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Pregnant, HSV2
Hello! About 10 years ago I had what I and my doctor thought was a genital herpes outbreak. He took a culture and I was told over the phone it was positive but I never saw the results on paper. I am now pregnant and my obgyn put in for me to have an IGG test. I got my results back yesterday and it was negative. How can this be? Do these tests ever come back false negative? So many years later is it possible to have such a low number of IGG? Is there another test I should get to be sure?
These were my results:
HSV 1 IGG, TYPE SPEC <0.91
Negative 1.09
HSV 2 IGG, TYPE SPEC <0.91
Negative 1.09
Thank you!
These were my results:
HSV 1 IGG, TYPE SPEC <0.91
Negative 1.09
HSV 2 IGG, TYPE SPEC <0.91
Negative 1.09
Thank you!
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Well, are you able to get a copy of the test result that you had years ago?
Have you had subsequent outbreaks of genital herpes?
The chance of a false positive swab test from a genital lesion is very low indeed. However, here is one thing that could be going on, particularly if you've not had subsequent outbreaks. The antibody test that you had done for HSV 1 is notoriously insensitive. It misses about one out of every 10 people infected with HSV 1 (the HSV 2 test is substantially better). A test more sensitive (but not perfect) for HSV 1 is the herpes western blot, done only at the University of Washington. Your OB can send for a test kit from them or you can become a patient of our clinic and we can order it for you. Those are the only two ways to get the test right now.
The other way to handle this is to assume that you have genital herpes of some type and treat you during your pregnancy as though you do. This would involve taking daily suppressive medicine from 34-36 weeks on.
Terri
Have you had subsequent outbreaks of genital herpes?
The chance of a false positive swab test from a genital lesion is very low indeed. However, here is one thing that could be going on, particularly if you've not had subsequent outbreaks. The antibody test that you had done for HSV 1 is notoriously insensitive. It misses about one out of every 10 people infected with HSV 1 (the HSV 2 test is substantially better). A test more sensitive (but not perfect) for HSV 1 is the herpes western blot, done only at the University of Washington. Your OB can send for a test kit from them or you can become a patient of our clinic and we can order it for you. Those are the only two ways to get the test right now.
The other way to handle this is to assume that you have genital herpes of some type and treat you during your pregnancy as though you do. This would involve taking daily suppressive medicine from 34-36 weeks on.
Terri
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Yes, it tests for both.
Terri
Terri
My old doctor is no longer in practice unfortunately, but I have had a few outbreaks over the years. Will the western blot test for hsv2 as well? Thank you!
This is really weird, I'm going to type the words out because it's not letting me type the numbers. Less than .90 is negative, 0.90 to 1.10 is equivocal, and greater than 1.10 is positive.
I'll try again,
1.10 Positive
1.10 Positive
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.
