Could I have given my boyfriend herpes with a NEGATIVE test?

[HELPLookingForAnswers]

Hello ! OK... well I got tested back in December for just about EVERY STD, HIV, syphillis, herpes, Hepititis, ghonorea, clymidia, etc..., all of my test results came back NEGATIVE! After I got tested I refrained from sex until about 3 weeks ago. The day after my new boyfriend and I had sex he told me that he had red spots and that he was really worried. He had these spots where is pubic hair was and even up onto his lower belly. I reassured him that I was clean, but I told him I did have a yeast infection, and I know that sometimes in guys yeast infections can look like herpes. Well we had sex the other night and after that I got these red spots too. They are not in my vagina, but where the pubic hair on my labias are. Some are just red spots and others have formed little white puss-filled things. I am wondering what these could be and if my tests could have possibly been wrong? Is it just a bad yeast infection? The spots don't really hurt, unless I pop them , and my vagina does itch, but that could be from the yeast infection. HELP... we plan on going to get tested next week, but is there a chance my tests were wrong and I really do have herpes? I had the blood test done for them. I would feel really betrayed if I was told that I was scuff free when I really wasn't and then I proceeded to give it to someone I care about. THANK YOU!

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

From your description, I doubt it is herpes.  Herpes doesn't usually appear in the pubic hair area.  It sounds more like folliculitis, a form of acne; for example, you and your partner might be sharing a strep or staph infection.  As you suggest, yeast is a possibility, but less likely.

Having said all that, my guess is that you were NOT tested for herpes in December.  Most health care providers don't do the necessary blood test to know for sure about genital HSV-2 infection.  You might have lucked out with a provider or clinic who is more forward-looking; but you might check with them to be sure.  (But I still don't think your our your partner's symptoms are due to herpes.)

Good luck-- HHH, MD

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Congratulations on your negative test.

Any health care provider can order the HerpeSelect test.  If his or her regular lab doesn't do the test, the lab can send the specimen to a referral lab that will do it.  You could start with a family medicine doc.

HHH, MD

[HELPLookingForAnswers]

Doctor, my gyno took a SPECIFIC sample of blood to test it for herpes because that, and HIV, were what I was most worried about. Do you still think I wasn't tested?

[HELPLookingForAnswers]

By the way... when I had gotten tested in December it had been 5 months since the last time I had had sex, if that helps any.

[overthinkingthis?]

Hi Doctor,
Sorry to add on as a comment, but I didnt want to start a new string when people have new questions and mine is a follow up.
My gyno offered HerpeSelect (negative type 1 & 2), but what is the best way to find HerpeSelect or Biokit for a man to get tested? We just moved, so don't have a HCP in the area yet, don't know what kind of doctor to call.
thanks & thanks again for the earlier advice

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

If your doctor said clearly that s/he did a herpes test, I'm sure it was done.  The only remaining question is whether s/he knows which tests are valid and which not.  See numerous other threads about herpes testing, and the FAQs, then check and make sure the doc did the HerpeSelect test.  But it sounds like you have a knowledgeable doctor who knows how to evaluate for STD, so it probably was the right test.

HHH, MD