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Question:
I just recently turned 17 and for 3 months, my karate instructor was molesting me. After the first few weeks, I stopped fighting it. He was my second partner; I had been seeing someone for a year and a half, but hadn't had sex 3 months prior to this starting. in April, it came to my attention that the master was having sex with another 15 year old, and had in the past done it with a 14 year old. We told, and he's in jail now for a year.
Around the middle of march, apparently i had an outbreak and I discovered that I had genital herpes. They put me on valtrex and i haven't had an outbreak since. My mother refuses to believe that Master Bill could have given it to me because the other two girls claim to have not contracted anything. He was having sex with the other girl on the days I wasn't working... and vice versa.
Is it possible for you to contract HSV without an outbreak, and could I have contracted it and the other girl not get it? Or is it possible that she just doesn't want to divulge the information?
I am reluctant to say that i got HSV from my once again boyfriend, only because he has never even had a cold sore in his life. And the first outbreak occurs within 3 days to 3 weeks of contracting the disease (which is the time frame in which the molestation began). HOw could this have happened? I am begining therapy soon.
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Answer:
by Larry Siegel: (06/05/2004)
I'm sorry it's taken me awhile to get back to you. I want to first commend you on 2 counts: for having the courage to let someone know about the abuse and for having the courage to resolve this by beginning counseling. I know that neither is an easy step to take. I am sorry that you experienced such abuse, compounded by contracting HSV. Please know that contracting this is NOT your fault (nor is the molestation - even though you "stopped fighting" after a few weeks)and you should not let it affect how you view yourself; you have nothing to be ashamed about -it doesen't make you dirty!
There are several websites (ours included) that can give you more information on herpes simplex-2 infections. It might be useful to also help educate your mom. It is not only possible, but quite common, for people to be infected with HSV and not show any symptoms initially. Eighty percent of people with genital herpes are unaware of their disease because they never develop any symptoms or do not recognize them. When symptoms do occur, they vary widely from person to person. Symptoms of a first episode of genital herpes usually appear within two to 10 days of infection, and first episodes last an average of two to three weeks. Early symptoms can include an itching or burning sensation; pain in the legs, buttocks, or genital area; vaginal discharge; or a feeling of pressure in the abdominal region.
It is also quite possible for some people (the other girls) to be exposed but not infected. You also ask an important question: have the other girls been tested and could they merely be unwilling to admit if they do have it? It's hard to say. I would, however, try to get your boyfriend to go and be tested so you can definitively rule him out. Remember, it is possible to have it and not know it.
I hope this was somewhat helpful to you. Please write back to us if there is anything else we can help you with. I wish you the best of luck in seeing this through.
Larry SiegelReviewed by Sexual Health Editorial Team
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