my partner was tested today and this is what his doctor said?
Posted , 4 users are following.
So apparently I have two partners and I'm the only one that woke up out of no where with herpes. They both are getting tested today and this is one doctor said so far ........
I just left two doctors I know this ain't what you want to hear but I they both said I can't test you for herpes, even getting blood work done. If you have a reaction then cool we can test you, but if you don't then we cant. Both doctors said you might have been exposed to it and developed antibodies within myself to fight the virus off if I did come in contact with it. Running blood work is pointless to see because it still won't show if you have the virus or not. I'm sorry that you got it and I don't know how you may have gotten it but all I know is blood work still is a waste of time to see if someone has herpes unless there are small bumps around my penis..
DO YALL THINK THIS IS TRUE? Or should I wait until my second partner go get tested to see what her doctor say? I'm really starting to think I got Herpes type two out of no where
1 like, 10 replies
jane80952 jasmine84852
Posted
The doctor is saying that the best way to test for herpes is culture, which is a swab from an actual sore. This tests directly for the virus itself. The blood tests work differently; they work by detecting antibodies your body makes to fight the virus, not the virus itself. Some herpes blood tests are more accurate than other blood tests, and all of them can give false positive or false negative results, depending how long it's been since you were exposed, whether you have type 1 or 2, and other factors. So the CDC does not recommend taking a blood test, unless you are at high risk for getting the virus (multiple partners, partner with known hsv, atypical symptoms, etc).
Once the virus gets into your skin cells and then hides out, permanently, in nerve cells. You may or may not have sores or symptoms at the time you first get it. Then the virus goes dormant and periodically reactivates. So you can get sores or symptoms much later than when you actually got the virus.
Sounds like the Doctor of the person without symptoms thinks the blood test should not be given to that person. Different doctors have different opinions about this, and unfortunately some doctors are also not well educated about herpes. A different Doctor might b more willing to run the blood test on your partner (s), but they have to wait 3-4 months after the suspected exposure or they could get a false negative result.
Their blood test would not tell you for sure whether you got it from them or not (because you could have had it without symptoms, before you were with them.) if they test positive, you could have gotten it from them or they could have gotten it from you.
brittany65756 jane80952
Posted
jane80952 brittany65756
Posted
My understanding is that if you truly develop antibodies, then you have have the herpes virus (even if it's dormant). The issue is whether or not the blood tests are picking up / detecting antibodies to herpes virus type 1, type 2, or something other than herpes. Errors can occur, altho the blood tests being used now are more accurate than they used to be. If you take an ELISA blood test (the most commonly administered one) and it is type 2 positive but your IgG score is less than 3.5, and you have not had a positive culture, then you should get a western blot blood test from the University of Washington to confirm the result. But you must wait 3-4 months (6 months max) after the potential exposure to avoid a false negative, because it can take your body that long to develop enough antibody to show up in a western blot test. ELISA detects antibody sooner (within a few weeks generally), but has more issues with false positives than the western blot. The blot is the gold standard test; it is used in research.
Also the ELISA test misses around 30% of type 1 (gives false negatives).
FelizCastus jasmine84852
Posted
The IgG test is specifically for those without symptoms and there's no such thing as being "only exposed" to herpes. If you have antibodies to it, you have it and can spread it, whether you get symptoms or not. It's true the CDC doesn't recommend routine testing (which is stupid, imo), but it does recommend testing if you've been exposed or had multiple partners, etc. There is no reason for them to not test. The IgG test has its flaws, but is generally reliable for Type 2.
jane80952 jasmine84852
Posted
IgG is helpful to confirm someone has herpes (either type 1 or 2) when their symptoms are atypical or unclear. It is not reserved for those with zero symptoms. There are a number of reasons it isn't recommended unless you are having symptoms, suspect exposure
, or are otherwise high risk. Receiving a type 2 diagnosis has negative psychosocial impacts that can outweigh any benefits. Most people do not experience noticeable symptoms, and the similarities between type 1 and 2 exceed their differences. Type 1 commonly transfers to genitals in oral sex and recurs there some 15% of the time. Yet ELISA misses 30% of this genital (type 1) herpes and misdiagnoses a not insignificant amount as type 2. It is not even recommended fur routine prenatal screening despite the dangers for new acquisition during pregnancy for vertical transmission to neonates (where it can cause serious even fatal health conditions, altho type 1 does the same in neonatal acqusition during childbirth).
Further, no blood test (not even the blot) can tell whether the site of infection is oral or genital. Type 1 is by no means limited to the mouth and type 2 is not limited to genitals.
All this said, your partners may want to be tested since they were exposed to someone who evidently has the virus--- but that is their choice.
no ones going to start kissing or having oral sex using dental dams, which is the only way to fully prevent genital herpes. oral type 1 is virtually impossible to escape ... Everyone eventually will get it if they live long enough.
FelizCastus jane80952
Posted
A positive for Type 2 is presumed to be genital. Even the CDC states this. It is rare, if not unheard of, to only have Type 2 orally. Low positives for Type 2 are normally only contentious when the individual is also positive for Type 1. There is nothing wrong with routine testing for Type 2, provided the results are clearly explained (except too many doctors are ignorant). Or better yet, the US adopts a current IgG test kit other than HerpeSelect which doesn't have this cross issue.
jane80952 FelizCastus
Posted
FelizCastus jane80952
Posted
Most young people have Type 1, not Type 2, but that's besides the point. Js.
Type 2 rarely infects the oral region, and if and when it does, it's usually the case that the person acquired it genitally as well, hence why the CDC and HSV specialists presume a positive Type 2 IgG result to be likely indicative of a genital infection.
jane80952 FelizCastus
Posted
Without a culture (or PCR), you don't know where the infection is, whether type 1 or 2. And since the poster's partners have no symptoms, a blood test, even if accurate for type, will not reveal where it is. The latest NHANES shows type 1 is actually decreasing among younger people. Therefore they have no pre-existing antibody to it and are susceptible to getting type 1 genitally from oral sex, which they increasingly are. I believe they are seeing more neonates with type 1 issues because of the increasing genital 1. The epidemiology of type 1 is changing, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/12106513/?i=2&from=/15115626/related
Also see
[b]http://www.herpes.com/hsv1-2[b].html
So the lines between the two types are becoming more blurred,but the commonly administered blood tests are limited in their ability to distinguish them. It is too expensive to give everyone a blot.
FelizCastus jane80952
Posted
You're overthinking it. The OP has gHSV-2 and suspects one of two partners. Assuming it is indeed one of the two, he will show up positive for Type 2 and it can be assumed to be a genital infection, even if he claims not to have symptoms (although most people do, if they are taught what to look out for). Furthermore, it makes sense that they test, since they are both the potential source and/or have been exposed, but that is ultimately up to them to decide as with any other test.