I am in the same exact situation. I was just diagnosed today for both 1 and 2. I've been married for 10 years. Doc said it can stay dormant for years. I've never had an outbreak
There is also a possibility for false positives such in my case. I had my blood taken in a local lab for a hsv2 IGG test and was diagnosed positive in the value of 10.10! A few months later took a Herpeselect test administered by Quest diagnostics and had a negative value of 0.31! The following year had the test done by a different local lab with a positive reading of 5.9...retested with Herpeselect a few months later with a negative value of 0.25! Those numbers and differences are drastic! I believe my body was fighting off a staph bacterial infection at the time of both false positives. I experienced boils and rashes on my buttocks and groin area(not on the genitals)when I thought it was herpes which it was not.
I read your comments on this older post and I too have been tested. I am not sure what the numbers mean because they came via email. This is what I received
Component Standard Range Your Value
HSV I IgG, Immnoblot <0.90 0.95
HSV II IgG, Immunoblt 5.00
You seem knowledgeable about this and I am not sure if or when my dr will call to explain my results. It looks like I'm positive. Please help!!!
My fiancé cheated on me and now has tested positive for herpes s1. The doctor said it was a level 34 positive but in the past 10 years I have never seen a cold sore. Can you help me understand these results and how I can protect myself.
grace, is there a possibility of false positive if igg for type 1 is 3.58 . i have also posted this question separately before i saw a similar one here
really this is a poor way to report testing. odds are there are numeric results if your provider calls the lab and asks for them.
Well apparently in Canada they don't assign number values to these tests. I had the IGG antibody test. One star shows a low exposure Two stars shows a high exposure. They say the test is around 96 to 97% accurate. My test results came back positive for both and with Two stars. So its seems at some point I have definitely been exposed to this virus. Now where to go from here?
thank you so much everyone. I will post the numbers here tomorrow.
you can just call monday and ask them to read the results to you. write down the numbers - e.g. hsv1 igg 5.9 and hsv2 igg 3.4 or whatever they are and then post them here. Honestly I can probably help you a lot more with your test results than your doc can. that way you don't waste your time trying to be seen or your money at this point!
grace
I know what you mean with being devestated... we have all been through it. "Previous exposure" means that you have been exposed to the herpes virus at some point and you have herpes but dont have an active infection. Since your doc said "previous exposure" you probably did have the correct IGG test.. BUT BUT BUT BUT!!! you have to make sure it was a type specific test!!! . AND!!! u need to know the number values !!!! keep in mind close to 80 or 90 percent of people have HSV 1..and you dont see 80 or 90 percent of the population walking around with cold sores all the time! right???
LEt us know the results...and we can go from there!!... dont worry until you have to, even if u are positive for sure there is a lot of support on this forum and other forums.. and it might seem like the end of the world, but its not!!.. there is a lot of STIGMA behind the virus that is unnecessary.. in fact reading your words..."I passed something like this on to another human being or that such a thing is living inside of my body"... kinda made me laugh..and just a few months ago I was saying the same thing as u and crying as I was typing words similar to that statement. everything is going to be fine. keep us posted.
I also had a physical examination by my doctor and he said everything looks fine.
I had the antibody test via blood. He said they tested for hsv 1 and 2 and it shows I had previous exposure????? They didn't do any swabs on me because I have never ever had any symptoms. I was in such shock from what he said I didn't even think to ask about the numbers associated with the results. I am going to head back Monday with more questions. I had the test in the first place because I found out my previous partner had been cheating on me with several other women. My current partner is going for testing asap. I am so devastated to think that it is possible I passed something like this on to another human being or that such a thing is living inside of my body.
yes it is very possible for a false positive. What test did you have exactly?? You must have type specific testing meaning it must be an IGG antibody test specific for type 1 and then another test specific for type 2. When you body is infected with any foreign invader, like a virus, your body produces antibodies to fight off the virus. did you have a culture done, where they swab an infected area and test for the virus or did you have a blood test that would detect specific antibodies to the virus?? Also, what was you result exactly; ur test results should say something like HSV 2 positive- 3.6 ; hsv 1 positive >5.00. The lower the value, the more of a chance it is a false positive. Why did you get tested in the first place? have ur past partner been tested?