Negative herpes blood test??

[Ekent3]

I was recently told I had herpes and then told my blood test came back negative but I'm still worried that I do have it! I started having signs of a yeast infection but didn't think much of it. Two nights later I had unprotected sex with a new partner. I took a monistat three nights later and the next day I started noticing sores. I was able to get an appointment at planned parenthood four days later. When I went in I was told that I had herpes. She was absolutely positive but I insisted on doing a test so it was 100% sure. She told me she'd be calling me in about a week to give me the results but in the mean time she went ahead and put me on medication. I also had started my period two days before I went to my appointment. A week later she calls and tells me that my results were negative. The sores had completely gone away the day before she called. It was still a little tinder but nothing was visible anymore. She said it must have been a reaction to the monistat but I'm worried it might have been a false negative. So my question is, is it possible that I had a false negative blood test during my outbreak?? Or would the virus have been present in my blood if I was having an outbreak. I'm going back in a month for another blood screen but I don't want to stop taking the medicine and risk having an outbreak if it was a false negative!

[WCSDancer2010]

Ekent3

 

Hello and Welcome.

 

The issue here is how long it was after you got exposed that you were tested. It sounds like it was only weeks at best, so yes, it's entirely possible that you had a false negative. Igm tests (for recent exposure) are not recommended because of their unreliability and the IgG tests will not be close to accurate for 4-6 months. When that time comes, if you can get the Western Blot it's the most accurate, otherwise you will need the IgG.

 

Right now you are in a waiting game pattern until that 4-6 month window is past. If you have another blister OB, then you can try to get it cultured. It's really difficult to get a full diagnosis this early on... sorry :(

[Ekent3]

Thank you so much! So another question I have.. She put me on suppressive therapy but told me to go ahead and not fill my next prescription since the results were negative. Would it be best for me to go ahead and continue taking it incase it was a false negative? Or would that affect my next test that I do?