AboutMark Behar Expertise Almost any question or concern about sexually transmitted infections, abnormal Pap smears, anal cytology (anal "Pap smears"), gay men's health issues.
There is no such thing as “d/d free” or “clean” (free of infection), so why do so many of us deceive ourselves into thinking that some people are indeed totally free from a potentially infectious disease, like HIV, herpes, hepatitis, syphilis, chlamydia, warts, gonorrhea, etc., just because they say so? Clinical laboratory tests are not perfect, and having a “negative” or “nonreactive” test does not mean that a person is free from infection. Perhaps at the moment the test was taken, the person was uninfected; or, perhaps, the test wasn’t sensitive enough to detect presence of the infection. There is really no way that anyone can determine that they are truly “disease free,” and there are over a hundred of infectious conditions that can be spread without your knowing anything.
Rather than trying to “prescreen” or “serosort” a potential sex-mate with deceptive questions that are impossible to know by today’s technologies, a wiser option may be to consider everyone infected with something, and either use appropriate protective measures (“safer sex”), or accept the responsibility and conseqences of possibly “catching” something from someone who’s hotter than expected (pun intended!).
There is much research that supports the contention that an HIV positive person reliably taking HIV medications, and having an undetectable viral load, presents a lower risk for transmission of HIV than people who may think or say they are HIV negative, but are not. Food for thought!
Experience Family Practice PA since 1981;
Volunteer Clinician for Brady East STD (BESTD) Clinic, Milwaukee, since 1977; answer STD questions submitted to their web site.
Professionally lectured at national and regional Physician Assistant and Nurse Practitioner conferences, and at national gay & lesbian health conferences on topics including HIV/AIDS, herpes, hepatitis, STDs, human papilloma virus (the cause of venereal warts), abnormal Pap smears, gay and lesbian health issues, among others.
Organizations Co-Founder, Lesbian, Bisexual, & Gay Physician Assistant Caucus of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, Inc.;
Wisconsin Academy of Physician Assistants;
American Society of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP); Board of Directors, National Association of Black and White Men Together: A Gay, Multiracial Organization for All People (NABWMT)
Publications Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (JAPA)
Education/Credentials Physician Assistant Certified, since 1982;
Masters in Physician Assistant Studies;
Colposcopy Recognition Award, American Society of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP);
Awards and Honors Colposcopy Recognition Award (CRA), from the American Association of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology;
Distinguished Fellow, American Academy of Physician Assistants;
Fellow, Wisconsin Academy of Physician Assistants
Past/Present Clients Brady East STD Clinic, Milwaukee, WI
Question hey i had unprotected sexwith a guy on the saturday then on the monday started to get painfull wen i went for a wee it gt very painfull then by the thursday it was sore and bumpy i went to the doc he looked for literally a second and sed herpes bt im gettin an awful discharge is it wat e sed because e didnt really examine me e litreally looked and sed it please help
Answer Hello Leigh,
I'm sorry the doctor didn't examine you carefully. However, the clinical syndrome you describe does in fact sound very much like either herpes with or without a bladder infection and/or vaginal infection. Herpes will frequently develop within a few days of exposure. Your pain with urination, along with the soreness and bumpiness all point to acute herpes. No other sexually transmitted infection will be as quick and painful. Because it is so inflammatory and irritating, you may be developing a terrible discharge along with it, although the discharge can be due to other things such as vaginal yeast.
This situation occured LAST WEEK, which may make current diagnosis difficult, and you are past the time when effective treatment with medication can help it get better faster. Don't freak out however. Even without treatment, as uncomfortable as it may be, things will get back to normal in a few days. Think of herpes as a nuisance viral infection of the skin and nerves that only rarely causes terrible complications. Yes, it can recur. But the medications below should help to make things get better much faster.
The best treatment for herpes is something like valtrex (valcyclovir), famvir (famciclovir), zovirax (acyclovir), all US names of medications that may be similar sounding (or the same) in GB. You begin taking them at the first sign of an outbreak coming back-- usually you have a funny numb and itchy sensation, that doesn't go away. Within a day, you will notice some blisters or a rash.
Hope this is somewhat reassuring. I wish I had better news!
