Scared4this

Do you have hsv1 or hsv2 genitally? These two behaves a bit different so hsv1 is a bit less troublesome as the outbreak and virus shedding is much less and hsv2 is more active and ploy may get more frequent outbreak. Have your female friend been tested? More than 50% of US population have antibody for hsv1 so if she already have hsv1 orally and you have hsv1 genitally ... Then it would be no concern as it will be extremely rare to be infected in another area once you have it in one place for awhile. So I would recommend you ask her to test as it is only fair since you are being open she should be too. In addition, both should be tested for other stds like hpv , hep a, b and c and HIV. There is no test for guys for hpv ... So you want to be sure she confirms her status. I think it's so extremely kind of people who have H to disclosure but don't forget to protect yourself too! There are other stds that can cause more damage than H. Good luck with you both and hope it will turn into a beautiful journey! God bless, S

U should go to ur obgyn and have it caked out. They can see your cervix and see if you have any OB going on and test the type if u don't know yet. Your obgyn can also test thru your discharge to see if any herpes infection is happening at the moment too. Hope this helps so u don't need to wonder if this is H that's causing the symptoms. God bless, S

This is my humble opinion.... For a condition that may impact your life, you should always get second opinion. Even if u had a positive blood test, and blood test is Not perfect at all so for something like herpes ( if you have no confirmation of positive swab) then if I were you, I would get the result of your last blood test on paper so u know ur test result #. Like dancer said if it falls below 3.5 , you may have been tested as false positive (especially you have no symptoms). But since you are on meds it will impact ur next blood test thou. If you are comfortable... Get off the meds for 3 months and get tested again ( this duration was said by Terri warren - a herpes specialist at west over height clinic). I would recommend taking the western blot test as a confirmatory test. I have read in cases people tested over 3.5 that have negative WB test too. I just think something as important as this .... You have to be persistent to really know your status before accepting the diagnosis. I mean for people with positive HIV test, the doctor would always go for a WB HIV test to confirm.... So why not HSV ( unless you had outbreak and was swabbed positive with a type) . I don't agree with doctors giving medication to patients based on a single test on HSV. All diagnosis should be based on set of tests and also circumstances ( like your partner is positive of HSV ) to be conclusive. I believe that is a responsible way of treating patients and not just give them mends and lead them to believe they have something when maybe they don't. We also have to be responsible of our own diagnosis. We are intelligent people who have access to more knowledge than some of the doctors do. To them we may be a # but this diagnose can simply turn our world upside down and inside out! So be sure you do your part to confirm your status before just accepting as is. Like I said, this is just my humble opinion and wishing you much luck! God bless, S

SS, glad you called westover height as Lisa was the doctor who helped me to get WB test! They are really nice and knowledgeable to herpes especially. I think ultimately everyone coming to a supportive forum is trying to do that.... Get support on something that we are fearful for, lack of knowledge on, and seeking others with similar symptoms. All the support or advice you get from the internet are in noway to replace to seek a doctor who actually works with you as our bodies works in different ways ( God's mysterious ways). Even the few doctors I seen have different opinions on herpes ! So it is great you are seeking a doctor and a clinic who has great reputation. You are clear on your plan to get to the real diagnosis. These are all positive and responsible steps. As for getting info in the forum or internet.... I am grateful for them! If it wasn't for some very helpful posts and people, I wouldn't even learned about western blot test. Inaddition, reading everyone stories and kindness they shown meant the world to me when I was at the darkest moment. So I do agree that people have to get to a right and good doctor to ensure they been diagnosed correctly but they also need to seek out help and support during and after the process. There is no conflict of interest at all :). Hope all is well and God bless, S

I tested positive with herpesselect igg for hsv2 with 2.43 on 7/15. I got the WB thru Terri's clinic (westover height clinic) and went to quest lab to get the blood test (the lab fedex the blood to UW overnight) on 8/25. I got my results over a week ago and I am hsv2 neg!!!! Please do look into this and confirm your status. Good luck and God bless, S

