How to Get Tested for Herpes
Since most people with genital herpes have few, infrequent or even NO symptoms, it can be difficult to know whether or not you have genital herpes. You may have seen pictures of herpes or heard about people who have “really bad” herpes symptoms, such as genital sores, rashes, headaches and fatigue. But severe symptoms are very rare. For the great majority of people with herpes, their symptoms are so mild or infrequent – or not at all – that their herpes is never diagnosed! Don’t assume that just because you don’t see any sores or feel sick - that you don’t have herpes or another STD. You may be very wrong!
And for goodness sake - DO NOT ASSUME that your doctor already tested you for herpes! Most doctors NEVER test their patients for herpes, even when they are testing you for other STD’s. That’s right – most doctors do NOT include a herpes test their patients – UNLESS YOU ASK SPECIFICALLY FOR A HERPES BLOOD TEST.
The best way to diagnose herpes when you are not having symptoms is to request a herpes blood test. Or if you are having an active outbreak – then immediately go to the doctor to get a herpes lab culture AND a herpes blood test. You must SPECIFICALLY REQUEST that your doctor give you a herpes blood test and a herpes lab culture – or else your doctor might just do a visual inspection and may easily misdiagnose herpes as something else – such as jock itch, a yeast infection, or rough sex. When your symptoms go away – usually within a few days to a few weeks, you may not even realize that you just experienced a herpes outbreak.
Unfortunately, most doctors still do NOT include a test for herpes during routine STD testing for their patients. This may be because herpes is so common and they don’t consider herpes to be a serious, life-threatening condition. There is also speculation that some medical plans and insurance providers may discourage doctors from testing for herpes so that they will not have to prescribe potentially expensive drugs to the estimated 25% of their patients who would test positive. So unless you SPECIFICALLY ASK your doctor to give you a blood test for herpes, it is unlikely that you or your friends or partners have ever been tested. So start asking specifically for a herpes blood test. And sometimes your doctor will even push back and tell you that you don’t need a Herpes Blood Test or give you another reason why they don’t want to give you a Herpes Blood Test. This may be because your doctor is not up-to-date and doesn’t know about the newer, very accurate herpes blood tests. Read on for more info.
Herpes Lab Cultures
Many doctors and health care professionals are not up-to-date about herpes diagnosis and will tell you that the only way to accurately diagnose whether or not you have the genital herpes virus is by taking a swab from an active herpes sore or lesion and sending it to the lab for a culture test. However, this only works if the patient’s sore is fairly new or else the virus may no longer be active on the skin. If you get a Herpes Lab Culture and it comes out negative, you may still have genital herpes. Because most herpes outbreaks are short and mild, and because most people have few, mild or even NO outbreaks, we highly recommend taking a herpes blood test when no active sores or lesions are present, and in ADDITION to a Herpes Lab Culture when there is a sore present.
Herpes Blood Tests
Many out-of-date doctors will tell you that there are no reliable blood tests for herpes that can accurately distinguish between HSV-1 and HSV-2. These doctors *used to* be right. And some of the old, inaccurate blood tests are still out there. But medicine has made great strides, and since 1999, there are several NEW IgG blood tests now available that DO very accurately distinguish between HSV-1 and HSV-2 and are 97-100% ACCURATE, if taken no earlier than 12-16 weeks after your possible exposure to the virus.
Since some doctors and clinics are still using the older, inaccurate blood tests. Always make sure to find out the name of the company and test that your doctor or lab is ordering for herpes blood tests, and make sure it is one of the tests on the “good” list and not one of the tests on the “bad” list.
Herpes Blood Test Guide
Click here to see the list of recommended, highly accurate Herpes Blood Tests – Herpes Blood Test Guide from the American Association of Social Health (ASHA.org). Give a copy to your doctor to make sure they are in the know!
Some of the Good Herpes Blood Tests include:
- HerpeSelect 1&2 Differentiation Immunoblot from Focus Diagnostics
- Captia ELISA HSV1 and HSV2 Tests from Trinity Biotech USA
- The Western Blot Test from University of Washington is considered to be the “gold standard” for all herpes blood tests.
- To download the complete list of good herpes blood tests to give to your doctor, go to ASHA HerpesBloodTestGuide.
