I tested positive but my partner tested negative for herpes.

You either have antibodies = infected, or no antibodies = not infected. Whether the test can pick it up is another thing, but the vast majority of infected people have detectable levels after 3-4 months.

That's what I thought. But when I looked I saw people discussing the same thing she experienced with her boyfriend. I thought it was pretty black and white.

Hi feliscatus,

You seem really knowledgable about GH. Hope you could shed some light to me. Ive recently had symptoms like a cut (close to anus) and 3 ulcers on my genital, body felt warm and had flu for like a day. Doctor looked at it and told me that its herpes and later gave me "herpevex". Maybe because i took the medicine, my outbreak wasnt too bad. It wasnt too painful to endure (only felt the stinging pain for few minutes) and it probably took 4 days to clear since the ulcer was formed. I also took blood test which includes IGG antibody test. A week later i got my result and it says negative on both HSV1 and HSV 2. Now the problem is, i believe i got infected 10 days before i got tested. So i believe my result is just negative because im in the "window period".

Okay this might be a stupid question, but im wondering, i got myself tested when i got symptoms, would there be a higher chance of producing IGG antibody earlier (if im infected).

And if im infected, IGG antibody will definitely not be there (symptoms or not) if im only infected for a week?

Also, my partner has no symptoms. According to him, he havent had sex for 2 years. He got himself tested after i told him, but its just some standard STD test which means they didnt test IGG antibody on him. Another question is, if he has no symptoms, how likely is it for him to pass herpes to anyone? We had unprotected sex. My doctor said in the future, as long as i dont have sex during my outbreak, it'll be fine. He said it in a very chill tone but its totally different from what i read on the internet. So if my partner wasnt having an outbreak during the time we had sex, how likely am i to be infected?

Once infected, your body starts to produce antibodies in response to the virus. *Detectable* IgG levels are required for the test, and these aren't usually reached until around 3+ months. Some people will have detectable levels before then, but basically all people will have detectable levels of IgG by 3 months, regardless of symptoms, severity of outbreak, etc. One week is definitely too soon. I would expect you to be negative still, in the case of a new infection. Pity you did not have your outbreak swab tested at the time.

Thank you for your reply. My doctor didnt suggest a swab test, i dont know why. He didnt even inspect my vagina properly. He only said its herpes when i checked it again myself at home and went back to him the next day. Im feeling so sad right now. I know the result is just negative because i got tested too soon. With all my symptoms, its most likely herpes. Only did it once with my new partner and cant believe i caught herpes. Thank you for taking your time to reply. I appreciate that.

That is poor of your doctor to not do a swab test while you were there with symptoms to swab! In case anything comes up in the meantime, get it swabbed.

I definitely have herpes, yet tested negative for IgG around 2 weeks post infection. Don't know when I seroconverted, but I was off the charts at 4 months! Btw, that's the only way to tell if an infection is new or not: Negative IgG that becomes positive (ideally with a positive swab).

What does your partner have to say? Has he tested?

yeah im sure i have herpes too. For a second i was happy again after i got the result.

Partner says that hes not worried and insist that he doesnt have herpes. He wouldnt know if he has it or not. He got tested for standard STD and it all came back negative. Havent got tested for IgG. He never had any symptoms. How likely is it for anyone to transmit herpes when they are not having outbreaks? Am i really this lucky..we only did it like once. Sigh

Also, did you have symptoms the time you got tested?

I found this,

" When no sores are visible, the risks are less certain, but there is a possibility of the herpes virus being present on the surface of the skin even without causing a sore — this is called viral, or asymptomatic, shedding (read What is viral shedding? for more information). Viral shedding can occur at anytime and usually occurs near where active herpes sores appear.

Because herpes can occur on parts of the body that aren't covered by a condom, and because of the possibility of viral shedding, transmission can happen during vaginal, anal, and/or oral sex, even if you're using protection. Viral shedding occurs a few days per year at the most; however it's not possible to pinpoint the "shedding" days, so take this into consideration when making your decisions."

So shedding on occurs a few days per year at the most. Could i be really that lucky im wondering. Ughh

Yep, lesions aren't necessary for transmission, besides which they could be hidden or otherwise obscured, even to the infected person (underneath hair, in a skin fold, internal). Shedding typically occurs from mucosal skin, and only via regular skin in the presence of lesions. On men, the head and shaft are semi-mucosal.

Shedding is not year-round, fortunately, but some people are higher shedders than others, so remember that averages are averages, not the full range. New herpes infections (first year), a recent illness or an oncoming/just healed outbreak are potentially associated with increased shedding.

