Can I Trust A Negative Herpes Blood Test?!
Question: Can I Trust A Negative Herpes Blood Test?
For my own peace of mind, I recently submitted bloodwork for a myriad of STDs--HIV, Syphilis, Hepatitis C, Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, and Herpes (HSV-1 and HSV-2). Everything came back negative (non-reactive). At first I was relieved, until I heard about how tricky the herpes virus is. It often presents itself with atypical symptoms that most infected people don't recognize as herpes; worse, some people can even be asymptomatic. Even though I've never had symptoms or a reason to suspect herpes, I wanted to do a blood test for exactly these reasons. I've never had any sores/blisters/lesions to swab (genitally or orally), so my best recourse is the blood test. Both of my type-specific HSV-1 and HSV-2 blood tests came back negative. I accept the HSV-2 negative result, but I've read recently that as many as 1 in 10 blood tests produce false negatives for the HSV-1 virus. Now I'm freaking out about the odds of a false negative. Should I take the result on face-value and assume I'm clean, or retake the blood test at a later date? How can I be absolutely sure I don't have the herpes virus? :(
Please, only answers from health care providers or persons experienced in this dilemma. Thank you.
Please, only answers from health care providers or persons experienced in this dilemma. Thank you.
Answers:
I would trust you're clean. Be careful where you get your health info from.
I hope so. I've had cold sores since I was a baby. I'm going to get tested before and after I experiment with something. There is hope. There is a cure.