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LionEagle

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  1. Blood tests can be used when a person has no visible symptoms but has concerns about having herpes. Blood tests do not actually detect the virus; instead, they look for antibodies (the body's immune response) in the blood. IgM vs. IgG When an individual contracts herpes, the immune system responds by developing antibodies to fight the virus: IgG and IgM. Blood tests can look for and detect these antibodies, as the virus itself is not in blood. IgG appears soon after infection and stays in the blood for life. IgM is actually the first antibody that appears after infection, but it may disappear thereafter. IgM tests are not recommended because of three serious problems: 1. Many assume that if a test discovers IgM, they have recently acquired herpes. However, research shows that IgM can reappear in blood tests in up to a third of people during recurrences, while it will be negative in up to half of persons who recently acquired herpes but have culture-document first episodes. Therefore, IgM tests can lead to deceptive test results, as well as false assumptions about how and when a person actually acquired HSV. For this reason, we do not recommend using blood tests as a way to determine how long a person has had herpes. Unfortunately, most people who are diagnosed will not be able to determine how long they have had the infection (see reference 1). 2. In addition, IgM tests cannot accurately distinguish between HSV-1 and HSV-2 antibodies, and thus very easily provide a false positive result for HSV-2. This is important in that most of the adult population in the U.S. already has antibodies to HSV-1, the primary cause of oral herpes. A person who only has HSV-1 may receive a false positive for HSV-2. 3. IgM tests sometimes cross-react with other viruses in the same family, such as varicella zoster virus (VZV) which causes chickenpox or cytomegalovirus (CMV) which causes mono, meaning that positive results may be misleading. The accurate herpes blood tests detect IgG antibodies. Unlike IgM, IgG antibodies can be accurately broken down to either HSV-1 or HSV-2. A recent study corroborates this finding: labs that used non-gG-based tests for herpes had high false-positive rates for HSV-2 antibodies (14-88% saying the blood sample was positive for HSV-2) in samples that were actually only positive for HSV-1 antibodies. But 100% of the labs using gG-based tests accurately reported that the blood sample was negative for HSV-2 (see reference 2). The challenge here is that the time it takes for IgG antibodies to reach detectable levels can vary from person to person. For one person, it could take just a few weeks, while it could ta ke a few months for another. So even with the accurate tests, a person could receive a false negative if the test is taken too soon after contracting the virus. For the most accurate test result, it is recommended to wait 12 - 16 weeks from the last possible date of exposure before getting an accurate, type-specific blood test in order to allow enough time for antibodies to reach detectable levels. There are currently several FDA-approved, gG-based blood tests that can give accurate results for herpes. Like any blood test, these tests cannot determine whether the site of infection is oral or genital. However, since most cases of genital herpes are caused by HSV-2, a positive result for type-2 antibodies most likely indicates genital herpes. It may be necessary to request on of these tests by name from your healthcare provider. ASHA has created a quick reference guide to herpes blood tests, including a chart that outlines and compares the accurate, FDA-approved type-specific blood tests available for herpes simplex antibodies. To determine which test might be best for your situation - or to show your doctor which tests are available (since herpes is not routinely included in STD screenings), you can download and print ASHA's Herpes Blood Test Guide. For healthcare providers, we've developed the Herpes Testing Toolkit, which was reviewed by leading experts in this field. The resource explains the increasing role of type-specific herpes serologic assays, presents clinical scenarios in which serologic testing are beneficial, and reviews key factors in a differential diagnosis for genital herpes. To order a copy of the Herpes Testing Toolkit, visit the ASHA online store. Providers can also access the online version of the Herpes Testing Toolkit on the ASHA website. References 1. Ashley RL. Performance and use of HSV type-specific serology test kits. HERPES 2002;9(2):38-45. 2. Ashley Morrow R, Brown ZA. Common use of inaccurate antibody assays to identify infection status with herpes simplex virus type 2. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2005;193:361-2 Taken from the ASHA website - http://www.ashastd.org LE
  2. Lisha80, I hate to be the harbinger of bad news but, you’ve got to tell him before you go there. Hell, you should have swapped STD test results that were less than a week old by now. You do not want to find out that, not only is he “concerned” about your status, he walks the minute you let him know this little tidbit about you and the fact that you have waited so long to disclose it to him. I would say be direct and just tell him the truth. He’s supposedly a big boy and wants you two to be "exclusive". Therefore, he should be able to handle the “Truth”. But, also demand as a minimum, that he also be truthful with you. What is attracting him to you so much that he wants to be "exclusive" with you instead of someone closer to home? LE
