Can HSV-2 test be wrong?

[slifer]

Im a 23 yr old guy about 2 months ago one small bump appear in the right side of my penis after a few days some blisters appear I looked in the internet for herpes pictures and symptoms (and my blisters did not looked like any of the pic i found) I went to the doctor and the only symptom i had was swollen lymp nodes I went to see the doctor she told me that it didnt looked like herpes but she sent me to the laboratory io do a test when i got the results i  had 1.09 which was equivocal she prescribe me an antibiotic (the antibiotic really help when i began the doses my swollen lymp nodes return to normal i also took a cbc which the doctor told me that i had a bacterial infection) after that i went to see a dermatologist and show him and he said the same thing that doesnt looked like herpes he asked me if a i had a headache if  the blisters hurt and i told him that they didnt he asked me for many symptoms and i told him the same I got none only the blisters he told me not to worry becausse it wasnt herpes he gave me a cream to (mometasone) and i t really help now 2 months later i decide to do a test again and im positive is there a chance that the test is wrong or is it that my inmune sytem is strong and it supress all the effects of the herpes?

[MsRed930]

I was wondering about my test my dr did a swab on my vaginal area in which he said I had herpes but the swab can back negative however the blood test came back positive and he said I had a bacteria infection! I was wondering would the infection have anything to do with the positive results since the swab was negative

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Many a times only a swab test for herpes is not enough to know whether there is active infection or not. Laboratory tests which should be conducted include: culture of the virus, direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) studies to detect virus, skin biopsy, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to test for presence of viral DNA and antibody test.

Please check out whether you have got them done.

I hope it helps. take care and regards.

[martikadragoon]

As you mentioned someone said the best idea is to have cultures done. It is possible that your body has naturally great defenses towards viruses and other bugs.

Also,  many times with men, especially if it's a venereal disease or venereal infection, the guy doesn't feel symptoms. That's how a man and woman can pass things like yeast infections back and forth. The man ends up having it, from the woman or other things and after the woman gets it cleared up they have sex. Since the man is still carrying the yeast infection he will pass it on to the woman, re infecting her.

Does that help with your question about a strong immune system?

Check out the Ask an Expert forum. You will probably get better ideas of treatment, or what it could be since they are Doctors over there.

Sincerely
Cindie,
(Martikadragoon, CL Dermatology)

[slifer]

Thanks for the reply martikadragoon!! It really help!! Yes the doctor had me take the HSV-1 and HSV-2 blood test one week after the blister in the HSV-1 I was negative and in the HSV-2 I was on the margin of error that is why I decided to take a test last week (2 months later) and the result came positive I never had a cold sore before nor any problems in the genitals that was the first time it happened are there any facts that can cause the test to go wrong? And if Im infected why did the antibiotic work? I thought antibiotics should not work against viruses since they are different from bacteria but when I took the doses of the antibiotic everything began to heal and went away and also if that was my first outbreak I read in most of the web and also I asked the doctors I went to see and everything said that the first outbreak was really painful and severe but in my case during the day I didn't even remember that was there only went I went to the bathroom and take a bath because I see it in that moment that is why Im a bit confused the doctor also said that those blisters could have been caused by an staphylococus infection and they could cause blisters.The doctors found odd that the blisters were separate and they told me herpes usually are a bunch of blisters together but my blisters were separate from each other and there wasn't too many and the area with blisters wasn't red. I saw on some online forums that a culture would be best to determine if Im infected but I no longer have blisters nor anything can I still have the test done? Is it possible that my body has strong defense against the virus and that is why I didn't feel a thing during the outbreak? If you can give me some more enlightment I would appreciate it thanks

[martikadragoon]

Did the doctor test for HSV 1 as well?  Have you ever had a cold sore before? Cold sores are a type of herpes, and as far as I know can be spread from mouth to genitals and vice versa.   it's in the first months, or first outbreak of blisters that the disease can be spread most easily. Doctors call it a Viral Load, and it's when that load is highest that it's easily spread. What happens is blisters form, and as the blisters heal the body sheds excess amounts of the virus via the blisters.

Most people who have become infected with HSV-2 never develop ulcers at all, but they are still infectious, and can pass it on to their sexual partners. A variety of tests for herpes are available.
Blood tests (serology) can be done to check for infection-fighting proteins (antibodies) that are produced by your immune system when you are infected with HSV. A variety of serologic tests are available, and each type has a different rate of false positive results.

Older tests had a higher rate of false-positive results for genital herpes, because they were non-specific; they could test for HSV, but could not distinguish HSV-1 infection from HSV-2 infection. This made the tests difficult to interpret, as many people had positive test results because they'd had cold sores (HSV-1). Newer tests are type-specific, and can test for either HSV-1 or HSV-2. If you have a positive serologic test for HSV-2, you have most likely been infected with HSV-2 at some point in the past. However, false positives can still occur in about 5 percent of cases, depending on the type of test.

I'm assuming the test they did was a blood test. You should have them do a swab of the blistered area so they can get some fluid that's inside for an accurate test response.  the fluid inside the blisters will carry the HSV 1 or HSV 2 .  

Hopefully this helps!
Sincerely Cindie
Martikadragoon CL Dermatology