Could I have had genital herpes for 13 years

They swabbed a sore on the Vigina

My doctors sent me as I have been having vaginal itching and sores around there

So I could have had it and he's has not contracted it in 13 years

Either of you could have had it. Yes it could've been dormant for years. Has he been tested for hsv? Blood test (igg)? Did your symptoms begin shortly after a sexual encounter?

Yes, that's very possible. Not sure if you have access to the herpes IgG antibody test in the UK, but if so, your husband could test to find out if he carries it. Wait for your swab results first, though. It may not be herpes.

They said they don't do blood tests here as not reliable unfortunatley

They have said they do not do blood tests as most people have the hsv1 virus in there system so will only test when symptoms are visible

It depends. The IgM test for herpes is unreliable. The IgG test is a lot better, but can occasionally miss cases of HSV1 and sometimes cause false positives for HSV2 in some cases of pre-existing HSV1. It depends on the test kit. The US HerpeSelect test kit is prone to these issues, but the German EuroImmun test kit is supposedly not. The NHS doesn't really offer either, so you'd probably have to go private or via one of those online lab services.

Hey felis catus I know you have a lot of knowledge about this in freaking out here I just want to clarify something is it possible that I could have had it and not passed it to my partner in 13 years of sex not that often I might add

Yes, that is possible, as already noted.

Thank you for your reply I'm just freaking out cause I put my symtoms in google and it always came up with genital herpes another question the initial outbreak when doe this normally occur and how bad can it be would you notice the symtoms

Most symptomatic people will experience a first outbreak within a week of infection, but a minority don't for months or years. Also, in a discordant couple, the negative partner might not acquire herpes until months or years later, which adds to the confusion. To make it even more confusing, most people are asymptomatic or near asymptomatic, so have no symptoms or unrecognised ones. Those who are symptomatic tend to get moderate to bad first outbreaks. So, taken together, it can be rather confusing to understand as a result of all the exceptions, etc.!

Thank you for all the info my swabs have come back negative so sigh of relief

That's good then!