Genital herpes question

[YellowStar76]

I’ve NC for this post for obvious reasons.

I’m 23 and my son was admitted into NICU for 6 weeks when I had him a few months ago. I was just re reading his discharge summery now and their was a sentence that said, ‘mum previously had CMV infection.’ I had absolutely no clue what that was so I went onto google and it says, ‘CMV is related to the herpes virus that causes cold sores and chicken pox.’ As soon as I read that, it all came back to me.

When I was 17 I went to the GP I was having irritation down below. I now remember the GP observed me, said I had genital herpes and that was it. He prescribed me some antibiotics at the time and just said, ‘this this for X amount of days and it’ll go away.’ This sound really irresponsible but I didn’t know much about genital herpes and just assumed it was like any other STI where you take medication for it and you’re basically cured.

It’s only when I’ve googled it that I’ve read that this is a virus that stays in your body forever as it can’t be treated. I’m really horrified. Does this mean that every single person I’ve had unprotected sex with, I’ve given (or potentially given) them genital herpes?? Surely not?! If that’s the case that means I’ve given DP genital herpes and he has absolutely no clue….

Has anyone gone through something similar or have any advice on how to go about moving forward? I feel so dirty and horrible, I feel completely blindsided too

I asked mumsnet via the report function

I don't, I'm sorry. Just all the bus almost saw your fanny! 😂

I have herpes and the first outbreak hurts so much. I'll never forget it!

oh gosh, i don't know how to do it now i thought i did do it but clearly not. i will delete images if it's easier as i have advice now.
like i say it's not painful right now and i can't remember much pain when they appeared. they do look like fordyce spots though.

CMV will make you feel a bit viral and glandular when you first get it, and then it goes dormant like chickenpox or herpes. That’s how it is similar. It doesn’t cause genital herpes or cold sores. Most people won’t ever know they have it but sometimes if people get things like HIV or leukaemia later in live, the cmv can reactivate and cause illness. It can also cause problems with the baby if you catch it during pregnancy.

If you ever had genital herpes, it’s caused by the different virus HSV. They give you antivirals for it, probably aciclovir. You would know, because genital herpes is excruciatingly painful the first time.

If you are concerned, it’s worth making an appointment with your GP or even your sexual health clinic. They are really lovely and will be happy to have a chat about it.

how do i delete my post thanks?

@positivevibesx You report your post and ask them to delete it

@positivevibesx i have reported it and asked for the photos to be deleted

OP do you have the NHS app? You should be able to see your old GP notes on it.