Old, Innacurate Blood Tests List
- Zeus, HSV-1 and/or HSV-2 ELISA Test System, Raritan, NJ
- Sigma, Herpes 1-IgG, Herpes 2-IgG, St Louis, MO
- Wampole Labs, HSV-1 IgG ELISA, HSV-2 IgG ELISA, Cranbury, NJ
Planned Parenthood Confidential Herpes Testing
Private Confidential Lab Testing
Timing
You must WAIT AT LEAST 12-16 WEEKS after you were exposed to herpes, in order to give the virus antibodies enough time to develop in your blood stream. Otherwise the blood tests may not be accurate.
*See Disclosures.
I was just diagnosed with “H” last week. I was sure it had to have been the last person I was with because the symptoms showed up about 3 or 4 days later. I went to the doctor the next day (day 5) and had the testing done. A week later the results came back positive (both culture and blood test) Now according to this article, am I wrong in thinking it was this last partner? Since it says “You must WAIT AT LEAST 12-16 WEEKS after you were exposed to herpes, in order to give the virus antibodies enough time to develop in your blood stream”. ? So I guess it couldn’t have been the last partner?
It depends on what kind of blood test you were given. Most tests will not give accurate results unless you have had the virus for sufficient time for the markers of the antibodies to show up in your bloodstream. Some people don’t have their first outbreaks until YEARS after they acquired the virus. Find out the exact name of the company that manufactured the test, and the exact name of the test, (not just the name of the lab or the type of the test) and then you will have enough info to ask your question again and find out if you took one of the “good” HSV tests, and what kind of information it was capable of showing. Until you have this info, it is premature to assume that you got herpes from your last partner. Many people make that mistake and start accusing each other. It’s just not that simple.
Recently ended 9 yr relationship because Fiancee had an affair. I had my yearly gyno exam and requested full std panel. It came back positive IgG (5) for HSVII. I am however, asymptomatic. I’ve never had any outbreaks or symptoms of HSVII. Also, my ex is the only person I’ve had unprotected sex with in 15 years. I do remember last year he did have some issues like intermittent painful urination & IBS type symptoms. His doctor ran an STD panel on him but did not test for Herpes. He was referred to a Gastroenterologist and was given strong probiotics & even had a colonoscopy. I do also remember him having a cold sore in 2009. Also, something I’ve never experienced. Although, we are not on speaking terms right now I feel compelled to try to reach out to him about this & try to convince him to have a herpes test so he’s not out unknowingly spreading this to other Women. I’m not sure if he gave me herpes or if I’ve had it all this time (15yrs.). It’s just the timing of his affair & my diagnosis is too much of a coincidence. I’m angry, hurt & confused right now. I feel all alone.
I had a blood tes done 6 weeks after exposure. Now I’m having a heart attack because I’ve learned that its not 100% Here we go again. Hopefully I’ll get really lucky. I’m soooooo scared. :’( this whole time I thought I was in the clear.
The good thing is, you now know for sure that you didn’t get HSV2 from any of your previous partners. So your first blood test is your baseline. After you get retested after it’s a full 12-16 weeks after you suspect you were exposed, you will have a second baseline. Hopefully negative! It’s so important to know your herpes status. It’s amazing that most doctor’s don’t test their patients for herpes, and so many people are walking around (or sleeping around) thinking that they are “clean”, when in fact, they might have herpes and just not have any noticeable symptoms. If more people got tested, and took precautions, then people could more easily protect themselves against giving or spreading herpes.
I am currently experiencing an outbreak. As far back as I can recall I am prone to “cold sore blisters, fever blisters”. The very 1st appearance of a “blister” within my vagina was 3 year’s ago approximately. As I was celibate for 3 years at that time & also had an annual outbreak on my mouth, my doctor concluded that I had transferred it from my mouth to my vaginal area. Is this possible? Now I am totally confused. I do not recall feeling in any other way unwell 3 years ago, and I have had “cold sore blisters, fever blisters” within the last 3 years WITHOUT a recurrence within my vagina… until today. Today I felt all of the symptoms that are described in a “Primary outbreak of vaginal herpes”. I went to check myself with a mirror, and there, in the same location as 3 year’s ago was a very nasty, angry red bump. Then I decided to research this which led me to your website. What do you think??
Get a herpes test immediately when you are having an active outbreak. Ask for both a swab/culture test and a type-specific herpes blood test using one of the more recent, accurate blood tests listed at http://www.ashastd.org/pdfs/HerpesBloodTestGuide.pdf Find out if you have HSV1, HSV2, or both. If you have HSV2, then your vaginal outbreak is HSV2, and not related to your oral cold sores.
