Herpes..? Help?!
Question: could a blood test be wrong when diagnosing herpes.?
it is said my friend has it but he doesnt look anything like the pictures.
he is told he has HSV-1 on his penis but i dont know, all of the pictures are nothing like it..
is there any way it could be wrong?
its only red , doesnt burn or itch. his gf was diagnosed with a yeast infection, maybe they got the two things confused and he just has it too?
please help, they are both really stressed..
Answers: could a blood test be wrong when diagnosing herpes.?
it is said my friend has it but he doesnt look anything like the pictures.
he is told he has HSV-1 on his penis but i dont know, all of the pictures are nothing like it..
is there any way it could be wrong?
its only red , doesnt burn or itch. his gf was diagnosed with a yeast infection, maybe they got the two things confused and he just has it too?
please help, they are both really stressed..
I sincerely doubt that they are wrong that he has hsv-1.
However I am wondering why, if he has symptoms on his penis, they didn't do a swab test of that area?
A blood test will only tell you that you have a virus in your body, not where it is.
Hsv-1 is most commonly the cause of oral cold sores - although these days it also causes half of genital herpes infections.
8 out of 10 of us have it on our mouths, so I would think it is possible that your friend actually has hsv-1 on the mouth and not the genitals. Has he ever had a cold sore on his mouth, even as a child? If so, his hsv-1 is probably an oral infection - which most of us catch as children.
If he has hsv-1 orally, it won't be hsv-1 on his genitals. His genital infection could well be a yeast or bacterial infection.
If they diagnosed by swab, on the other hand, rather than blood test as you say, it is probably true if they have detected hsv-1 by swab. Symptoms aren't always typical - I have genital hsv-1 and when I had my first outbreak although I was red and sore I didn't have a simgle blister. However it was intensely painful and I had a high fever, which is what usually happens if you get hsv-1 genitally because you have never been exposed to either of the herpes viruses before.
I am still at a loss as to why, if he tested positive for hsv-1 through a BLOOD test, they would assume he had genital hsv-1 when it is MUCH more common to have it orally. They generally assume it is an oral infection in those circumstances. He might want to ask his doctor!
Yes, herpes is an sti when it is on your genitals, though not on your mouth. Something sounds very fishy to me. I think maybe your boyfriend should get a second opinion!
If they have only diagnosed through a blood test, they are wrong to tell him is is definitely genital hsv-1, because they can't tell that from a blood test, they can't tell where he has hsv-1, and 9 out of 10 hsv-1 infections are actually oral.
Plus, if he has only just started to experience symptoms, if it was a primary (first) outbreak of hsv-1, he WOULDN'T have had a positive blood test. It takes at least three months after infection to have a positive blood test for the virus.
yeast is a bad odor and lots of itching. Blood tests usually are not wrong. He could be at the beginning of an outbreak right now. It may get worse depending on how much he stresses about it. Stress can bring on an outbreak. He also may be a carrier of the virus. This means he may never have a severe outbreak. Just a little discomfort but he can indeed pass it to others. This isn't something I am sure he is ok with but 1 in 3 americans has herpes. He can live a very normal life with herpes. He just needs to be cautious when having intercourse with others. Always be honest with his partners and protect himself at all times. Tell him not to touch it. Keep the area clean. Leave it be. Make an appointment with a doctor and begin a perscription to help get rid of it quicker. As far as the yeast infection. There are many over the counter remedies for this. They will both be just fine. These things are a part of life. They aren't life threatening and life will go on.
The diagnosis could be wrong based on the looking at it, but the blood test won't be wrong. The good news is that he has a simple form of the virus. He got it from someone's coldsore not from another person with genital herpes which is more serious. If he has is it's possible he'll never get another outbreak. One way to guard against it is to take L-Lysine (health food store). One a day can prevent all outbreaks, even on your mouth. Foods that promote (cause) outbreaks; coffee, chocolate, colas, nuts (peanuts), bananas, popcorn, beer, gelatin (gummi bears, wine gums etc.).
It is very unlikely that the blood test is wrong. Just because the area doesn't burn or itch doesn't mean that he doesn't have herpes. The fact that his gf was diagnosed with a yeast infection also isn't important. Unless your friend had an open sore on his penis, he wouldn't get any of the bacteria from the yeast infection into his system.
There are always false positives to a blood test, but they are rare. I suggest he go in and get another one, just to be sure.