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Healthy Living

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

How you know: Herpes testing

"Test me for EVERYTHING!" I hear this daily in the office from my patients who want to be checked out for STDs. Most of these tests are straightforward...except for herpes testing. Herpes can be elusive--carriers of the virus may never have another outbreak of bumps after their initial course. A few folks never even have an initial outbreak--they just pick up the virus with no symptoms at all. But the best test for herpes is a swab of a bump on your vulva or vagina, when the lesion is fresh (only a day or two old).

"What about blood tests?" patients then ask me. Well, blood testing for herpes can be ambiguous. There are two types of herpes, herpes simplex I and II. Back in our parents' day, cold sores were all herpes I, and genital herpes were all herpes II. The breakdown these days, though, is not that simple--it's about 80/20 now. That is, 80 percent of genital herpes is type I, and 20 percent is type II--and roughly the same split goes for oral herpes. We believe that it's scads more oral sex that has led the viruses to "jump" from their usual habitats...the one downside of more open attitudes toward oral sex, I guess.

So what do these numbers mean for you?

When your gyno does a blood test for herpes, the lab tests for both types. If they both come back negative, you're in the clear. If you're positive for both, it most likely means you've got both types of herpes. But if you're positive for just one type, that's where interpretation gets complicated. Your doctor won't know if that means you've got cold sores and oral herpes (like most people), or genital herpes. Blood testing for herpes, then, needs to be carefully considered, and the results cautiously interpreted.

Have you or anyone you know had testing for herpes? Was it explained well enough to you?


Related Links from Daily Bedpost and Glamour:


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Related: wellness, testing, stds, sexual health, sex, herpes, blood test

Syndication:

related Healthy Living links

  1. 1. Are you still scared of HIV?
  2. 2. Ask Dr. Kate: STD risk without condoms?
  3. 3. 1 in 4 teenage girls has an STD (Part II)

From the Community…

Comments 1-9 of 9
  • T ~N~T's Avatar
    Posted by T ~N~T Tue Jun 17, 2008 12:01pm PDT

    very good to know thanks!

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  • amilcarpineda39's Avatar
    Posted by amilcarpineda39 Wed Jun 18, 2008 5:13pm PDT

    how does it look like

    Report Abuse
  • Flowers's Avatar
    Posted by Flowers Wed Jun 18, 2008 6:04pm PDT

    Taking L-lysine will stop herpes from growing since it changes the medium. Info gleaned from the AMA Journal several years ago. Helps also with cold viruses in the winter. No one in my family gets any viruses anymore. Nurse

    Report Abuse
  • optiva's Avatar
    Posted by optiva Thu Jun 19, 2008 9:02am PDT

    FLOWERS,yep L-lysine does the trick as well as Melissa oil (aka Lemon Balm).

    Report Abuse
  • optiva's Avatar
    Posted by optiva Thu Jun 19, 2008 9:02am PDT

    FLOWERS,yep L-lysine does the trick as well as Melissa oil (aka Lemon Balm).

    Report Abuse
  • !!'s Avatar
    Posted by !! Fri Jun 20, 2008 3:41am PDT

    so.....whats your point Kristen? Ha!

    Report Abuse
  • Mmgirl's Avatar
    Posted by Mmgirl Fri Jun 20, 2008 8:43am PDT

    I think she wants everyone to know she has herpes. LOL! Can we get this information out to men? They are ones who freak out when you ask them about their testing schedules. I for one have never even had a cold sore and I would like to keep it that way. Guys prepare for the third degree!

    Report Abuse
  • belyndaoke's Avatar
    Posted by belyndaoke Fri Jul 25, 2008 1:34am PDT

    I'm currently pregnant for 36weeks and my EDD is on 25/08/2008. This is my second times pregnant. My 1st child is natural delivery and now is 8 years old already. This time pregnancy making me very worry. 3 years ago (April 2005), because my partner we both contract with STD (Genital Herpes type 2). Because there are blisters on my lower body during that time we both go to see doctor and the doctor confirm we get infection of HSV-2. We both have taken blood test on May 2005 and confirm both of us have this HSV-2 antibiotic in our blood. During that time outbreak we both have see STD doc and eaten the medcine prescribe by the doctor and this virus didn't outbreak anymore until today. As i know even we dont see the virus, there will still be possible of infection.

    The thing that i'm worry about is passing this virus to baby during natural delivery. Will this virus pass to my baby if i choose to natural delivery,is there any 100% precaution i can take?

    My gynea doctor told me cesarean delivery is the safest way but i hope can choose natural delivery.....

    Another question is

    Is it a person contract with HSV-2 cannot donate blood?

    Please help me doctor.....TQ.

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  • Me's Avatar
    Posted by Me Thu Oct 9, 2008 8:48am PDT

    People really need to read this article. 80% of genital Herpes cases are HSV1 which is ORAL Herpes. That means that the common cold sore, caused by HSV1 and which 90% of people have, is now causing the majority of genital herpes cases. This means it's spreading by oral sex. It's spreading by a non-std which most people contract in childhood. People need to realize that Herpes is essentially a contagious skin infection and that both types of the virus can be spread through oral or genital sex. Most people who go around judging others for having Herpes actually have one form or another of the virus, they just don't know it. It's an unfairly stigmatized STI.

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