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Explanation for asymptomatic HSV-2
Hi. Thank you in advance for your help here. I am a 40 year old married man. I have been faithfully married to my wife for 12 years and I believe she has been faithful to me as well. I have had oral herpes / cold sores since at least my college days and I think went back to my childhood (an empitigo outbreak). I have outbreaks twice a year on average and take Valtrex to manage them. Recently, I had the Herpes SELECT test run. My results were
HSV-1 – 34
HSV-2 – 2.0
I have read A LOT on the internet in the last few days since receiving this result. I know I should probably have a WB test done so I will call your clinic to facilitate that. I am very worried I do in fact have HSV-2 and will have to explain this to my wife. Assuming I am positive for HSV-2, what are the chances I could have been positive since my single days and never given it to my wife? I am assuming she is negative of course as she’s never described symptoms. Throughout our marriage, we have almost exclusively used condoms as we didn’t want my wife on birth control pills. I know my wife will be very upset when she learns I’m positive (again assuming I am confirmed) and I want to know if there is a logical medical explanation for this. I know there has to be b/c it’s true but I suppose I would like to hear it from you, an expert.
Thank you very much.
HSV-1 – 34
HSV-2 – 2.0
I have read A LOT on the internet in the last few days since receiving this result. I know I should probably have a WB test done so I will call your clinic to facilitate that. I am very worried I do in fact have HSV-2 and will have to explain this to my wife. Assuming I am positive for HSV-2, what are the chances I could have been positive since my single days and never given it to my wife? I am assuming she is negative of course as she’s never described symptoms. Throughout our marriage, we have almost exclusively used condoms as we didn’t want my wife on birth control pills. I know my wife will be very upset when she learns I’m positive (again assuming I am confirmed) and I want to know if there is a logical medical explanation for this. I know there has to be b/c it’s true but I suppose I would like to hear it from you, an expert.
Thank you very much.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
This result is no different. There can be a lot of variability from day to day on these tests. You still need confirmatory testing to be certain.
Terri
Terri
Thank you for your feedback. I was worried you were going to say it was a confirmed positive after the 2nd test.
I tested myself b/c I discovered a pimple with a head on it at the base of my penis a few weeks ago while in the shower. It hurt off and on but I couldn't determine whether it were anxiety driven phantom pain or not. It lasted 4 or 5 days. I went through a confidential testing service to have this done.
I tested myself b/c I discovered a pimple with a head on it at the base of my penis a few weeks ago while in the shower. It hurt off and on but I couldn't determine whether it were anxiety driven phantom pain or not. It lasted 4 or 5 days. I went through a confidential testing service to have this done.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Well, the trend is good! My guess is that these are both false positives, the statistic is that there is a 85% chance that these are false positives, in fact. But yes, a confirmatory test is recommended in this situation. But to reassure yourself, you can see many posts on here that tell us that western blots do NOT confirm the low positives in your range often.
It is possible that you've been infected for years and not infected your wife but it is also possible that you wife is infected and doesn't know it (assuming you are truly infected with HSV 2. I am curious about why now, you would ask to have a herpes antibody test done.
If you are infected, you will have to rely on whatever good relationship you have with your wife to help her believe that you are not cheating on her. This can be challenging, but usually, after a good explanation from a professional that you could have this for years and not transmitted to her, things calm down.
Terri
It is possible that you've been infected for years and not infected your wife but it is also possible that you wife is infected and doesn't know it (assuming you are truly infected with HSV 2. I am curious about why now, you would ask to have a herpes antibody test done.
If you are infected, you will have to rely on whatever good relationship you have with your wife to help her believe that you are not cheating on her. This can be challenging, but usually, after a good explanation from a professional that you could have this for years and not transmitted to her, things calm down.
Terri
Hi. Just a very quick update to my post. I just (5 minutes ago) received the results of my 2nd Herpes Select test. The first was performed by Labcorp. This one by Quest. I don't know whether that is relevant at all or not but just in case. Regardless, the results were HSV-1 >5.0 and HSV-2 1.11.
Is this a good sign? I know it's still positive but seemingly less so? How much variability can there be in these results from day to day. My tests were 2 days apart.
I still would like your views on my primary question from the original post if you could share.
thank you
Is this a good sign? I know it's still positive but seemingly less so? How much variability can there be in these results from day to day. My tests were 2 days apart.
I still would like your views on my primary question from the original post if you could share.
thank you
You are reading content posted in the Herpes Forum
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
