18 Weeks IGG Negative Tests, Valid?

[tiger39704]

Hi there,

i dont know why i still have this anxiety but about 5 months and a week ago I had protected sex with a prostitute (but not protected oral sex, only the penetrative sex was protected). I never had herpes-like symptoms but my anxiety caused me to get tested for both IGG and IGM tests, HSV1 and 2, at early November (18 weeks after the sexual encounter). All four came back negative so I chose to move on.

But about last week i found several red irritated skin areas on the bottom part of my scrotum. They didn't have any noticeable bump, didn't hurt even when I touched them, just plain skin red irritated area, as if my scrotum was burnt. I went to a dermatologist and she said it was herpes. I tried to complain her that my IGG test was negative but she said a IGG test would only become positive 2 months after you show up symptoms and you can show up symptoms months later after you acquire the virus if your antibody is good.

i visited another dermatologist at the same day and this good doctor said it is a non STD infection. He prescribed me a cream that combine benoson M and fuladic. Apparently benoson M is for fungal infection and fuladic is for Cutaneous staphylococcal infections.

4 days after using them, the redness has disappeared. But at the same day my right scrotum felt very itchy but the itchiness disappear after i scratch it. Now (1 day after) my right scrotum still look red but i think that's it. Also I got flu-like symptoms (except the fever part). Do you think it could be herpes?

If i try to look back, around 2nd week of September i ever received a handjob in massage parlour but no oral/penetrative sex at all. So basically:

1. My negative IGG/IGM test for both HSV1 and 2 was done 18 weeks after the latest sexual encounter
2. That test was done about 2 months after the latest time i got a blowjob

Do you think i can say im 100% have no herpes? Should i get retested at 6 months?

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

Low positive antibody tests are those that fall in the positive range between 1.1 and 3.5.  This doesn't fit for you, right?

Herpes sores generally come about 3-6 times per year, lasting about 1 week to 10 days.

Terri

[tiger39704]

low positive should mean the number in the indicator is close to positive, right?

because my numbers were all below 0.2 (like 0.16). also, how reliable a 18 weeks test should be?

Also, if let's say someone has herpes sores and it disappear, how soon would it come back? Would it come back in just few days?

Those skin rashes at the bottom of my scrotum just reappeared today, im quite sure it wasnt just because of friction (because the location, appearance, etc. very similar with what I had before it disappear few days ago after using cream). I will certainly going back to the doctor who prescribed me the cream tomorrow but I just want to know if a herpes sore would come back just 3-4 days after it disappear?

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

I use antibody testing a lot in my practice, and find that 95% of the time, we get a clear yes-no answer, but 5% of the time we get a low positive value, which needs confirmation.  I think Dr. Hook is a bit more likely to avoid the antibody test due to the possibility of false positives than I am, as we have a mechanism for confirming right away, where many testing sites do not.

Terri

[tiger39704]

Terri, thanks for your input but what do you mean by:

"I completely agree with everything that Dr. Hook told you, except that we differ slightly on the value of antibody testing."

what do you mean "we differ slightly on the value of antibody testing"?

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

I completely agree with everything that Dr. Hook told you, except that we differ slightly on the value of antibody testing.  

Nothing you have described sounds anything like herpes -  not in timing, symptoms, location.  

It's time to put this issue behind you and move on, honestly.  I know sometimes that can be difficult, especially if there is guilt on your part about any of this, but it's time.  There is no more information that you can add here that would change my opinion about this.

Terri

[tiger39704]

hi sorry for another post but i made a mistake in typing in my first post:

"2. That test was done about 2 months after the latest time i got a blowjob "

should be:

"2. That test was done about 2 months after the latest time i got a handjob"

[tiger39704]

I forgot to add the IGG tests were done by method ELISA-EI, is it reliable?

[tiger39704]

Sorry to add another post because there was a 2000 characters limit in every post...

i've actually asked this question to Dr. Hook in STD forum but since you are a herpes expert so I think you might know better...

I want to re-explain what i've been having. So since last week, not sure how, there are like 5 red irritated skin spots on the bottom part of my scrotum but there's no red bumps or zits in the middle of those areas/spots, just look like as if the skin was burnt, but there were 5 of them.

One dermatologist said it was herpes even though it didnt look like herpes according to google images and people in herpes forum. But considering that herpes sores might be a chameleon (different from one to another), so I went to antoher dermatologist and he said it's a non STD infection. He prescribed me this mixed cream of benoson M and fuladic but he didnt really tell me what i had. I forgot to ask him because i quickly asked him if there's a chance i have herpes (considering the first derm said it was). But this 2nd dermatologist believe a 4 months IGG negative test should be valid and also from his visual diagnosis it's not herpes.

After 4 days using his cream all the redness has subsided but then my right scrotum felt very itchy for 1 hour and i couldnt wait to scratch it. It became red ever since but again i couldnt see any suspecting bump/zit and the itchiness has also gone.

Do you think it sounds like herpes at all?

and my September's handjob action at massage parlour, can you guarantee it was zero risk?

also, do you think i need to get retested at 6 months because from what I read the most accurate/conclusive IGG test should be done at 6 months? Because I was tested at 18 weeks (4 months and half)