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New Herpes 2 Diagnosis, need advice!

Hello everyone,

I am a 20 year old college student and was recently tested for STD's at my routine physical exam in April 2016. I have been in a monogamous relationship with my boyfriend for about a year and a half now and we only have protected sex. My results came back negative for everything, however my HSV 2 was positive. My doctor didn't tell my the value though, she just said it was positive. I was devastated at these results especially because I have never gotten any type of symptoms whatsoever. I told my boyfriend to get tested right away, which he did. His results came back positive for HSV 1 (3.31) and negative for HSV 2.

I went to planned parenthood at the end of April to get another test done and the results came back positive for HSV 2 at 3.10. The clinician at Planned Parenthood told me that she didn't recommend me getting the blood test done unless I had symptoms because there is the chance of being false positive. She also said I was a "low-risk" candidate for HSV 2. I also had a swab test done there which came back negative for HSV 2.

I have been reading a lot on this website that my value of 3.10 could be low enough to be a false positive. Should I get the western blot test? How do I go about that when my doctor is very discouraging and doesn't seem too interested in doing that? Any help is greatly appreciated.
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15249123 tn?1478652475
Hsv1 does shed the virus from time to time when no symptoms are present. Some where around 10% of days. So it is possible and those in long term relationships are the most at risk.
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Avatar universal
Let's say my western blot test comes back negative and I do not have HSV 2. My boyfriend gives me oral. Am I very likely to get HSV 1 on my genitals if he isn't showing signs of a cold sore?
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Avatar universal
It is not that common for your first infection with HSV to go unnoticed. That itself suggests you need confirmation of this.

Shedding only happens a proportion of the time and probably in a small location. Hence a swab will easily miss shedding of the virus and only a PCR will detect the small amount of the virus; it would be highly unlikely to grow in a culture.

Confirmation is key here. Your odds are impacted by sexual history, number of partners, unexplained vagina issues etc.
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Avatar universal
How common is it for someone to have hsv 2 and never show symptoms of an outbreak? Also, I know that a symptomatic shedding is possible so why didn't my swab come back positive?
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15249123 tn?1478652475
It is very possible. There was a study done in couples where one had hsv2 and the other didn't.  They averaged unprotected sex at least three times a week and only avoided sex during active outbreaks. 1 couple out of twenty passed it to their partner in a years time. Thats 5% a year. I would get the western blot test to be sure you even have hsv2.
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Avatar universal
I just think it's so strange that we have foreplay without condoms and we have still not shown any type of outbreaks after a year and a half. Is it possible to not give it to my bf even after this long if I truely have hsv2?
Helpful - 0
15249123 tn?1478652475
Anything 3.5 or lower needs a confirmation test and the wester blot is the best. You can contact the university of Washington as they are the ones that do the test. They send you the package and you have the blood drawn and send it back to them. Or you can contact the west overheights clinic in portland and they will make the arrangements for you. It costs more that way but they make it very easy
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