Question:

I have a type of herpes infection that appears sporadically (linked with my menstrual cycle) on one of my buttocks. It always appears on the same side. Can it be herpes genitalis? If it is not herpes genitalis, is it possible that it can give a false positive in a blood test for herpes genitalis? What type of herpes would be the most likely to cause this and what would be the best treatment? I have never experienced any symptoms of herpes genitalis in my genitalia but how can I be sure as I am very worried about this?

Answer:

Your symptoms could certainly be due to Herpes simplex virus (HSV), or “herpes”. The most accurate way to diagnose this would be to do a direct viral culture of the lesions when they appear — HSV should grow out in 2-3 days if it is the cause. There are a number of good oral medications to treat and suppress this infection, including acyclovir, valacyclovir and famciclovir. Good luck.

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Go to the Infectious Diseases health topic.