. How likely is it that the HSV-1 is a false positive due to the cross reactivity? My wife gets cold sores by the way, but I’ve never had one.
I would say that both of these results are strong positives, not due to any cross reactivity
I’m still processing my diagnosis. I would be shocked if what I have wasn’t herpes, but I also don’t have a positive swab, and a part of me still wonders “could it be herpes?”. But when I take into account the fact I had 7 breakouts in six months, immediately after being immunosuppressed, it’s hard to ignore that. Couple that with now taking valtrex and the outbreaks have stopped.
2. Would you say based on all of my recurrent symptoms, the IgG blood test, and everything else, I should just assume I have herpes with a high level of confidence?
Yes
3. Considering my high index value range for HSV-2 couple with symptoms, would you even recommend getting more swabs to nail down a DX?
We know that 95% of those who test positive accurately for HSV 2 are infected genitally and most HSV 1 is still oral, though increasingly in younger people, we see it genitally. I have seen false positives at this level for HSV 2 but very rarely. If you want more confirmation do the western blot. Your lesions seems to last such a short time, it likely isn’t going to be easy to get a positive swab unless your provider would allow you to take home swabs and gather them yourself and return them to be processed.
Terri