I have a WEIRD type of herpes

Hi All!

I have just found out I have HSV-2. However, I have the breakouts on my legs. :-0 My first outbreak was 3 months ago on my right thigh right above my knee; now I have another outbreak on my left thigh right above my knee. A little background, my first outbreak we initially thought was shingles...but now I have had it swabbed and cultured and it IS HSV-2. This is odd, I have been married for two years and my husband has NEVER had an outbreak of shingles. NONE of my boyfriends that I had before him ever had ANY outbreaks that I could have seen. I find it out that NOW I am getting outbreaks when I have been with the same person for 2 1/2 years. Neither one of us has cheated on each other either, trust me I know he hasn't. :) Has anyone else ever heard of herpes on the legs?? Does this mean I should not have sex with my husband while I have an outbreak even though it is on my thigh? Does this mean I have genital herpes?? Thanks so much, this is just so odd!

Peppa

I know Terri Warren (a clinician who has specialized in HSV for decades) has stated that outbreaks in the "boxer short" region are classified as "genital herpes" and are likely to have been contracted genitally and periodically shed asymptomatically from the genital tract, regardless of where recurring outbreaks occur in the "boxer short region." However, I don't know if that's true when the outbreak is as far away as the knee. Maybe someone else here knows. If not, you may want to ask Terri Warren through her Westover Heights Q&A forum for a small fee (I think it's $20 for 3 questions which can be asked with an anonymous username).

Also, you should be aware that HSV2 is common and 80-90% of those infected do not know they are infected, so it is possible to have contracted it from a partner with no obvious symptoms. That is how most transmissions of HSV2 occur.

Thank you Optimist! I did not know that. I will go over to that forum and ask Terry. Actually, my outbreaks are 3 1/2 above my knee and would be the "boxer shorts" region.

Peppa