You may be okay, so stay strong and get yourself diagnosed when you can. I was nearing the tail-end of my first outbreak when I had my first IgG test, so had healing lesions. It really makes no difference to the IgG test, only to swabs. Don't want to freak you out, but it's possible to be that unlucky, btw. Since you asked, I got it after a first-time sexual encounter with a new partner who didn't have visible lesions and says he never had symptoms, etc. Sucks.

It seems like what happened to you is exactly whats happening to me I pretty much think that i have herpes already. The odds of not having it is too low. But i still cant believe that i could be this unlucky to have sex with him during his viral shedding which only happens a few days in a year at most. Unbelievable.

Sex will never be the same again. Most people would walk away if you tell them you are infected.

I couldnt get any infos i wanted online anywhere else. Thank you for taking your time to explain to me. I will keep you updated.

My thoughts exactly, so I can only conclude that my giver is a high shedder for whatever reason (maybe recently infected at the time, had a recent illness, just because he is, who knows?) and it was just my great misfortune to end up with him. My biggest regret ever. Anyway, hope for the best but prepare for the worst, and do post an update. Perhaps you'll be luckier than me. Glad I was of help.

Never in my life i would think that id get this close to herpes. Ive realised it too late. Ive been reading alot and ive realised...im just googling things, hoping its not herpes. But then....ive had all symptoms. If i havent had any symptoms then maybe im not infected. Doesnt matter if he was shedding the time we had sex or not now..because he obviously was and im infected. Its hard to swallow the harsh truth. The timing of all the symptoms ive had is just perfect. Id be surprised if its not herpes. I'll keep you updated. Herpes or not i hope to keep in touch

I never thought this would happen to me, too. I've never had an STD before in my life, and now this. For life. Sigh. You can hope that it's not herpes, or that it's at least Type 1. What symptoms have you been having?

Yeah I've been good all my life and now this, when i did it only once with that person. Genital ulcers to be other things? I've tried real hard hoping haha. And i think it'd be rare for HSV 1 to give me genital ulcers.

Okay i'll tell my symptoms in as detail as i can.

1. Had urinary tract infection few days after sex. Thought it was just that so didnt worry too much about it. Had been coughing prior to that and continued to cough for a week. Started to have sore throat, but to be fair, i didnt drink alot of water that week and i often get sore throat even before that. In fact, i had sore throat before the exposure . So its possible that its due to heat or dehydration.

2. 10 days later, formed 2 ulcers in my mouth. Had flu for abit like maybe just for a couple of hours. Body felt warm for 2-3 days but not as hot as fever, just warmer. Sore throat gone and came back for a few days. If im not wrong, during that time, i also felt a "cut" around my vagina(the part thats close to my anus) sometimes i get this after sex but this happened like after a week and lasted for a few days. Normally its only there for 1-2 days. So i went to the doctor, pointed to him where the "cut" was and he was like.."this doesnt look like herpes as this bump looks big and herpes are like small ulcers. Said it could be chlamydia.

3. Went home and checked again myself, found 2 tiny spots on my labia minora. And another one that looks like a developed ulcer (white colored spot) at the end of my vagina.

4. Went back to the doctor, he looked at it and told me its herpes. I asked him if theres anyway it could be anything else? He said no. Got myself test and got the result a week later, another doctor attended to me and told me that its all negative. Heres the problem...nobody asked me when i think i could be infected! So then i figured myself that i've tested too early.

5. Right now, i feel abit of pain when urinating again. My butt feels weird too, like a little numb or something. Im supposed to have my period around this time. Not sure if that could be the cause.

Overall i only felt pain for like...10 minutes throughout the outbreak. Also, One of the doctor (the one who read my result) inspected me again and said if its herpes it wouldve hurt alot. I didnt feel anything at that point. But...i was already on medication, so maybe it was already healing.

It doesn't always hurt a lot. My first outbreak was quite moderate to mild, with the worst pain coming from the UTI-like symptom, not so much the lesions (only had around 3-4). If this is herpes and you had possible oral symptoms as well, then perhaps it's Type 1. Did you receive any oral sex?

Yeah UTI symptoms. Sounds like we have ALOT in common. For me, everything is bearable so far. Didnt you have any oral symptoms? But its rare for hsv1 to infect the genitals isnt it? Yes i did receive oral sex.

No, I had no oral symptoms whatsoever. No systemic issues either like flu-like symptoms or malaise. Type 2 is not often acquired orally, but Type 1 is easily acquired genitally via receiving oral sex. It's become increasingly more common, in fact, especially amongst younger folk who never got cold sores as kids due to greater awareness/prevention by parents, etc.