Thanks Dancer for ur corrections! Men vs. Women’s Contagiousness Because of the nature of male and female genitalia, it is easier for herpes to be transmitted to a woman by a man than vice-versa. This is because female genitals have more exposed soft tissue. This also accounts for why 1 out of 4 American women have herpes, whereas 1 out of 5 American men does. Herpes Transmission Rates The likelihood of passing genital herpes to a partner is highest during an outbreak (times when a sore is present). When a person is not experiencing an outbreak, there is a 4-10% chance of transmitting it. (Depending on gender) According to studies done by Valtrex, these are the rates of transmission per year of regular sex: If partners avoid sex during outbreaks: 4% chance transmission from female to male; 8% male to female If partners also use condoms or antiviral medication: 2% female to male; 4% per year male to female If partners also use condoms and antiviral medications: 1% female to male; 2% male to female These herpes transmission rates should be encouraging for couples who wish to have a healthy sex life without passing the virus from one partner to the uninfected partner. When staying informed and weighing the risks and precautions, genital herpes does not have to be a barrier to intimacy. I’ve known couples who despite being together for years, the one partner who came to the relationship with genital herpes never even passed it to their partner. http://justherpes.com/dating/herpes-transmission-rates-how-not-to-give-partner-herpes/

Never danced, well... This make the odds in your favor as she is neg and condoms only protect 50% from what I understand. So get your test result and see the # .... If it falls under 3.5 ... You then should get a confirmation test (western blot). If you need help with how to get the testing done ( a bit of pain) just let me know. Come back and let me know. Inaddition, go to medhelp site... U can read other posters with similar situations. That's how I learned about WB (thank God) . I will be praying for you and God bless, S Here is some good reading that I just shared with seeker on another post: Hi seeker, WB is the gold standard of herpes test. Here is a poster who tested positive via herpesselect with low positive # and got WB as confirmatory test and was neg! I just had the same thing with the mercy of a God! http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Herpes/HSV2-TESTING-WESTERN-BLOT/show/970605 I will take another WB in two months to close this out and praying it will remain neg. I can't find the post that Terri Warren write in the medhelp site, but the way she explain the diff between herpesselect vs WB was: Herpesselect is like looking for a person with their name and birthday but WB is like looking for a person with their name, birthday, social security #, address! passport # , driver license# So in short, much more accurate and less false positive results. I got my discharge cultured by my obgyn. Think she sent to lab with the swab of the discharge and they test for HSV virus. This is more for if you may have outbreak in cervix and don't know. Herpesselect test have false positive results due to many reasons... No one can say why but below is a link to possible explanation. Hope this helps! God bless, S http://consults.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/27/getting-tested-for-herpes/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0 One of the most common brands of type-specific serology is the HerpesSelect brand. It is a very good test, but there are issues with false positive results with one form called the HerpesSelect ELISA. (Other forms are the HerpesSelect Immunoblot and the HerpesSelect Express.) That is, some people who have a positive test result for the virus are not actually infected. The Herpes Select ELISA is reported back as an index value. A value greater than 1.1 is considered positive. If you have no history of genital herpes outbreaks, did not have a positive culture or PCR test for HSV, or have no risk factors for genital herpes, you should know the index value. False positives have been reported with values less than 3.5. If your value is less than 3.5, ask to be tested again with a different test, preferably with another antibody test called the Western blot. It all sounds a bit too complicated — but it’s not, really. The world is not perfect, and like all things, tests require some degree of interpretation too.

