Do I have herpes for sure or is it a false positive?

Hi Doc,

Recently, I got tested for STD's, I didn't have any symptoms, but just as a precaution.
The only thing that came out positive was HSV-1 Neg and HSV-2 IGG at 3.83.


I know that this is beyond the range of a normal false positive however please consider my history:
I have only had ONE partner ever (I was a virgin before him). And anytime we had sex it was ALWAYS PROTECTED. We even check the condoms every-time to ensure that they had not broken.

The only thing that was unprotected was oral sex and one episode of anal sex. I am getting him to go get tested. He was tested before we started dating and was negative for everything.

My questions are:
1. What are the possibilities that this is a false positive?
2. Should I get a Western Blot to make sure?
3. Is there a possibility that my partner could test negative and I could still have herpes even though I was a virgin before him and what should I do in that case? How could I have gotten it then?
4. If it is truly positive, is my infection most probably only oral since genital sex was always protected?

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

1. What are the possibilities that this is a false positive?
I think the possibilities are very slim, but I would never say never.

2. Should I get a Western Blot to make sure?
First, get your partner tested.  If your partner is negative for HSV 2, then I would recommend a western blot, definitely.

3. Is there a possibility that my partner could test negative and I could still have herpes even though I was a virgin before him and what should I do in that case? How could I have gotten it then?

If you have a positive western blot for HSV 2, and your partner is negative, the only options that I think are possible is some kind of molestation when you were small or infection at birth that went unnoticed by your parents.  

4. If it is truly positive, is my infection most probably only oral since genital sex was always protected?

Condoms only reduce transmission by about a third.  You also reported having an episode of unprotected anal sex which could certainly transit herpes.  

Let me know how this turns out, OK?

Terri

[arch603]

I am freaking out because if my partner comes out to be negative, then I have no idea what to do next because I've never had any type of sex with anyone but him.

I don't feel as if i could have been born with it either or else I'm sure my parents would have let me know.

Please let me know as soon as possible. I feel like I've been cheated out on life because my first experience with someone who had been tested negative before me and I get a positive result. I don't know what to think.

[arch603]

1) What if my partner is low positive? What does that mean? Should I still get the western blot? If he turns out to be negative, what are the chances of me being negative since I have not been with anyone other than him?

2) I read that usually when people have protected sex it is not a risk factor for herpes and that condoms when used effectively reduce transmission up to 99% so how come it reduces the risk by only a third?

3) I do admit to having anal sex, although I know it causes a higher risk, it was only once and that was 8 months ago. This was done after he told me that he tested negative for everything before he met me. I feel as if I should have seen an outbreak or symptoms or at least my partner should have seen outbreaks or symptoms after 8 months and yet neither of us had any such things.

4) If I am positive, I'm not sure how to cope with it. I understand that a lot of people have it however, I still feel as if I'm in denial and I know stuff happens but because this was my first experience, I feel as if I've been cheated out of life. I am getting him tested right now, and the waiting part is killing me already, I don't know how to handle it if he comes back positive.

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

If you are partner has a low positive, they need a confirmatory test also.  Preferrably a western blot.  The chances are high that he will be positive.

Condoms have been show to reduce transmission by about 30% in an analysis of multiple studies that have been done.  You can probably locate this study on pubmed.

Sometimes people have outbreaks when they get infected and sometimes they don't.

Let's first get confirmed that you are positive.  If you have herpes, you've hardly been cheated out of life, I think that's a bit extreme, don't you?  You aren't dead, you simply have a viral infection of the genital area.  You can either make this a managable situation in your head or make it the worst thing in the world.  That part is very much up to you.

Terri

[arch603]

I have herpes for sure. I got a second test and the HSV2 IGG came out to be 4.46. I'm still waiting on my partners results. I don't know if he has it yet or not. If hes negative, I'm not sure what to think or where I could have gotten it from or if I have had it since all my life. If that is the case, why haven't I had any symptoms or outbreak for the first 22 years of my life. If my partner is positive, I know where I got it from.

I'm not sure how long it takes to see symptoms or outbreak from when I was infected. Is there a way to tell when I have been exposed, I know that it takes at least three months for the antibodies to show up, but I've assumed my anal sex encounter is when I got it which was 8 months ago.

