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Avatar universal

Could it not be detected ?

Hello ,
I was diagnosed with herpes about a year ago and the person who I was with at the time I told him about it  and he said he been tested and everything came back negative. I asked the doctor is there anyway I could've had it before him they told me no . Which I believe because prior to that I always tested for herpes and it was always negative never broke out with any lesion . Until I started dating this guy so they took a culture  and it was positve but when they took my blood it was negative . The doctor explained to me that it is because my body hasn't detected the antibodies . However , since then I have had breakouts here and there . I even asked my actually doctor about it if I should get tested again and she told me that I didn't really need to  because if the culture says positive then I have it . This is  where I begin to get confused he has told me over and over again since then he has been tested numerous times and it all came back negative and he has not had one breakout . I do know that you can still have hsv and not have a breakout . So my question is can someone have the virus in there system and it not be detected ?  
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101028 tn?1419603004
If your bf is getting properly tested and is negative each time then you've had hsv2 prior to meeting him and just never knew it. A small percentage of folks do not test accurately on the blood tests which is why lesion cultures of active symptoms are so helpful.

did they type your herpes to know if it's hsv1 or hsv2?

you know what you have and where you have it, take appropriate precautions with your partner and go from there.

grace
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I know that for a fact I do have it not just because of the positive culture also because since then I have had breakouts . Before then I never had anything of that such . I do not know what test I took and I only tested that one time when I was diagnosed .  He has told me since then he has been tested several times since then and it has came out negative . So are you saying that a person can be tested numerous times and it still can come out negative ? Due to the fact of the outdated testing so which means it won't detect it ?  
Helpful - 0
1174003 tn?1308160819
About 1 in 10 tests will miss an HSV infection.  The culture is always the accurate one when dealing with a positive as they are rarely false positive.  

The question here for you to answer is what testing was done.  If the testing for herpes wasn't a type specific igg test then you weren't tested properly.  Some places are still ordering the outdated and non-reliable IgM testing.  So the questions would be to see the results of your current testing and previous testing to make sure it was the igg type specific test.  Same with your partners.  

Could you have been negative all this time and he positive and now you postive both of which are missing on the test?  Yes it is possible.  But the fact is that culture proves you have it.  Now we need to know the type and location to help out better.  HSV-1 orally is common to get as a child and you may never recall a cold sore.  That does happen.  
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