I currently have an exgirlfriend going around telling everyone that I have and gave her herpes. I, myself, have never had and symptoms. No outbreaks, no cold sores, nothing. My reputation in my hometown is being destroyed by this woman. I found out towards the end of our relationship that she was diagnosed posetive. I dont recall wether it was HSV1 or HSV2. We took precautions and I decided to stay with her as I “thought” I loved her at the time. We were together for 10 months and apart now for 3. I still have never had any symptoms. I know I need to be tested but is it possible that she got it from someone else and it surfaced during our relationship? She says it was me because it didnt show up until 7 months into our relationship. Is this possible? SO CONFUSED!
(currently I am refraining from ANY and ALL dating, relations…etc…
Yes, even if you find out that you test positive for genital herpes, it is possible that your ex-girlfriend might have acquired her own case of genital herpes from a previous partner. This can only be confirmed if she took a previous blood test for herpes before she started sleeping with you, and also only if that blood test was done within 12-16 weeks AFTER her most recent previous partner. If she was sleeping with other people without getting tested for herpes and/or if she was sleeping with more than one person within a few weeks or months of each other, there may be no way of knowing just who she got herpes from. It is also possible that she had herpes for a long time and just recently had symptoms. That happens to a lot of people but they don’t understand that you can carry the virus without ANY symptoms for a long time – even years – and not kinow that you have herpes. So get yourself tested, and I would not be surprised to hear that you don’t have herpes and she does. But you have to prepare yourself for the possibility that you may indeed have herpes and just didn’t know it. DHW
hello, my bf went to a doctor and she said he has herpes on the genitals but his blood work was clean is that possible? and how can u determine that its herpes without proper blood work?
It’s possible that if your boyfriend was newly infected with genital herpes, that he didn’t have the virus long enough for it to show up in a herpes blood test. It’s possible that your boyfriend got herpes on his genitals from you, either from oral sex (HSV1) or vaginal or anal sex (usually HsV2). It’s also possible that the doctor did not order the right herpes blood test. The “new” type-specific herpes blood tests are very accurate, but only if taken 12-16 weeks after someone was first infected. There are still many old, unreliable blood tests on the market, and you really need to find out specifically what test your doctor ordered to be sure it was one of the highly accurate new herpes blood tests. To download a list of the “good” herpes blood tests, go to Bring this list to your doctor and make sure he/she gives BOTH you and your boyfriend one of these good herpes blood tests.
I carry the H virus and recently (2 days ago) slept with a man and in the crime of passion and alcohol had unprotected sex with him. I am working up the nerves to have a conversation with him asap. Oh how I wish I read the article about telling someone first. I think I would have had the confidence to tell him before if I read this first. You need a section called “Oops Now what” to help people (because I am sure there are many) that have unprotected sex without informing the partner not maliciously but out of passion.
My actual question is If he gets tested this week will this be his baseline (as if he tested before sleeping with me) so that this test will tell us if he was positive or negative for the virus prior to me and then after 12-16 weeks test again (if he is negative) to see if he contracted it from me?
If I were him, yes, I would get a type-specific herpes IgG blood test right away to see if I already had HSV1 and/or HSV2. Most people will test positive for HSV1 because it is the virus that causes cold sores. If he tests positive now for HSV2, then he was most likely infected before he met you, because it usually take 12-16 weeks for HSV2 antibodies to show up in the bloodstream after someone is first infected. If he tests negative now, then he should get re-tested in 12-16 weeks just to be sure. Oops, now what is right! The best thing is to come clean right away. It’s not too late to start practicing safer sex right now by using condoms and taking daily Acyclovir or Valcyclovir as suppressive therapy. Taking those precautions will significantly reduce your risk of spreading herpes to your partners.
I’m embarrassed to call the office that had me tested and find out the name of the specific tests they used. I might use the confidential kit to help me sort out the following – a bit.
I haven’t had contact with anyone for many years. I went to a non-traditional practitioner, not my family GP, who ran blood tests for many things. When I got the results he said “and you have Herpes 1 and Herpes 2″ and then kept reading results that he had found.
