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Have very unusual HSV2 results, please help make sense of them
Married 20 years, monogamous, no cheating; we separated Feb'17; & upon suspicion that she was surreptitiously dating (& might have been before separation), I tested in May for STIs, & came back on IgG test HSV2 titer at 7.71; I retested in August 2017, getting a titer over 8.0, YET SHE just TESTED <0.9 negative in late August?!?? How is this possible? Could I have carried it for a quarter century (before we married) and STILL NOT PASSED it to my wife? Or could she have gotten it back in the spring (Feb-April, or even May) passed it immediately to me in May, and she still hasn't developed antibodies while I did almost immediately? The results just don't make sense, as I've been with her well over a 1000 times (never a condom), had kids, etc., and have NEVER cheated. I don't understand this at all and it's going to be a few weeks before we can get in to see an infectious disease specialist. Wife says she believes me that I didn't cheat (and I did not), has admitted now that she HAS been having intercourse with others since May, but the timeline and results have left us baffled. Please shed (no pun intended) some light on this? Thank you in advance.
Yes you've probably had this a very long time. Disregard the advice on igm tests as it is just not factual.
Many couples where one has hsv and the other dies not never spread the virus to their partners. I agree with the poster above about certain people not having outbreaks and shed the virus very little.
Many couples where one has hsv and the other dies not never spread the virus to their partners. I agree with the poster above about certain people not having outbreaks and shed the virus very little.
It's possible that you caught it way before even meeting her and never realized it. Many people have the virus (and the antibodies) and never have any symptom and don't infect others.
IgG basically only tells you that your body had contact with the virus, doesn't say when.
IgM will tell you IF you have an active HSV2 infection.
HSV "interaction" with your body will heavily depend on genetic factors and how your immune system works (vs other people).
Some people get infected with no symptoms and don't infect others, on the other end some people get infected and get outbreaks every month and need to take antiviral medicine every day.
HSV stays in your body dormant forever inside nerve cells where the immune system can't reach them. When (and IF) some of them decide to wake up and leave the cells they will start an outbreak when their number are higher than the immune system can handle.
So it is possible to:
- Have the virus, no visible outbreaks and no virus shedding (won't infect others)
- Have the virus, no visible outbreaks, but virus shedding (may infect others unknowingly, without outbreaks the amount of virus shed is much smaller)
- Have the virus, visible outbreaks and obviously virus shedding and still can infect others between outbreaks.
The most common for infected people is to have 1-3 outbreaks per year. Then you have ones that only have the first outbreak and never have it again (I had my only outbreak 5 years ago) and then the ones that have frequent outbreaks. But cases of people having the virus and not knowing about it because they never had an outbreak are also very common.
It takes usually 3 months for the antibody test to be positive after exposure to HSV.
IgG basically only tells you that your body had contact with the virus, doesn't say when.
IgM will tell you IF you have an active HSV2 infection.
HSV "interaction" with your body will heavily depend on genetic factors and how your immune system works (vs other people).
Some people get infected with no symptoms and don't infect others, on the other end some people get infected and get outbreaks every month and need to take antiviral medicine every day.
HSV stays in your body dormant forever inside nerve cells where the immune system can't reach them. When (and IF) some of them decide to wake up and leave the cells they will start an outbreak when their number are higher than the immune system can handle.
So it is possible to:
- Have the virus, no visible outbreaks and no virus shedding (won't infect others)
- Have the virus, no visible outbreaks, but virus shedding (may infect others unknowingly, without outbreaks the amount of virus shed is much smaller)
- Have the virus, visible outbreaks and obviously virus shedding and still can infect others between outbreaks.
The most common for infected people is to have 1-3 outbreaks per year. Then you have ones that only have the first outbreak and never have it again (I had my only outbreak 5 years ago) and then the ones that have frequent outbreaks. But cases of people having the virus and not knowing about it because they never had an outbreak are also very common.
It takes usually 3 months for the antibody test to be positive after exposure to HSV.
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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.
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