follow up to Herpes-please help

Doctor R. I am just following up with me previous post back on
3/25/05 Herpes-Please help.

I went to the dematologist and he said the skin is just very irritated. The bumps and the skin cracking were just caused from irritation. He said it could have been a number of factors. I had just moved to a very hummid area and only been there for 6 months when the condition showed up, so he thinks that could have been a factor.

My original herpes test was only a IGM  antibody screen, which came back Not detected after one week of possible exposure. The docotor said she performed this test because it can detect a recent infection. I decided to go in for type specific retest 12 weeks after possible exposure.
The test was the herpes select test and was ran by quest diagnostics.

The reference range of the test for both HSV-1 and 2 are as follows
<.90 negative : .90-1.10 Equivocal : >1.10 positive.
my results for the HSV-1 IGG was 0.21, which is negative
and for HSV-2 IGG was .02, which is negative. She also ran another IGM screen which came back Not-detected again.

My question is in December of 2004 I think I was exposed to a cold sore from my ex-girl friend, when she gave me oral sex. I called her and she said she was using abreva to prevent transmission. I had no symptoms from that contact at all, until the sepearate sexual encounter 2 months later when the skin became red and a little bumpy on the penis head. The test for type 1 herpes was performed 5.5 months after the exposure to my ex. Should I be worried about the .21 IGG result.

I am now feel better having the test results. MY question is the HSV-2 is very very low, but the HSV-1 test was .21. Does that mean I was exposed to the virus but I am not infected. I heard that having chicken pox can have an impact on herpes test results. Is a IGG level of .21 normal for healthy people?

Just to update you on my condition, the skin on the head of my penis is still rough, kind of grainy looking all over the head, and it still has the needle size bumbs on the head. They are just in random positions on the head. The skin is now more of a pinkish redish color. The dematologist gave me Eucerin moisterizing cream and told me to use that twice a day, and try not to look at the skin. The skin still looks bad after 3.5 months, will it ever heal, or could this be permanent condition, or does irritation take a very long time to clear up. The shaft of the penis never had a rash or bumps and the small rash I had on my scrutom has never come back. Do you have any suggestions on how to clear this problem up. Any help would be great. Thank you again for helping me through this difficult time. I did go back an get an HIV test at 3 months and it came negavtive as wells. Sorry for being a hypoconriac, I am just trying to make sense of everything.

-Wave_396

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

The value of 0.21 does not mean that you have a little bit of herpes.  It means you do not have herpes.  Every test has a normal range--nobody has a zero.  So your test is normal, which is conssitent with what the dermatologist found on examination.

Time to stop worrying, my friend.

Dr. Rockoff