Recently Confused

[Mary3883]

Hi,

I am a female who was diagnosed with Epstein Barr Disease 2 years ago..I was getting large sores in my mouth on a regular basis was fatigued etc.. what my internist called (systemic ulcers) and tested for many things including HSV1 and HSV 2 both of which came back negative but showed the Epstein Barr..Although as a child I always had canker sores.. I have been with my fiancé for 6 years as a side note.. We went away for a couple days recently and I was extremely uncomfortable (thinking I was getting a yeast infection) this was a Saturday by Monday morning after doing single treatment for what I thought was a yeast infection I woke and knew smoothing was wrong ..I was extremely uncomfortable and felt swollen..I looked and immediately knew that the sores I so often got orally was now on my genital..After making an emergency appt. with my OBGYN that morning she looked and said she thought it was genital herpes and did a culture.. I then made an appointment the next day to see my internist he also did another painful culture as well as blood work..both cultures have come back negative. The blood test my doctor did after this scenario came back positive for HSV1 and 2 when he tested for them together ..However he decided to test for each one separately like he did the first time 2 years ago and both came back negative??

Do you have any insight on this? Could it be something else or because one blood test came back with both positive is it definite that I have herpes based on your experience? I have had one parter for 6 years and my fiancé claims the same…do you recommend any specific test I should have because I am completely confused?

Thanks so much!

[Terri Warren]

I can certainly see why you are confused, many confusing things have happened to you!
First, I”m not so sure about the Epstein Barr thing. Many if not most of us might be positive for EBV because it is the cause of mono, which as you probably know is a common infection and depending upon the test that was positive, it may or may not indicate current infection. I don’t know exactly what was done so I can’t say for certain. This website might be helpful in understanding EBV testing for you.

As far as the genital lesions go: if you had two negative cultures, you may well NOT have genital herpes. Cultures are not the perfect test, but two negative ones with dramatic symptoms would be more unusual if you did have herpes. How long after you had the symptoms of genital ulcers was the antibody test done? If it was done too quickly after the presence of the ulcers, you may not have had time to make antibody that the test was looking for. Were you treated for herpes with antiviral therapy? When was the blood test done in relationship to any antiviral therapy that was taken? Has your fiancé been tested for HSV 1 and 2 IgG antibody? Was your antibody test an IgG test? You may need to get a copy of your lab work before you answer these questions.

I have certainly seen a combined antibody test be positive and the type specific separate IgG tests be negative. The type specific antibody tests are more accurate than the combined test. Again, we need to be certain that the separate tests were IgG tests. Can you get your lab work and tell me about timing of testing? I can help you more when I have answers to the questions above.

Terri

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