Now that I think about it, I do remember the the outside of my lips have been acting up, I haven't gotten any blisters or sores, but really dry skin, burning and itching, and peeling of the skin around my lips. Could this be my first outbreak? If not, could I be asymptomatic since I haven't seen anything for 8 months? I heard that 80% of the people who have it are asymptomatic?

I heard that as years pass by, the outbreaks aren't as bad and that sometimes people never have outbreaks.? If I am asymptomatic, how would I affect future partners even though condoms only protect 30% of the time. How do I prevent them from getting it?

How would me having it affect my body when I decide to have a child? If I am asymptomatic would it be passed on to the child?

[southperson7]

Can someone tell me if this is a low reading and what does this mean? Should i get retested?

Herpes 1 Ig G Antibodies- Positive up to 1:200 dilutions. Negative in 1:400 and further dilutions.
(IFA Test)

Herpes 11 IgG Antibodies- Positive up to 1:100  dilutions. Negative in 1:200 dilutions and further dilutions.
(IFA Test)

Is this like a low positive and i should retest?

[arch603]

Hi Doc,

So apparently my partner came back as negative. I took the test and the first time, my number was 3.81 and the second time my number is 4.46. I do remember receiving oral sex with one another person which I read online that it is possible to get it from there. However, that was about 6 months ago, and if I contracted it then, my current partner that I have been seeing of 8 months, should have contracted genital herpes by now. However, he came back negative. I honestly don't know what to make of this? Should I get a western blot?

[arch603]

I am actually getting proper symptoms such as itchyness, tingling and soreness. I did have couple bumps around the same area, and I had a pimple looking around the same area as the bumps. I did have soreness and tender. Also, recently, i experience tenderness and soreness around the same area as the pimple however, i did not get the pimple. What does this mean?

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

I think you and I talked on the phone yesterday.  As we discussed, none of this makes much sense.  If your only intercourse partner tested negative, and the only other contact you had was receiving oral sex, I don't know where you got this.  I still encourage you to get a western blot and get any and all lesions, bumps or pimples in the genital area swab tested for herpes.  

Terri

[arch603]

here is my history as far as I can recount:

partner 1, 9 months ago: I gave him a hand job and he fingered me however, i distinctively remember him saying that he was a virgin when this happened.Also, I think we might have dry humped I'm not sure whether its cloths on or off, so I'm just going to assume off. I remember this experience was really sore and I'm not sure whether i got a cut from this but most probably yes. Also the symptoms that i am experiencing is in the exact same spot as i think where the cut might have been. I don't know if it possible to get it the ways i described above.

partner 2, 7 months ago: I gave him a hand job and he fingered me, and I received oral sex from him. I don't remember dry humping  so I am assuming I did with clothes off,  however, he said that he got test 6 months ago and came back negative. I also remember you telling me that I should have received hsv1 not type 2.

partner 3: 8 months ago is the first time I had one unprotected anal sex, and the rest was oral sex and ALL vaginal sex was protected. He got tested and the results came out as negative yesterday.

I'm thinking I might have gotten it from partner 1 because I do have symptoms that are in the exact same spot where I felt tender and bruised from his experience. In addition, although the pimple I received was only one, I noticed that it peeled away after 2 or 3 days along with the surrounding skin. I experienced the same feeling of soreness couple days ago in the same spot, however, there was no pimple and I saw that I had white flakes which I'm assuming was peeling away skin around that area. After reading the internet, I believe this might be the encrusting stage of the outbreak. I really hope this isn't herpes but all the test results and the signs from my body show otherwise. If I do have it, do you think I could have received it from partner 1?  

[arch603]

My partner3 of 8 months took a little break in between which is when partner 2 came in. However, partner 2 only lasted one day this entire time, i have been with only partner 3.

[arch603]

Also, the sore went away the next day after the re-occurrence of the flaky skin. The pimples and sores were never inside my vagina, it shows up on my right perineum. I read online that herpes shows up on the site it was infected.

I know that it is harder for females to transmit it to males, however, If the first time these symptoms came in December ( when I was with partner3 for 4 months after doing stuff with partner2 ) how come partner2 and 3 didn't contract it?...esp partner 3, because I've had sex with him multiple times (yes, we did use condoms, however he had skin to skin contact with it multiple times). whereas partners 1 and 2 were just one day events?

