Jack101

In addition, he may have HSV-2 and be putting you at risk of HSV-2 as well as HSV-1.

I would advise he get a HSV-1/2 IgG blood test. Though you are right that a positive HSV-1 test does not show where the infection is located, it does have a purpose. It shows whether the person is at risk for infection with HSV-1. If he is positive for HSV-1 and has never had symptoms, it is likely a oral infection. However, this would mean he is not at risk for a genital infection, and there would not be a need for condoms or suppressive therapy on your part concerning HSV-1 (condoms are still recommended for other STDs).

Yes, so you definitely how herpes. What is most important is that your boyfriend be tested to ensure he does not have herpes. He needs to know if he is infected, so if your relationship ends, he will not go into a new relationship not knowing his status.

@hikinggirl: The likely reason in the uptick of GHSV-1 is the decreasing prevalence of oral HSV-1 in the young adolesent population and the decreased courtship seen today. If an individual that is negative for HSV-1/2 is dating a individual positive for HSV-1 orally and they wait for a few weeks or months before engaging in oral sex, the HSV-1 negative individual would have likely aquired HSV-1 orally with the production of antibodies to prevent genital infection .

The above treatment and management of your daughter is incorrect. PCR on a blood test is worthless; herpes is not present in the blood stream. Your doctor should not have ordered the test as it is a waste of money. PCR can be ordered on bleeding lesions, but not from the blood. A low positive IgG HSV-2 (or for that matter, even a high positive IgG is not conclusive that herpes is causing the sores as you mentioned that acute reactive apthous ulcers are quite common after treatment). A swab of the lesion would have had to been taken. You need to have a western blot performed 12-16 weeks after her last sexual activity (oral, anal, vaginal) for a definitive diagnosis. The IgG test should not be positive in an initial outbreak. If she has HSV-2 she has likely had it for a while and the procedure lowered her immune response. However, HSV-2 from oral sex is extremely rare. As of now, it is unknown, whether your daughter has HSV-2 or not. Given her history of only oral sex, it is likely she does not have HSV-2 and this was reactive apthous ulcers after a procedure with a false positive HSV-2. She will need a western blot to determination the final diagnosis.

The most common Blood tests (Herpes select) measure IgG antibody production, which usually takes a few weeks to produce. If this is truly your first outbreak, after a recent infection, the IgG tests will be negative, as your body has not had time to produce enough IgG antibodies.

I normally would say that you have HSV2; however, in the last few months, there has been a uptick of high false positives with the Herpes select test. I would defintively recommend a Western Blot test for confirmation. This can be obtained though the University of Washington. You will need a physician to order the test. This can be obtained by your current physician or Terri Warren at Westoverheights.com can help.

How are you doing Fonda? I just wanted to check to see if your symptoms had cleared up.

Leo how were you diagnosed with HSV2 (swab or blood test) and do you have symptoms.

Have you been tested by a IgG blood test for HSV 1/2?

Marcykatt, if you want to know if you were recently exposed, I would get the IgG blood test. If it is negative, then you know you were recently exposed. I believe this is important. If you are positive by the blood test, you were not recently exposed and you could possibility pass this to your boyfriend if he is negative. In addition, he needs to be tested.

HSV-1 and HSV-2 have high sequence homology and there is some cross reactivity, between HSV-1 and HSV-2. When you were first tested in 2011 it was likely a HSV-2 only test. If you do not have a lesion it is impossible to say were you picked this up.

This does not sound like herpes to me. You may have contracted herpes a year ago, but you also likely contracted something else as well. What have you been tested for other an for herpes.

If you have never had signs or symptoms and were diagnosed with a herpes select test (IgG) test for HSV2 it may well be a false positive. False positive are not uncommon with the herpes select test. What were you values recieved if you don't mind me asking?

@Fonda, sorry for the delay in my response, work has been busy before the holidays. Meloxicam is a NSAID (same class as aspirin) and will not cure an infection but only decrease the inflammation, giving you temporary relief of symptoms. I suspect you have an occult bacterial infection that cannot be grown by culture or detected by the routine tests performed on urine samples. I doubt the bactrim will provide coverage for the organism, but it is only a minimal risk to finish the course. I would suggest a different regimen of antibiotics, but I would like for you to try Mastic gum first as it is known to have many antifungal and antibacterial properties and can be obtained at amazon or other stores without a presciption. The success rate for this regimen is rather low (as we are not completely sure what we are targeting), but as there are no side effects with the exception of loose stools it cannot hurt to try. Week 1: 1000mg of mastic gum daily on an empty stomach Week 2: 2000mg of mastic gum daily, divided into two dosages taken on an empty stomach (take in the morning and afternoon) Week 3: 3000mg of mastic gum daily, divided into three dosages taken on an empty stomach (morning, afternoon, and evening) If you are allergic to Schinus terebinthifolious and other Pistacia species, do not take. If this fails, I will suggest another appropriate antibiotic course, but I hesitant to interfere with the current directions of your physician.

