Genital Herpes - Absolutely devastated - Please help!

[Riseandfall30]

I don't know if this is my first outbreak or not. I feel like utter shit. Noticed a couple of bumps on my bottom (itchy and a bit tingly) then they turned white and then red, then with a little fluid. I don't know how/when I contracted them and can't stop crying thinking my life is over and i'm dirty.

I had unprotected sex with someone 6 weeks ago. Very stupid as I know he openly admitted to sleeping with a tonne of prostitutes and a lot of girls when younger . He said he was clean and he had always had protected sex in the last decade. I was in a bit of a bad place after being raped by someone a few months prior, so properly wasn't really thinking straight.

My outbreak is very mild I would say though. I've been reading about the very bad outbreaks from people on here and mine is nothing like that. A bit sore to touch, but nothing else. I know my immune system was massively compromised last week as I had an injury which has massively set me back to the point where I haven't even been able to walk much.

Can someone please reassure me?! Any advice? Could the fact this outbreak be a recurring one as it's quite mild? - Two small bumps which I've picked at and now a feel like flat blisters. I have noticed in the past one or two very small looking cold sores on my foo foo but they've always disappeared quickly and I didn't know if it was an ingrowing hair or not.

If it is a recurring one you’ll have to let the person you slept with know that you might have passed it on to them.

I don't know whether it is or not.

See a doc. Urgently

That doesn't sound like herpes to me. You should make an appointment at your local sexual health clinic to get checked out. They'll be able to tell you what it is.

Terms like "clean" and "dirty" are best avoided when taking about STIs. They just make people feel ashamed.

My dw had it show for (I believe) the first time whilst pregnant with child no.1. We had already been together for a decade and it never showed but she was able to trace it (I believe) to the person prior to me. Over a decade has passed, and subsequent births without it showing again, and it's never shown on me, I've no idea if I have it or not. I'm still dubious about the whole thing but too much time has passed, but to put your mind at ease from my experience, it's only shown once in 20+ yrs of being with dw. I appreciate it's a different circumstance when changing partners. Like others have said, get checked, don't let the internet diagnose you

I have herpes, and it seems as though you probably have too. It took about 15 years for an outbreak to surface after being infected. It recurs perhaps once a year when I am low because of another infection, such as a cold. I control it with Acyclovir from my GP.

About a fifth of adults have it without knowing as it often never breaks out. You are not dirty and need to get that idea out of your head. With sensible management, it need not have much effect on your life.

Thanks for all your replies. I feel much better about the situation now and understand it's just a skin condition and nobody says anything when they have herpes on their lips/face do they?!

I put loads of Sudocream on them last night and they all seem to have gone right down and a couple on my butt cheek just feel slightly raised and don't look like they will burst now.

Can Herpes spread to other areas of the body out of interest? I was a bit itchy last night and was stratching my back, and as I was doing so, a little raised blister bump appeared (similar to how it felt on my bottom). I'm sure it's just a confidence however as I'm petty sure herpes only affects certain areas?

The possibility of it spreading is why you need to see a doctor. My son had what was described as disseminated herpes. It was the oral HSV1 virus which spread and appeared all across his face, chest and genitals. Apparently this is becoming more common, whereas previously it was very defined that HSV1 was oral and HSV2 was genital. He was very unwell on that first outbreak by the time he was diagnosed, but had acyclovir and (three years on) has not had another outbreak. You really should go to the doctor.

@Strawpollplease your poor son. I hope he's okay now.

I've been taking L-Lysine which somebody on here recommended. They haven't gone away yet, but hoping by tomorrow they will have almost gone.

I just can't believe we don't have a vaccine for this virus yet. Its unbelievable. Hoping one day they'll be one available though (like the HPV one)

So I got my diagnosis today. It's definitely what I suspected. Looks like this is my first proper outbreak. The other times must have been from a shaving rash, ingrown hair etc as symptoms back then were so so mild.

I have been racking my brains since this happened wondering where it's come from. I know it can lie dormant for a while and resurface years/weeks/months later but working on the assumption that most outbreaks occur within 4 days on average there has been nobody in that time.

Then today I was thinking what I was doing that week. I went for a sports massage. The guy was pushing his fingers/thumbs into my glutes to relieve some pain..He was there for about 90 minutes really pressing down on my pain receptors with his fingers. I'm wondering if there is any chance he had hepatic whitlow and has transferred it? The sores are are on my buttocks and around my butt crack. No where in or around my vagina which I'm thankful for.

Does this sound plausible? I guess I'll never know but it would match up with the timeline.