer.

For those who dont seem to be grasping this.... You can have herpes ANYWHERE OTHER THAN YOUR NETHER REGIONS!! OP,just ask him. I hope it's nothing sinister.

It’s anti viral including herpes

Nuffield say it's about 1 in 10 in the UK. The World Health Organisation says it's 1 in 5 globally.

Kinda dumb to go to all the trouble of secretly ordering meds and hiding them from your wife just to keep the empty box afterwards.

No, it isn't used for thrush. It is an anti-viral drug. Thrush and other "yeast infections" require anti-fungal drugs as treatment, not anti-virals.

It sounds like he's hidden it because a Superdrug prescription of that particular drug is for a dedicated use in this case, the g.h.

I'm sorry.

Herpes is not a typical STI. A blood test for HSV1 or 2 will be positive for most of the population. The gold standard is to test cultures from active sores.

Can you get into his emails?

Never having a cold sore does not mean you don’t have herpes. Never believe anyone who tells you this.

Honestly, he has cheated and contracted genital herpes. You need a full STI test not just for herpes. One night away a month is an ideal opportunity to hook up with escorts.