1.3 to 1.6 is not a significant difference and is in the realm of test to test variation. If you have waited the recommended 12-15 weeks, you have over a 50% chance (closer to 90%) chance of being a false positive.

If you meet the recommendations, I would suggest you get the HPV vaccine.

Most people have been infected with HPV, but only a small percentage of individuals demonstrate symptoms. If you have genital warts, they can be removed easily and it is likely that you will clear the virus is less than 1 year.

I agree with hippyherpy. Don't take this the wrong way, but I believe that most of you here are confused as to why the men are leaving. They are not leaving you because of herpes, they are leaving you because they don't see a long term relationship. Often times people will stay in relationships that they don't see progressing when they have nothing to lose. However, when presented with the possibility of infection (i.e. loss), they will often leave because they don't want to take the risk when they don't see a long term future with the individual. In fact, they are saving you time and effort. They likely would have left anyway. Just think of someone you really loved before the diagnosis. If they had herpes would you really have left them?

@Chispa, When was your last sexual encounter?

@Chispa, if you have never had any signs or symptoms than you likely have HSV 1 orally, and your HSV2 value has an over 90% chance of being a false positive. You should obtain a Western Blot test from the University of Washington for confirmation. You can go to there website for further information. Your doctor will have to order the test, or you can go to Terri Warren's website (westover heights and she can assist you). I would not worry about your results as your HSV-2 test is likely a false positive.

No, you may be infected with HPV, but this would not cause the symptoms you describe. Please keep me updated on your condition, I want to see your issue resolved.

@secondchances, I concur with optimist. A negative genital swab simply means no virus was detected at that particular location. There may be no lesion to swab, the lesion may have stopped shedding, or the wrong area was tested. A positive genital swab generally means their is virus detected (You should believe these results unless symptoms do no correlate and there is concern with cross contamination; PCR is highly accurate for HSV as it actually tests for the virus rather than antibody production, but no test is perfect and very rarely, the vial may become contaminated). Blood tests are more sensitive for HSV, but less specific as they test for antibody production. The Herpes select test which you took is very sensitive for HSV-2, but has a high false positive rate. If you are between 1.1-3.5 you have a 50% chance of being a false positive, if you are greater than 3.5 you have a 10% chance of being a false positive. However, per my experience the number of false positives above 3.5 have increased this year. The western blot is the gold standard of antibody testing. You should believe the results of this test.

Non-gonococcal urethritis is not one entity, but rather should be called non-specific urethritis. Non-gonococcal urethritis can be caused by a variety of etiologies including infection, allergy, irritation, etc. As far as infections go, they can be viral and bacterial. Top bacterial organisms include chlamydia (30%), mycoplasma (15%), ureaplasma (debate is out on this one). Top viral include HSV(2-3%) and adenovirus (approximately 4%). However, 50-60% have no identifiable cause. Oral sex is more often associated with no identifiable cause (i.e. the bacteria or virus is not detected. Of the infectious causes, the majority of them are asymptomatic or exhibit only mild symptoms, hence why so many people carry the disease both orally and genitally with no recognition of symptoms. It is only when they infect someone that becomes symptomatic that it is noted. For your particular case, I am concerned about infection with oral or skin flora with possible cellulitis of the urethra. This would not cause a charge or pain with urination. However, after urination, the pain may increase or show more discomfort. I am also concerned about bladder spasms with referred pain that may mimic chronic pelvic pain syndrome as the urethra can at times be a source of referred pain. Is your pain worse, better, or the same after urination and do you have any bladder symptoms (urgency, a feeling of emptiness or fullness).

The reduction in the intensive feeling after cipro may suggest a bacterial etiology, people often forget that the sores of HSV can become infected by bacteria (including normal skin flora) after an outbreak. My above advice still stands. We need to get objective evidence of inflammation and exclude other causes. In general, post herpetic neuralgia occurs with herpes zoster in patients over 60. HSV neuralgia occurs in less than 2-3 percent of cases and there are no good studies for HSV PHN. As you can see, with the rarity of PHN with herpes, other more common conditions, including superimposed bacterial infection need to be excluded.