Do I need a western blot?

[SomeoneSpecial]

Hi Terri,

I was married for for 12 years. During that time, my wife cheated on me with at least 2 men.

My now ex wife got occasional cold sores during our marriage. I’ve never had one.

I’m in a new relationship now, and we have not yet been sexually intimate. We have engaged in oral sex.

I had an HSV test done in 2013 and results were negative for both 1 and 2. Because of my ex wife’s history, I’m concerned about a false negative, even though I’ve been symptom free.

Maybe I’m worrying too much, but I want to be sure heading into this relationship. She is very special to me.

I’ve read through your forums, and found that igG 1 is 70% accurate and igG 2 is 92% accurate. Is this correct?

One other question: My girlfriend gets cold sores occasionally. Is there a chance that they could be spread to me during oral sex? We’ve been careful…we don’t even kiss when she thinks she has a cold sore.

Regarding hsv 2: is it possible I could have contracted that during my marriage and not had any symptoms? The guys were kind of creepy.

Thanks

[Terri Warren]

You know the statistics on the accuracy of the HSV tests by IgG compared to the western blot. If you want the most accurate results, get the western blot. If you are actually negative for HSV 1,you could get genital HSV 1 by your partner giving you oral sex even if she doesn’t have a cold sore,yes.

Terri

[SomeoneSpecial]

Terri,

Thank you for the information. It is helpful. I have a couple more questions. First, does having cold sores automatically mean that my girlfriend has HSV 1? Secondly, what are the chances of this being transferred to me via oral sex?

In addition, I had a small bump that looked kind of like a blister on the inside of my bottom lip. It disappeared after a day. Was that a sign of HSV?

My last question is in regards to the igG test that I took in 2013. I read online that as many as 2/3 of people who contract HSV have no symptoms, or are asymptomatic. Is this a true statistic?

I really want to be thorough. I feel like our relationship is moving forward and at some point we will move into sexual intercourse.

I’ve been doing research online, and I’ve found conflicting information in many instances.

I think I am going to move forward with the western blot test. I like the percentage of accuracy a lot better than the igG.

Thank you

[Terri Warren]

The vast majority of cold sores are caused by HSV 1, yes.
People with recurrent cold sores shed virus on about 25% of days so yes, if you are not infected already you could become infected by receiving oral sex from your partner. but if you acquire HSV 1 genitally, it will recur infrequently and shed infrequently from the genital area.
Hard to say if what you saw if HSV 1 or not.
70% of those infected with HSV 1 do not recognize that they are infected, correct.

Terri

[SomeoneSpecial]

Thanks, Terry.

Does that 70% statistic of no symptoms apply to HSV 2 as well?

Would you recommend no oral sex for our situation?

What about kissing. Is there much risk there of transferring HSV 1?

Thanks again. It’s nice to get accurate information.

[Terri Warren]

80% of those with HSV 2 do not recognize their infection
The oral sex thing is your call. You might want to find out about your true HSV 1 status first with the blot.
see above – there is always some risk. Less if she is taking daily antiviral therapy. But I think that if you eliminate both kissing this person and receiving oral sex, you would be missing out big time in life. And knowing that statistically, the next person you find will have HSV 1 also, you could be going a while to find someone who is accurately negative for HSV 1.
This is your last post on this subscription. If you have more questions, feel free to renew

Terri

[Author]

Posts