  3. As time goes on your outbreaks will lessen. I have gotten to the point that I recognize my prodrome when I feel slight heat in the base of my spine. I can tell the next day or two the tingling will begin in my infected area with an outbreak a day later. Now this only happens when I know I’m going to get some. ;) So I think the stress of an encounter is a subconscious way of reminding me that I have to be careful. It took me almost twenty years to find out that nuts are my trigger more than anything else. You need to be vigilant, but not too anal about it. Just look for the warning signs and the trigger each time you have one approaching. I found the best remedy to an outbreak is to remember to breath and de-stress. Sometimes this is all it took for my outbreak to disappear. LE
  4. On July 4, 1973 I contracted herpes. You do the math. Yes, I know the exact date. I knew my partner, and yes, it was devastating. It has shaped everything in my life since that happened. I call it "my must SEE event." For those of you who have never studied emotional psychology, SEE stands for a "Significant-Emotional-Event." It happens when some emotional event fundamentally changes your personality and alters your behavior. Contracting herpes does that to you because you have a STD that can have devastating effects on anyone who contracts it. The good news is that, to my knowledge, I have never passed it on to anyone. I am sure of this because, if I had passed it to someone, I would have been contacted in the small community I was in at the time. The bad news is that I was possibly the very first known case in the medical community that served me. My actual date of diagnosis was not until three months later, when they finally had classified the disease. Yes, they did not even have it classified when I contracted Herpes Type II. I have been lucky. I have had very few outbreaks. Since I was diagnosed I have had less than 20 over the years. I have been outbreak free for almost 11 years now. So now that this truth is out, I feel relieved. There is also a second part to this story, and this one is the most important part. I contracted herpes at the height of the "sexual revolution." And when I say height, I mean the epitome! If you could not get laid in 1973 it was because you didn't want to. I had just joined the service and with the end of the Vietnam war, the free love society was raging. Women were liberated because of birth control and wherever you went, everyone was having SEX, SEX, and more SEX! (Remember Studio 54 and Saturday Night Fever) Well, after my SEE I thought the world was over. Little did I know that it just didn't matter. People just wanted to have SEX. Anytime, anyplace, everywhere. After learning of my condition, I was contentious about informing my partners. Better to get rejected fast and move on to someone who wanted to have sex AND knew of the consequences. Back then, it was considered a speed bump on the road to having sex. Not deadly, just an inconvenience. I will say that even though I had contracted the disease, I showed no external signs anytime. One reason for this is that my doctors surmised that my rare blood type was an unbelievable immune system booster. Whereas other people who contracted the disease, might have frequent, painful outbreaks. I never had a major outbreak for the first five years. In 1979 I was reassigned to Germany and having a ball. Then in 1980, I met Sue. (Not her real name.) She moved onto the same floor I lived on and we became friends and partied together. Then, one night, I decided it was time to get more intimate. So I told her about my condition. She rejected me outright. It hurt! She said, "I don't want to become a sexual outcast." So, for the next two years I watched in pain as she had sex with everyone except me with wanton abandon. It's funny in retrospect. If I had not told her, we would have been intimate. And I might not be here to finish this story. When I returned to the states two years later, I met an outstanding woman, my former, who I became attracted to. She got pregnant with our first child in 1984. We were married and settled into blissful married life. She never contracted the disease and gave vaginal delivery to both of our daughters. About a year later in 1985, I was informed that a former friend had been admitted into the hospital. I went to see this friend ... Sue was close to death. She passed away two months later. She died from pneumocystis carinii. As anyone in this community now knows, pneumocystis carinii is a result of AIDS that has advanced from HIV. So, it was extremely likely, that when I met Sue, she had already contracted HIV. I think about what might have happened had I not told her about my condition that fateful night. I can only believe that it was because I was truthful about my condition that I am finishing this story today. I know, based on my experience with "Sue" that whatever happens, I'm going to be truthful about my status, whatever the consequences. Lion Eagle
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