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Hi,
I am currently experiencing what I think is to be genital herpes type 2. I had unprotected sex about 3 years ago and about a week after exposure I had clear fluid blisters on the shaft of the penis. At that time I was almost certain it had to be herpes and was too afraid to go to any doctor looking like that. I waited 3 months to take the full STD panel test which included herpes select type specific and everything came back negative. I took the test again from a different place 3 months later and still the same results. In the meantime, I was experiencing tiny pus pimples on the base of my penis which I had expected to be herpes again. One dermatologist said it was a cyst, a urologist said it was an ingrown hair/foliculits which both seemed to relieve me. (Note that prior to the exposure I never experienced these pimples). So 2 years later I went to my dermatologist to do a viral culture which came back negative. Finally, 2 months ago I went to a new urologist And he said “If you had blisters after unprotected sex and you keep getting pimples you most likely have herpes” He also said the only way to know if its herpes for sure is to take herpes medicine and see if it goes away. I told him I took the test 5 times and everything came back negative as well as a viral culture. He told me that the “antibodies sometimes hide in the body and are not always detected”. Is it possible that if I was exposed to herpes, still experiencing symptoms can the blood test type specific be wrong so many times? (Also, I want to note that 10 years ago I tested positive for herpes type 1. But now both type 1 and type 2 came back negative. I still fear that I have herpes
1. What else can be confused with genital herpes that would cause clear fluid blisters?
2. I have read that some people won’t produce enough anti bodies for it to show up in the blood test
3. How do you explain me testing positive for herpes 1 (10 years ago) but now after 5 tests comes back negative? -
1. What else can be confused with genital herpes that would cause clear fluid blisters?
The top two pictures looks just like pimples to me. Normally, herpes lesions do not have pus like this. Have you had these swab tested when these are present?2. I have read that some people won’t produce enough anti bodies for it to show up in the blood test
I think the screening test is really good at picking up HSV 2 but not as good at picking up HSV 1. This could be why you are getting variable results on the antibody test. I would suggest that you obtain a western blot for herpes to clear up the HSV 1 situation. It is more sensitive for HSV 1 than the screening test by a lot.
3. How do you explain me testing positive for herpes 1 (10 years ago) but now after 5 tests comes back negative?
See above #2.
The third picture is a little more confusing. Have you been swab tested when it looked like this?
I would recommend getting PCR swabs to gather at home when you have these lesions which you can then return to your clinician’s office and they can send them to the lab. Having swabs at home is so useful because you can swab the lesion right away when they show up. If your clinician won’t help you with this, we can send you swabs from the clinic (and we can also help you obtain the western blot).
Again, the first two look simply like pimples to me.
Terri
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While it is possible that the blood test could miss your infection (it misses 1-2 of 10 infections with HSV 1), it is far less likely that it would miss an HSV 2 infection, which is what I think you are most concerned about. The majority of the people in the US have HSV 1 infection already and if you finally did test positive for HSV 1 by a better antibody test, you could not know if the infection was oral or genital, only that you had it.
There aren’t too many things that cause water blisters in the genital area other than herpes but there are a few – some kind of allergic reaction, a staph infection might cause what you would consider to be clear blisters. But without a swab of the lesions from three years ago, there is just no way to know for sure.
Terri
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While it is possible that the test is missing your HSV 2, it is not likely. A herpes western blot is a little more sensitive than the screening test for HSV 2. If you get these lesions in the genital area all the time, then I’m confused because in the paragraph before that, you mentioned that you had only had one outbreak. Can you clarify? You got only one outbreak of blisters and the rest were little pimples? I would say if you want the absolute clearest answer about HSV 2, get a herpes western blot. I can’t guess about the pictures that you showed me beyond what I have already said.
You have used up all of your questions for this subscription. If you have more questions, you can certainly renew your subscription.
Terri
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The problem lies with the HSV 1 screening test. It is so variable in its accuracy. And it also is not very sensitive for HSV 1. So your antibody test was positive for HSV 1, not a lesion swab?
Do you live in a place where you can obtain a western blot for clarity?
Terri
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