Needing advice on HSV tests

[Kmiskimon]

About 2 1/2 months ago my boyfriend suddenly had a small patch of red bumps appear on his pubic area. To both his and my knowledge we were both clean, neither of us having a history of any STDs. Within a day these red bumps turned in to blisters and continued to progress like a pretty standard herpes outbreak. At this point my boyfriend was quite certain he had herpes and was completely devastated about it. In 2 1/2 months we have gone through a lot. Him trying to accept and come to peace with the fact that he has genital herpes and me trying to be the best emotional support I can for him. About a week and a half ago he had a second outbreak, which was way more intense than the first. This time he was physically ill as well and the blisters had moved from his pubic area to the base of his penis. He decided to go to the doctor to get a solid diagnosis and medication for the outbreak. They did both a blood and urine test. A few days ago he got a call from the doctor, saying all his test results came back negative. So I guess my question is, how accurate are blood tests for HSV? Or is it possible these outbreaks are being caused by some sort of other skin condition or disease that mimics the symptoms of a genital herpes outbreak?

[ChanelChanel]

That is great to hear that you are supporting him :) I can say that support is needed during a time as such. He actually may have to wait until his body builds up antibodies. They test for herpes by detecting the presence of the antibodies and it also depends on the type/name of test. What type of test did he get? All test have a possibility of yielding a false negative, but some more than others. WCSDancer2010 (our wonderful and knowledgeable forum mom) says that is can take up to 4 to 6 months after exposure to get the best testing. Did they swabbed the actual site of blisters? This is another effective way. (Also, it seems like herpes, however, I know that Syphilis, STDs Candidiasis (yeast infection), Impetigo and Eczema (both extremely uncommon), can give the appearance of herpes... He should get test for everything if he haven't already)

 

Also, I know this might be tough on you both, but he will be okay no matter how it goes. I hope you two the best in getting this resolve. Feel free to give updates so that we can pitch in to help further.

 

I hope I was able to give you sufficient information (I am pretty new to the condition myself, but this forum is so informative!)

[WCSDancer2010]

@Kmiskimon

 

Hello and Welcome!

 

@ChanelChanel covered it pretty well

 

Personally, I would have YOU also get tested...because it's possible you have been carrying the virus and not known it and passed it to him...which means he is newly exposed and will not have enough antibodies in his system yet to show a positive result.

 

I would advise both of you to go in to a Planned Parenthood (assuming you are in the USA) and get a FULL STD run-up ... make sure they do Chlamydia, HPV, and Herpes for you both, and if your BF has any blisters, have them culture them because that may show up before the bloodwork will be reliable. If your funds are limited PP will usually do a sliding scale (go in with $20 each in your pockets and just make that payment at the time, then wait for the bill... it will usually be lower if you make it clear your funds are limited...then you can make payments as you can afford it). PP has people with the knowledge and the experience to give you far better advice than your family Dr...promise :( BTW, a urine test won't tell you about Herpes..... not sure what they were looking at unless they were thinking Chlamydia but if so, that doesn't turn up with blisters :/

 

It IS possible he's having a reaction to something like laundry detergent, but it DOES sound like Herpes. Print these out and read them with him so he has something to help him understand that he is FAR from alone with this...

 

Handouts:

http://bit.ly/h-opp-diagnosis-handout

http://bit.ly/h-opp-disclosure-handout

 

Disclosure e-book:

http://eepurl.com/b4IPP

 

And good for you for standing by him.... many here would be eternally grateful to have someone like you helping him through this.

 

(((HUGS)))

[Kmiskimon]

Thank you both so much for the support! I know I definitely need to go in and get tested myself. I may have the virus, or have been carrying it. But he was completely honest to the best of his knowledge at the beginning of our relationship that his ex had herpes. He was ignorant, thinking that as long as they didn't have sex while she was having an outbreak he wouldn't get it. Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication between us and I wasn't aware of that detail, I thought he had already been tested and was clean. Obviously that was not the case. The reason they did both a blood and urine test was to do a full run up of STDs, so he's showing up clean for everything else.

 

Thank you for the advice on going to Planned Parenthood. I was really stunned they didn't do a culture sample since he was in the middle of having an outbreak. On the blood test they did IgM and IgG for type 1 and 2 on both. All four tests came up negative though.

 

Again, thank you so much for the support and answers!!! I will make sure to share those handouts with him.