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hello,
a little over two weeks ago i did an STD test, which included a blood test (IGG antibody type-specific) for hsv 1 and 2. my results were:
hsv1 4
hsv2 <0.9i was tested for everything (including H) in the beginning of june and everything came back negative. i’ve had unprotected sex with one guy this year (august) who i’ve also kissed several times (tongue), kissed another guy (a peck on the lips) in april and had protected sex/rec’vd unprotected oral last sep. i know it’s probably hard to pinpoint who gave this to me, so at this point i just want to come to peace with this and try to move forward w/o thinking my life is over and that no one will accept/love me.
someone suggested that i get the western blot for confirmation. with my IGG being a 4, is there any chance of this being a false positive? I know the range ends at 3.5, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. also, is it possible that i could have been infected from my encounter last sep or this past april, and the test for hsv1 be a false negative? any chance that the 2 negatives for hsv2 were/are false as well?
just a note, i have no hx of cold sores and have never had an outbreak on my lips or down below, so i don’t know where the virus is, which makes this even more nerve-breaking. my NP says i didn’t have to disclose, but i didn’t feel right not doing so.
i appreciate your time. thank you.
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The ranges for concern about false positives is a bit different for HSV 1 than for HSV 2. In a study we just completed, everyone with an HSV 1 index value greater than 3 confirmed with western blot. So I seriously doubt that your HSV 1 index value of 4 would not confirm. And no, there is just no way to know, without a lesion somewhere, where the infection is on your body. Is is possible that you could have been infected through kissing or receiving oral sex. Both are risks for HSV 1 acquisition. If you want to do the western blot just to be sure we can order that for you but honestly I fear that would be a waste of your money.
Terri
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Yes, that could certainly have been a false negative. Were two different labs used for the testing or the same lab for both? There is just no way to know when you acquired this infection, I’m sorry to say.
You have one more question to go after this.
Terri
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I don’t think you need to retest for the HSV 2, no.
The person who cut you off when you told him about the HSV 1 is a bit of a nit wit, sorry. More than half the population has HSV 1 so he may well have it and doesn’t know it. He could have at least tested to find out (though the screening test misses 1 out of 4 infections). And even if he tested negative the next person he’s going to run into has a better than 50-50 chance of being infected but since 70% of those infected with HSV 1 don’t know it, they may well infect him because they didn’t know it and did nothing to reduce transmission. If you decide to chose your partners based on their HSV 1 status, that’s a mighty limited population. Blow it off if you can.Terri
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1. Is it a strong possibility that the UTI was a sign/symptom of genital H?
Let me ask you a few questions about your UTI. Did you have the need to urinate more often? Were you peeing small amounts of urine often? Do you know if a urine culture was done and if it grew anything?
2. In your experience, if someone acquired HSV1 later in life (I’ll be 30 next yr), w/ no outbreak (that I was able to recognize), what are the chances of it being one over the other? (More likely oral vs more likely genital).
I don’t have that statistic.
3. Does an GHSV1 primary outbreak always occur? Sometimes I get a tingling sensation in my vaginal lips and lately my vaginal lips feel a little irritated. Prodomes I guess? But no sores/bumps pop up. CRazy part is that these sensations started right after my results came back and come and go.
I think your head is messing with you. I would say that many people have vaginal irritation and even tingling without herpes. without a specific oral or genital lesion we cannot know where your HSV 1 infection is located.
4. My HSV IGG was 4. Does that mean anything? I see some IGG numbers as high as 60.
Different tests have different normal ranges and test result ranges, so it’s hard for me to interpret for you. If you want a western blot just to be sure, I’m happy to arrange that for you.
Terri
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The symptoms associated with a herpes infection that get confused with a UTI do NOT include frequency and urgency – those are bladder symptoms, not urethral symptoms so no, I certainly do not think your UTI was a herpes outbreak.
Yes, there is a chance you may never have an outbreak in any location – frustrating I know.
Yes, I doubt that the 4.0 is a false positive. But some people do the western blot because they just need a bit more confirmation when they are asymptomatic. Strictly your call.
You have one question left.
Terri
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HSV 1 without a known site is a bit tricky. If I was in your situation before having sex with someone, I personally would say that I tested positive for HSV 1, I have never had an outbreak, the statistically likelihood is that it is oral, but you’ve never had a cold sore. Have they ever had a cold sore in their lifetime? Have they ever been tested for HSV 1? If they are positive (or agree to be tested and are found to be positive), then they are not at risk from you regardless of the site of infection.
Terri
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