I am asking these questions just so I can be prepared for my western blot results. I've already been heartbroken many times by this, I'm not sure how to handle is especially if the WB says I have it. It's really tough to handle this alone because partner3 and I broke up (not because of the disease, but before i told him, although I'm sure he wouldn't want anything to do with me since this isn't helping and he knows I have herpes). Is it this easy to contract this disease?

[arch603]

I'm pretty sure I have it because, yesterday i got really stressed out and in 10 min, I got muscle aches on my legs and butt. I also got shooting pain in the exact same spot as the pimple.

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

Shooting pains and muscle aches do not mean that you have herpes.  

Transmission from females to males is not a given with sexual contact.
Have you actually seen Partner 3's test results?

Terri

[arch603]

I'm getting a copy of partners3's results soon. However, I have burning sensation by my vagina as well as on my face, my neck and my lower back. I believe this is due to my stress yesterday. I remember my school doctor said that if I have it, an outbreak can occur anywhere, the hands the back, the stomach, etc. I'm not sure if this is true but was she referring to the fact that the burning sensation might be my outbreaks? But I didn't see a pimple down there just yet. I'm not sure what this could be.

[arch603]

Also, my stomach feel a bit queasy today.

[arch603]

Now I am getting tiny clear fluid like blisters, One on my neck, and one on my stomach. could that be it?

[arch603]

The blisters burn whenever I pee, its yellow, are those signs of it as well?

[arch603]

sorry my above comment did come out correctly. The blisters i am getting, one on my stomach, one on my neck and 3 or four on my back burn. Also, separately, whenever I pee, my urine is yellow. Unfortunately I couldn't make an appointment with my doctor tomorrow to take a swab. And I am scared that by the time I do make an appointment, it will go away. I am taking the western blot test tomorrow. I am quite petrified at the moment.

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

blisters from genital herpes don't show up all over your body.

If you are very scared, then go to an urgent care center or somewhere else to have the blsiters swab tests for herpes today.  Please don't wait,  The longer you wait, the less accurate the tests will be.

Terri

[arch603]

The blisters went away after 2 hrs , however, it still burns in that area also my neck was swollen for like 5 min. I couldn't get an appointment just yet because it went away so fast. I will try to get one next time it shows up. The areas where I did receive the blisters did burn pretty bad though did burn pretty bad though. It just doesn't make sense to me. If I couldn't get it from partner 3 I don't know how I could have gotten it, yet I get all the correct signs, symptoms, and outbreaks. Is there a way that my partners could be false negative? Or maybe he got the wrong test? I will take a look at the copy when I receive it.

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

Herpes blisters don't go away in 2 hours nor does it cause a swollen neck for 5 minutes.  Please wait until you actually see your partner's results and note them word for word for me, and until you get your western blot to post some more, OK?

Terri

[arch603]

ok.

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

OK

[Udasin]

Dont Feel Tention... HSV is not a diseases at all....Its just a special skin condition. Forget this and continue ur daily life...

[arch603]

Hi doc,

I know that there is no cure for herpes however, I heard that there is a vaccine in progress that might help called Herpevac.  I'm not sure if you have heard of it but would this also work on people who are already infected? I know its under trial but is there a chance that this would eradicate the virus from the body? If not, how bout this site http://www.lectroject.com/ ? I'm not quite sure how credible they are. Is there any possibility of a cure for this?

Also, I remember last year that i used to wear a lot of lipstick, however, my lips started  itching and burning and drying out and started crusting around the corners. I tried to use Vaseline because at that time i thought my skin was dry even though it was summer. I also stopped wearing lipstick because i thought i might have been allergic to it but after 2 months the feeling was still there. It lasted a long time and every time i tried to used chap-stick on my lips, it just burned even more. In addition, the outline of my lips started to turn black. This happened last May but to this day the outline of my lips are still black, I thought it would go away and return to normal pinkish color but it still hasn't and its been almost a year. does this mean that my lips could have been the infected site as well?

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

Herpes does not make people's lips black ever.
HerpeVac failed as a vaccine to protect against herpes infection.
This will be my last post on this thread.

Terri

[arch603]

I just received Partner 3's copy of the result and it is indeed negative. He didn't get tested for HSV1 however, his HSV2 IgG test was  <.90.

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

Great


Terri

[arch603]

After enduring all that stress, I am very ecstatic that my WB came out negative! I don't know why the ELISA test gave me false information. Thank you for you help doctor Warren!

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

You are so welcome.  I too, am glad, that it turned out the way it did!

Terri