@notperfect, the only difference would be hsv1 has much less reoccurrence rate and less virus shedding days than hsv2 in the genital area. So in short much less contagious overall..... Hope this helps, God bless, S

Hi seeker, yea it would only be worth to get the WB test if u never had an outbreak. My hsv1 result from herpesselect was greater than 5 and as my WB proven I was positive.... So the closer # to 1 the better chance of false positive. Anything greater 3 is less likely to be false positive. At this point I have no idea if my hsv1 is oral or genital! So still searching for some answers but who knows. Are u hsv1 or 2 ? God bless, S

Hi seeker, WB is the gold standard of herpes test. Here is a poster who tested positive via herpesselect with low positive # and got WB as confirmatory test and was neg! I just had the same thing with the mercy of a God! http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Herpes/HSV2-TESTING-WESTERN-BLOT/show/970605 I will take another WB in two months to close this out and praying it will remain neg. I can't find the post that Terri Warren write in the medhelp site, but the way she explain the diff between herpesselect vs WB was: Herpesselect is like looking for a person with their name and birthday but WB is like looking for a person with their name, birthday, social security #, address! passport # , driver license# So in short, much more accurate and less false positive results. I got my discharge cultured by my obgyn. Think she sent to lab with the swab of the discharge and they test for HSV virus. This is more for if you may have outbreak in cervix and don't know. Herpesselect test have false positive results due to many reasons... No one can say why but below is a link to possible explanation. Hope this helps! God bless, S http://consults.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/27/getting-tested-for-herpes/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0 One of the most common brands of type-specific serology is the HerpesSelect brand. It is a very good test, but there are issues with false positive results with one form called the HerpesSelect ELISA. (Other forms are the HerpesSelect Immunoblot and the HerpesSelect Express.) That is, some people who have a positive test result for the virus are not actually infected. The Herpes Select ELISA is reported back as an index value. A value greater than 1.1 is considered positive. If you have no history of genital herpes outbreaks, did not have a positive culture or PCR test for HSV, or have no risk factors for genital herpes, you should know the index value. False positives have been reported with values less than 3.5. If your value is less than 3.5, ask to be tested again with a different test, preferably with another antibody test called the Western blot. It all sounds a bit too complicated — but it’s not, really. The world is not perfect, and like all things, tests require some degree of interpretation too.

Btw, it's normal with the way u feel.... And I hope in the very near future u will forgive ur self. We all take chances and sex is no different. Thank u for the warning .... I wish I could of known how sex can change ur life! I will pray for u to get good answers from medhelp and also to get a good closure on self blame.

Yes her reaction was atypical but at this point who knows. Maybe she ran and got tested as she was suspicious of outbreak? At this point it will not help u unless she tested neg and told u. The # u have is higher than a low positive range and chances are less likely u don't have it but I still think u would benefit from the advices from medhelp. In addition , you should download a free handbook from Terri warren and it would help a great deal on getting urself educated on the condition. I hope u will get the answer u need and God bless, S

I am so happy for you and now your body is healthy and ur emotional is upbeat.,. This does wonders to your immune system :). This means ur body will handle H much better and less outbreak for sure! Body, mind and soul ... Works together to bring u much healing. God bless, S

U said u never had an outbreak? So how were u diagnosed? If it's via blood test only... U need to research more or at least u owe it to ur self to know for sure what u have or don't have. Blood test is NOT perfect... Often time has false positive results due to other cross interactions with other antibodies. What were ur blood test # how do u know if ur hsv1 is genital ? I know it's hard to be honest with H and I am trying to figure out my Hsv1 is oral or genital as I never had an outbreak either but I tested positive hsv1 both herpesselect and WB for HSV1 but I tested positive for hsv2 with herpesselect but negative via WB... So that goes to show some confirmatory test is always good thing to do if u have had no outbreak at all! This is just my 2 cents and God bless, S

Thanks river! I followed ur story on this forum as well as medhelp. I hope u r dealing better with ur situation and I always thought u were negative to begin with :). I just don't know what to say in the future as oral vs genital is a big difference in the mind. I would never want to transmit this to anyone without letting them know. I just hope the guy I would eventually fall for would be the 80% then it would be a none issue. I think it's very rare to contract hsv1 again . Thank u and God bless, S