I've got more symptoms than you then. Maybe i have both Hsv1 and Hsv2. I hope its just hsv1 but i've asked my doctor about it and he said its Hsv 2. I told him i've got ulcers in my mouth and he said the ulcer should be around the lips not inside. I had flu for a couple of hours, wonder if thats how it should be. So you actually didnt have alot of symptoms. what exactly are the symptoms that you had if you dont mind?

It's true that cold sores are normally external, but they can be internal. So, perhaps they were internal cold sores or just canker sores (unrelated to herpes). Without a test, there's no way to tell whether a genital outbreak is due to Type 1 or 2. Both look and progress the same, so I don't know how your doctor can say it's Type 2.

I had burning urination from inside, like a UTI but milder than the ones I'm used to. Still hurt enough to pee, though. Then I found a small bump on my perineum that broke open after a couple of days. Marginally sore to wipe. Discovered a couple more lesions tucked away in labial folds. Those ones looked like canker sores. Also, only marginally sore. I had swollen lymph nodes in my groin, too, but that's it.

Because he saw genital ulcers. Genital ulcers = genital herpes. i guess it rarely could be anything else when theres genital ulcers. Thats the impression i got from the internet. Yes! This time i feel the burning urination feeling from the inside. Not really the ones im used to too. I only had one that looked like a canker sore, but i guess it doesnt matter. An ulcer's an ulcer. Omg! I feel pain at my groin too! Only when i press on it. I told the doctor, he said its because of the urinary problem. Not sure if it was swollen. Its not painful anymore. So do i need to see a doctor to treat this urinary problem? Also, is there any way that we could talk in private? Im new to this.

Hi Feliscatus,

I need opinions from you, hope thats okay. Im still having that one small sort of wound on my genitals. It has been around 6 weeks. It doesnt hurt when touched usually, but today it hurts a little when i tried to feel the wound. Probably cause i put too much pressure on it. It doesnt look like it has healed at all and its visible.

Felis you seem to be very knowledgeable. When you say off the charts how high was yours? My partners first result was 19 only 8 weeks after exposure. I felt like that was really really high.

Unfortunately my clinic does not use herpeselect, nor have I been able to track down that particular test kit (I'm not based in the US), so my index value will make no sense in comparison. It was, however, extremely high at 4 months post-exposure. A new infection can score very high following seroconversion, which could be as soon as 2 months. A score of 19 is certainly up there, but whether 19 can be expected at 2 months, I cannot say for sure.

Quick question, I hope. I just found out I have herpes type 2. My boyfriend of 9 months was tested about a year ago after his ex-cheated and was using drugs. He was all negative. I have been his only partner since. Before him I had no symptoms, but also had not been tested. I also did not have a sexual partner for a year before him. I was under the impression paps test std's. Today I found out I was wrong. I know you mentioned the IgG test and I will be going in for blood tests for all std's next week. I originally went in because I thought, and so did they, I had a yeast infection. They swabbed the "cut" and called in yeast infection medicine. I thought I was getting better with it. I had no blisters but a rash and only one cut. My question is how soon can you have an outbreak after exposure given this information?

Can you possibly help clarify something for me? I tested positive for HSV2 3 weeks ago (1.38) even though I have only had intermittent burning, discomfort, etc, for about 2 months. My boyfriend got tested ans is negative along and my previous partner was negative prior to me, though I suggested he get re-checked now just to be sure.

Would'nt a low count indicate a more recent infection? And since neither of them have it, could I have acquired it from a partner over a year and a half earlier? Wouldn't I have a higher count by now? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

If you have never had an outbreak, have pre-existing HSV1 (with or without a history of cold sores), and were tested by the HerpeSelect IgG kit, there is a possibility that your low positive is false. Assuming it's not false, in an immunocompetent individual, a low positive could suggest a very recent infection, or possibly a very old one that your body has not maintained high levels of antibodies to. By 3-4 months post-exposure, you'd expect it to be much higher.

I had a similar situation. While my husband and i were separated i had a different partner for a few months. That ended and my husband and i got back together. It’s been 9 months since the other partner. I’ve been with my husband for over 8 years. I recently tested positive iGg test for HSV 1 & 2. Positive swab and biopsy for HSV 2. What i can’t seem to understand is that a couple months ago i had all negative blood and swabs.... my husband swears he hasn’t been with anyone else. But testing negative and then positive suggests a new infection. I’m so confused. Help!! Thank you