When I’ve told subsequent doctors that a blood test was positive, but I have not had outbreaks, itching, or any known symptoms, they say “the tests show that you have been in contact with HSV2″.
I have a bit of an understanding that I was tested for antibodies, that was positive, so, does this translate to “I have herpes”? It’s confusing to me to hear the last 2 MDs say “you have been in contact with it” but not “you have HSV2″.
I would like to be retested since my results seemed odd. I just remember a number in the twenties, not 1 or 2 point something. Does that give a clue what test it was More important, though, I don’t know WHERE HSV2 is/would be in my body.
I also don’t know how to explain my situation to anyone if I should date again. I don’t intend to have casual sex (that is separate from any viruses). To add to it, I had some unusual abdominal cramping (in menopause) and am being examined frequently to look for cancer cells (repeat paps frequently). They have found HPV as well, but Class 2 cells, in other words, one of the HPVs that is not correlated to cancer.
I do feel like no one would want to have a serious relationship with me if they knew about these things. I don’t want to date someone who has active outbreaks and feel torn between only looking for someone in a group or forum for STDs or just insisting on protection because you never know anyway if a man has HPV.
It’s not like me to keep secrets or put people in danger, but the wording of being exposed to it combined with the lack of outbreaks makes me very unsure how to explain my health and risks to a potential partner. I will use the info I’ve read above to help, but anything additional? I feel so alone with this situation. I have insurance and can’t see how I could convince a Dr to rerun a test that was already positive.
Some doctors don’t understand that a positive result on one of the new, very accurate type-specific IgG herpes blood tests – DOES mean that the patient definitely carries the HSV virus – unless for instance – you had a blood transfusion and the donor had HSV2 antibodies. For the great majority of patients, a positive result on one of the “good” herpes blood tests, DOES mean that you carry the virus and that it resides dormant somewhere in the ganglia of your spinal chord and may occasionally re-activate and cause either noticeable or asymptomatic shedding of the virus.
Statistics estimate that over 60% of adults in the US have HSV1, and approximately 20% of adults in the US have HSV2, but 90% of them have never been tested for herpes and DON’T KNOW that they even have any form of herpes.
Here’s a link to a collaborative study on the prevalence of genital herpes from 2 research scientists/doctors, one at the University of Washington School of Medicine and the other at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Genital Herpes: Prevalence, Transmission, and Prevention (Medscape)
http://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/502718
Please also read our web page about “How To Tell Someone That You Have Herpes” and “Reducing Herpes Risk” of spreading herpes to gain more confidence in dating people with or without herpes and how to protect them most effectively. Most people with genital herpes lead normal, happy and productive lives, have romances, get married, have children and nothing terrible happens! The worst thing about discovering that you have herpes is the unfair “stigma” that some people associate with it. Please read:
http://www.datingwithherpes.org/tellingsomeone/ and
http://www.datingwithherpes.org/reducingyourrisk/
Read up on the facts on this site to gain knowledge and confidence! Good luck!
My boyfriend that I’ve been with for a year have sex with condoms when we have vaginal sex. When I give him oral or he gives me oral we have never used protection for oral sex. Recently, I tested postive for HSV 1 & 2. My boyfriend tested negative. How is that possible?
I haven’t told him that I tested positive yet because I really don’t know how to have this conversation. Please help!!!! What do I say. We actually work together and I fear this could end up badly. I love him dearly and am happy that he tested negative, but now what do I do?
I’ve thought about just ending the relationship and not telling him why since he tested negative. I think that would be best. I fear that every time he sees me at work he’ll look at me and think of my herpes.
Any advice would be appreciated.
I have recently been diagnosed with vaginal HSV-1. I had a blood and culture done. Both came back positive. I knew the blood test would come back positive with HSV-1 as I get cold soars. But was shocked when the culture came back positive as well. I had gone in to see the Dr thinking I had a yeast infection and although she said everything looked fine, she decided to take a culture.
Here is where the issue comes into play. When she sent the culture to the lab, the labe called back later to say their ICE had melted and asked if my Dr wanted them to proceed with the test. They also said her testing supplies she was using were out dated, and asked if she wanted to proceed with the tests. She agreed, and had to give a disclaimer due to both.
The Dr did determin I did have a bad yeast infection at that time.
I had question between the yeast infection, and the fact the labs ice had melted, and the Dr was using out dated testing supplies, if it was possible if the test could have given a false positive.