Hi all, I was tested positive on July 15 with Hsv 1 > 5 Hsv2 = 2.43 I got my WB on 8/25 and just got the result this Wednesday of hsv1 pos and hsv2 NEG!!!! So my question on hsv1 - how do I know if it's oral or genital? I never had an outbreak and have tested thru culture of discharges and came back negative always. I been having symptoms - like burning legs , pain in my lower back , irritation of vulva area but never had a sore or lesion whatsoever for last 8 weeks now . Went to doctor at least 13 times within this time frame and no one saw anything. I was so stress thinking I have hsv2 but now that's neg... I been thinking about hsv1. I don't recall ever having a cold sore on my lips ever and nor down and under .... And with amount of stress and depression on hsv2 .... If I had have hsv1 wouldn't I have an outbreak? How do I tell my partner in the future about it? Thanks any advice would be grateful! God bless, S

Hi all, I was tested positive on July 15 with Hsv 1 < 5 Hsv2 = 2.43 I got my WB on 8/25 and just got the result this Wednesday of hsv1 pos and hsv2 NEG!!!! So my question on hsv1 - how do I know if it's oral or genital? I never had an outbreak and have tested thru culture of discharges and came back negative always. I been having symptoms - like burning legs , pain in my lower back , irritation of vulva area but never had a sore or lesion whatsoever for last 8 weeks now . Went to doctor at least 13 times within this time frame and no one saw anything. I was so stress thinking I have hsv2 but now that's neg... I been thinking about hsv1. I don't recall ever having a cold sore on my lips ever and nor down and under .... And with amount of stress and depression on hsv2 .... If I had have hsv1 wouldn't I have an outbreak? How do I tell my partner in the future about it? Thanks any advice would be grateful!

Hi, sorry but ur doctor did NOT swab the sore/pimple/lesion like on ur chin? That is a error on his part if he didn't. The blood test doesn't tell u the location other than u were infected sometime in ur life. Go to medhelp website and post ur situation and the guys there are very knowledgeable about herpes. What u said about ur chin doesn't sound like herpes outbreak. Usually if it's ur first outbreak it would be much more than just one ( I believe). Do u know ur test result # ? If this is recent infection... Your # should be low. How long after the encounter with the girl did u test? At this point in time... The best thing to do is next outbreak u have ... Go to a std clinic or even a dermatologist to ask for a PCR test on the sore. They can type the HSV .... IF that's HSV at all. Do it in 48 hours. I don't know but somehow I don't think ur chin is HSV at all... I recommend u to post ur question on medhelp. Btw, is this ur first herpes test ? God bless, S

It sounds u were diagnosed with blood test only and never had symptoms? If so, if you take a look at the result...there should be a # . If it's lower than 3 then it will fall under low positive... That means, it can be FALSE positive or potential new infection. If you have low positive.. I encourage to get a western blot test as confirmatory test. I tested positive for hsv2 at 2.43 but I just it my WB result on Wednesday and I am NEG! So take a look at your result b4 u break up with ur girl or accept your condition.... This is a life condition and u should do the right thing and get it confirm( if you have no outbreak). It's so worth it!!! Praying for u and God bless, S

I am so sorry about ur experience . It is much more rare to have hsv2 above the wait line. I read that hsv2 will cause less outbreak if it's above the waistline since it likes it better in the genital. But if u have oral sex ... It is possible to give someone hsv2 genital . So don't have oral sex when u have an outbreak and best way to minimize transmission to anyone is on melds and also use protection like a dental dam or even female condom. How were u diagnosed? From medhelp... Grace said it only shed 1% without outbreak. http://www.medhelp.org/posts/STDs/HSV2/show/271967 Btw, I had thought I was infected by hsv2 genitally and went thru the blame myself stage. My sister who is a doc said to me and makes a lot of sense. You have to love yourself fully and forgive yourself when unintentional mistakes do happen. We don't know why The Lord would pave this road but we make our own decisions. We are often clouded by the feeling of love and there is nothing wrong with being in love but sometimes the love feeling comes with consequences that's all. Please take care and I will pray for you. God bless, S

