confused and unsure of diagnosis

[summerfun4545]

alright, so. last week, on monday, i noticed itching at the bottom of my vagina after i had sex (unprotected), and when i had looked at it there was a lot of dry skin around the area that was itching. I looked it up and compared my symptoms, and all that was coming up was the possibility of a yeast infection. I then took a rag with soapy water and rubbed the area and a cut had appeared. i thought “oh crap this is definitely herpes” and sought to compare pictures of herpes sores compared to what was going with me. they did not look the same at all. i began to try to see what symptoms i could have of herpes and the only ones that really came together was a headache, and itching. i never had the feeling of the flu, i never had the feeling of excruciating pain, and i never had any blister form. regardless, i went to the sti clinic and they performed a swab, and i just got the call this past tuesday that the test did in fact come back positive for hsv2. this is the first time i’ve experienced an “outbreak” and it’s nothing like what people describe and definitely doesn’t look like the pictures i’ve looked at. my four questions are 1) could the swab in fact be wrong?  2) does the swab test for antibodies, or the virus itself? 3) how do i know for sure i have this virus? and 4) is it possible to have the antibodies without the virus itself? 

[MaryM]

I think the outbreaks are different for everyone and can range from mild to severe. I believe the swab tests for the virus itself. It's always possible there was a lab error.  I don't believe that you would have the antibodies in your blood without having the virus.  So if a blood test confirms that the antibodies are present, that means the virus is in your system.  You should get the blood test retaken if you're unsure.  But the fact that you didn't have many symptoms may mean you have a really strong immune system...so that's good!