I called the lab to talk to a Biochemist to find out. I couldn’t speak to one directly, so they had one call my Dr with the answer. According to the Biochemist, they say it’s not possible that it would give a false positive. I still have a hard time believing this under the circumstances of the ice melting and old testing supplies. But I’m doing my best to accept the answer as they are the experts.
In 2010 I dated a man with HSV (not sure which type he was never tested only visually confirmed), so I knew there was a possibility I could end up with it. BUT!!! while we were dating I had a blood test and came back positive for HSV-1 (but again I get cold soars). I had a full STD panel done, including cultures 2 months after he and I broke up at the end of 2010. Once again everything came back clean, accept HSV-1. Cultures came back clear. In June 2011, I was having some itching and burning, so I went to the Dr. She did a culture, it came back clean.
Now I have been with 2 guys since my x boyfriend in 2010. But according to both of them they are clean. One I know forsure has been tested recently and is clean. the other, I only know what he tells me.
I guess I struggle with the fact the culture wasn’t done under normal circumstances. So knowing forsure that I received a correct answer is hard to accept. I wish it would have just been cut and dry.
Any thoughts?
My last question for you, is the supressive medication that is out, does that work with HSV-1?
I understand your concerns about the herpes test that was done for you under less-than-ideal conditions. We cannot answer your question about whether or not your test sample was compromised or the test was good or bad because you did not give us enough information. For instance – what was the name of the test that they used that was “old”, etc. What did they mean by “old”? Did they mean that the test could not be relied upon to give accurate results compared to some of the newer tests? What did they mean? Unless the test they used was already considered somehow unreliable, then it does seem a bit unlikely that a “culture” test for HSV1 would be compromised just because of lack of ICE. Are they sure that they tested you for both HSV1 and HSV2, and that the test only showed HSV1? Or was the test non-specific about the type and maybe it just says you have “HSV” but doesn’t tell you which type 1 or 2? You really need to ask your doctor to be much more specific.
If you have HSV1 – you are not alone! This is extremely common! 60%-80% of adults in the US have HSV1, which is usually the cause of cold sores around the mouth. However, because of the popularity of oral sex and the fact that most people don’t use condoms or dental dams or any other sort of protection during oral sex, HSV1 is commonly transmitted to the genitals and is the cause of about 30% of new cases of genital herpes. And most doctors do not include a blood test for HSV1 or HSV2 when they are testing their patients for other STDs. So even if your ex-boyfriends thought they were “clean” for herpes and had no symptoms of either oral cold sores or genital herpes outbreaks, it’s very possible that either of them, or YOU, already had HSV1, HSV2, or both, but just didn’t know it.
Suppressive therapies such as a daily prescription for Acyclovir (less expensive) or Valcyclovir – more expensive but a lower dose) have been shown to be very effective at reducing the frequency and duration of outbreaks in patients with HSV1 and/or HSV2. It is recommended that you also use condoms for additional protection. For more info on herpes treatments, see http://www.datingwithherpes.org/herpestreatments/
Good luck!
He’s got a right to know if he has been potentially exposed to HSV2 and you know it. It’s very common, and he has probably slept with other people before you who might have had HSV2 and didn’t know it. You should talk to him so that he can set up an appointment to get tested.
It’s possible that you may have even gotten herpes from this person, and not the other way around. 90% of the people who carry the HSV2 virus, DON’T EVEN KNOW IT, because most of them have few or no noticeable symptoms and most doctors do NOT include a test for herpes when they are testing their patients for other STD’s. So your boyfriend might have HSV2 and just not know it. This is extremely common.
The responsible thing to do is to TELL your boyfriend that you tested positive for HSV1 and HSV2, and suggest that he also get tested. Give him links to this site and other sites about herpes so that he can read up on the information and know that it’s possible to have herpes and NOT KNOW IT.
If you worry that he might be the kind of person who might “judge” you negatively because you found out that you have herpes, then you still have to tell him. Just imagine what anyone would think about you if you DIDN’T tell him! Telling him is just the right thing to do. “Not telling” someone just gives everyone else with herpes a bad reputation and makes people think less of you and other people with herpes. If you want good Karma, then be honest with him. If he reacts badly, that’s his own problem and you did the right thing.
For tips on “How To Tell Someone That You Have Genital Herpes”, see our page at:
http://www.datingwithherpes.org/tellingsomeone/