Potential HSV-2 false positive from mono and shingles

[karo135]

I recently went to a doctor with a rash on my hip, pelvis, and back, all on my right side. Right when she looked at it, she told me that it was clearly shingles, but she took a swab of it and sent it into the lab (for a viral culture, I think?) to make sure. I received a call from the doctor four days later saying that my rash was from HSV-2, genital herpes. This is extremely bizarre to me because I've never had sexual contact with anyone. The most I've ever done sexually is kiss someone, so these results don't seem correct. Everything about this rash I have implies shingles except for the viral culture claiming that I have HSV-2. I had mono earlier in the summer, which would easily trigger the chicken pox virus I had lying dormant in my system since I was 6 months old. Would a combination of shingles and mono create a false positive for HSV-2 on a viral culture?

[gracefromHHP]

Give your provider a call, let them know that you've never been naked with anyone and have never had sex and ask them to contact the lab and re-run your lesion culture.  They should still have the specimen to do so with.  This really does sound more like shingles than hsv2 so they should recheck it.

grace

[giovanni933]

could having shingles cause you to have a positive hsv 2 test? are the anitibodies that develop in your body after shingles the same as the antibodies that develop in your body after hsv 1 or hsv2? would having shingles cause IgG and IgM to show up in your body?

[curious1011]

Bump

[karo135]

I went to an infectious disease doctor who talked to me about HSV2, and said that that diagnosis was correct, but it isn't genital herpes because of the location, and he said that I'm unable to spread the disease sexually (also because of the location it appeared on my body). It's apparently a respiratory virus, so I could've gotten it by simply walking through the grocery store, mall, etc. and breathing.

[gracefromHHP]

no you can not get hsv2 from walking thru public places. It is not a respiratory virus.

If you doubt that, it's well worth paying Terri Warren, Dr Hook or Dr Handsfield here on medhelp for their opinion about it!

grace