Herpes Testing in Canada if you've had chickenpox

[jcarlos]

Hi,

I have had chickenpox as a child when I was in preschool. Last week when I went for STD testing I forget to mention that to the nurse and forgot to mark it on the forum I had to fill out.

From doing research and reading several posts in this form my understanding is that Non Type Specific IgG blood testing that is available free in Canada would always turn out positive for me and thus it would be inaccurate in my case as far the the detection of Herpes antibodies is concerned because I have had chickenpox

Do I need to go back and request a "Type Specific HSV 1 or HSV 2 (EIA) / igG (EIA)" test, which is the expensive test and is only done if the doctor recommends it?



These are some of the resources I have looked at in my research:

Herpes Tests in Canada (page 4)
http://www.stdresource.com/brochures/pdfs/Ref%20120%20Herpes%20Resources.pdf

OttMar's Post
http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/164603/HERPES-TESTING-FOR-CANADIANS?personal_page_id=778257

Chicken Pox Post
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Herpes/Herpes-Blood-Test/show/1208627

[gracefromHHP]

definitely show your family doctor the info you posted for them to order the proper testing at the proper time if the clinic won't do it for you.

Not much other advice I can offer when it comes to canada :(

[jcarlos]

Could someone please help me out. I went to the STD clinic again today 4 weeks post exposure. They say they cannot test for Herpes. They said that they do not have access to any of the type specific test and the non-type specific would be useless because I do remember getting a cold sore.

I would like to know what to do now. I feel so lost and helpless. I was looking through the Canadian section of the Gamma-Dynacare website and I found out that they have the following test avaliable for Herpes:

Herpes Simplex Virus AB IGG/IGM

I got this information from page 17 of the document available at this site
http://www.gamma-dynacare.com/Files/Content/Tests%20D-H%20%5BPDF%5D.pdf

Now is this type specific or non-type specific.
And secondly, how do I got about ordering it?

The STD clinic told me they cannot do it. I'll check with my family doctor but usually his remedy for any illness is rest and drinking plenty of water so I doubt he knows anything about this.

I am so depressed and helpless. Someone please help me out here.

Thanks.

[gracefromHHP]

your chicken pox history doesn't matter with the igg testing however since most adults do have hsv1 orally, whether they can recall a history of cold sores or not, usually the non-type specific testing is a waste of money since if it comes back +, you then have to pay again to get the type specific test done anyways.

make sense?

grace