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Herpes? Or Something Else?
Hi Doctors,
Ok I'm going to try to keep this as brief as I can. This summer I had unprotected sex twice, protected sex twice, and unprotected oral with this guy. The last time we had sex was July 11th. He told me he was clean, the last time he had had sex had been a one time protected encounter with a prostitute in New Zealand 14 weeks before and before that it had been 6 months or more since his last sexual encounter, but he agreed to get tested to give me the peace of mind. He had a HerpeSelect type specific blood test which came back negative for both HSV1 and 2. I went on to get a type specific blood test 3 weeks after my last encounter with him, which came back negative for both types as well. At 8 weeks out I got another blood test, which turned out to have been a Herpes 1 & 2 Igg test with reflex, but since my result was negative for both types, they didn't bother to do the reflex type specific test. At almost 13 weeks I had another type specific igg blood test that came back negative for both types again, I'm fairly certain it was the HerpeSelect test. A few days later I got a spreading red rash on both sides of the bottom of my butt, just below my vagina, with what looked like a couple flat reddish bumps along the outside. The outer labia were also swollen and red. I went to my GP and she said not to worry about it, that it looked like a friction burn. The results of that aren't in yet. But I've heard stories about atypical herpes presentations that have me scared, so my questions are:
1) What are the chances that this is herpes after both of our negative blood tests? I know percentages are difficult in a situation like this, but if you had any kind of an estimate that could put this in perspective?
2) Is it worth testing again at 6 months?
3) How accurate is a 3 month IgG blood test? I've heard anywhere from 3 to 4 months on this site and I was just curious as to the actual difference between the two.
4) What else could be causing a rash like this?
Ok I'm going to try to keep this as brief as I can. This summer I had unprotected sex twice, protected sex twice, and unprotected oral with this guy. The last time we had sex was July 11th. He told me he was clean, the last time he had had sex had been a one time protected encounter with a prostitute in New Zealand 14 weeks before and before that it had been 6 months or more since his last sexual encounter, but he agreed to get tested to give me the peace of mind. He had a HerpeSelect type specific blood test which came back negative for both HSV1 and 2. I went on to get a type specific blood test 3 weeks after my last encounter with him, which came back negative for both types as well. At 8 weeks out I got another blood test, which turned out to have been a Herpes 1 & 2 Igg test with reflex, but since my result was negative for both types, they didn't bother to do the reflex type specific test. At almost 13 weeks I had another type specific igg blood test that came back negative for both types again, I'm fairly certain it was the HerpeSelect test. A few days later I got a spreading red rash on both sides of the bottom of my butt, just below my vagina, with what looked like a couple flat reddish bumps along the outside. The outer labia were also swollen and red. I went to my GP and she said not to worry about it, that it looked like a friction burn. The results of that aren't in yet. But I've heard stories about atypical herpes presentations that have me scared, so my questions are:
1) What are the chances that this is herpes after both of our negative blood tests? I know percentages are difficult in a situation like this, but if you had any kind of an estimate that could put this in perspective?
2) Is it worth testing again at 6 months?
3) How accurate is a 3 month IgG blood test? I've heard anywhere from 3 to 4 months on this site and I was just curious as to the actual difference between the two.
4) What else could be causing a rash like this?
Thank you! I really do appreciate your advice and I dont mean to discount it in any way, but I did pay to post this to the expert forum and it charged me but the post never went through, is there any way to fix that?
Hi, if you tested negative for hsv at 3 months with igg herpes select then this would be conclusive. Also sores dont appear on both side only one. The rash is most likely what your doctor said.
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You are reading content posted in the Herpes Community
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