You should get ur blood test result and the score. The blood test without actual outbreak may not be reliable. I tested positive for both hsv1 and 2 but my hsv2 fall into potential false positive score. So on 8/25 I took a WB test as confirmatory test. I am waiting for my result. I am very irritated down there for 7 weeks now but never had lesions or sores ( I hope I didn't miss them but been to the doctors for 10 times) and no one saw anything to swab. So just for ur peace of mind... U should get ur blood test result and go get seen by a doc if u feel like u r having outbreak to get PCR or culture. God bless, S

Hi tryingtostayzen (love the name), You should get a blood test done- igg to detect antibody of herpes. That may help you in this situation but the test should be done at the appropriate time. From doing research, visual diagnosis are only about 70% accurate. Next time u get another outbreak , go and ask for a pcr test. That would help you to know if it's hsv1 or 2. There are tons of into from the posters here and also medhelp. Was ur unprotected encounter just a one time thing? It's unlikely to be infected from one time event unless he was shedding virus or had an outbreak he didn't know. Keep following up until u have clinical evidence for herpes. Below is some info that maybe helpful and dancer can provide many wonderful links :). God bless, S HERPES TESTS There are two types of herpes tests readily available, a culture and a blood test. Both tests have advantages and disadvantages. This information sheet should help you understand the differences between the tests to decide which one is right for you. CULTURE A "culture" is when fluid from a suspected herpes blister is grown at the laboratory and then examined to determine if herpes virus is present. You must have a current outbreak for a culture to be done. If the test is positive, it is a true positive, meaning that you do have herpes. If test is negative, it may be a false negative, meaning you may or may not have herpes. The accuracy of a culture drops by 50% if the outbreak has been present four days or longer. Because a culture is done from the lesion itself, the test will determine specifically which type of herpes is causing the outbreak. It cannot tell how long you have been infected. BLOOD TEST In a blood test, the liquid part of the blood is examined for antibodies that the body develops after being infected with herpes. You do not have to have a current outbreak to have the test done. If the test is negative, it is a true negative, meaning that you do not have herpes. If the test is positive, you may or may not have herpes. In some cases we can determine that it is a true positive, that you do have herpes. But other times there may be a cross reaction with other herpes viruses such as chicken pox (herpes zoster) or mononucleosis (Epstein-Barr virus), giving a false positive result. Although a blood test can tell which types of herpes you are infected with, it cannot determine at what site you are infected with them. You could have type 2 orally or type 1 genitally. The test can determine if you were likely infected in the last 6 months or if it has been longer than that. But it cannot tell the difference between an infection that occurred 5 years ago and one that occurred 10 years ago.

Hi MC0704, ur encounter is almost zero risk from reading the doctors forum on medhelp.... So I think ur chances are very pretty good not have gotten anything at all. I think testing with ur new guy is a fantastic idea... I wish I was that smart b4 I got myself in this position :( I think if ur test is neg by 8 or 12 weeks... U should be able to get the peace of mind u need. Good luck on ur new relationship and I wish u much happiness from it :)

Dancer, u mentioned rash... What kind of rash did u get? Was it bumpy and raised up? I just got a patch of red rash on my tailbone but no bump just redness on skin. It didn't feel itchy until I noticed. I got the redness after my nap on Thursday and it's faded a bit but can still see a bit of patchy red but no bump or anything... Wondering if this is herpe related or I been just depressed and sitting in bed for too many hours? I can't get to a doc until Tuesday but I don't know what they can swab with just red skin? Ur wisdom is much appreciated as alway! God bless, S

If it make sense, just test HIV again... To give u a peace of mind so u don't obsess about it. Btw, u r so strong from this assault... I truly admire ur strength and wishing u the very best! I am humble and ashame that I couldn't even handle the potential outcome. I wanted u to know that :)