HSV2 for years, one minor outbreak. Major outbreak after oral, HSV1?

I've had HSV2 for years. I only had one OB and it was so minor that 2/3 doctors told me that's not what it was. My new boyfriend went down on me a couple weeks ago and suddenly I have a full out outbreak. Is it possible I now have HSV1 and it's just affecting me worse? Do HSV1 and 2 affect you worse/lesser than the other? If I get tested will it tell me which one has infected me? Thank you in advance.

If you have sores right now, I would get in to see the doctor right away and ask to have it swabbed. That's truly the only way to know which type is causing the outbreak. Anything is possible, but if you want to know for sure, testing is where to start.

If the sores aren't bad enough (no broken skin), the swab test may come back inconclusive. That's what happened to me. My outbreaks are so mild and since I have both types, I'm just left to guess that statistically speaking, it's most likely that I have HSV2 genitally and HSV1 orally (with no outbreaks).

You might also consider a blood test now and again in a few months. You can tell the type from an IgG blood test but not the location. Keep in mind though that the IgG misses a significant percentage of HSV1 infections (I forget the stat). If it's a new infection, it will usually take a couple of weeks up to 4 months to show up on a blood test. Likewise, it might make sense for the new boyfriend to get tested. If he doesn't test positive for HSV1, then you know your recent outbreak has to be from HSV2 (assuming you haven't received oral from another parter fairly recently).

Hope that all makes sense!

Got the results. Type 2 again!

So the swab of the recent OB came back as type 2?

Yes it did. The first was unconfirmed but the doctor thought it to be type 2 because of where it was but now that I have a confirmed case I've been doing more research and I wonder if it was type 1 and now this is from my new boyfriend. I'm so confused. This was such an awful outbreak. Nothing like my assumed type 2 case from before. Maybe the doctor was right and it was type 2 but now I'm thinking it makes more sense if it was type 1 and now this is type 2 because I read type 1 is way more minor than type 2. She just told me because of where it was to safely assume it was type 2 and use precautions. The other 2 doctors told me not to worry unless it popped up again. This one for sure looked like the herpes pictures I had seen and read about online. It's kind of hard to process. Now that I have a confirmation. I know it's not the end of the world but it's really hitting me hard. I'm wondering if I should get a blood test to check to see if that was in fact a type 1. I have so many questions and I know it's not the end of world but it's hard to accept that this is for sure what I have now. No more wondering. It really is it.

The severity of an outbreak really varies by person and can change over time. One type is not better or worse than another. It's seemingly random and unpredictable....part of the reason it frustrates us so much!

Have you ever done a blood test? It sounds like the Doc years ago made a visual diagnosis. It couldn't hurt to do an IgG blood test. Doesn't change the fact that you have type 2, but could give you more information. First, you might already have type 1 since most people do. Second, if the blood test comes back negative for type 2, it means you have a new type 2 infection (the swab doesn't lie, but the blood test can take several weeks to pick up a new infection. If you're positive on the blood test for type 2, then it tells you you've had this for a while and the nature and severity of your outbreaks simply changed.

I think you're the same girl helping me on my other post. Thank you for all of this information. It's very helpful. How did you deal with your initial diagnosis? I thought it would be easier because I know there may be a chance but it's not any easier.

Yup, same person trying to type on her phone and not make too many typos! If you click my username, it will show the posts I've made. The one called one year later describes how I handled my diagnosis initially....it was not good!!!! LOL Time, therapy and support like these forums help a lot!