Question:
Say someone receives a positive HSV1 result on a test. Is there a number from a blood test that indicates viral load (might be wrong term) or number of antibodies present? I've seen references to some numbers.

The reason I ask is I did have a test today but haven't gotten the results yet. I am not sure what I have if anything (it may in fact be some other type of skin infection like the nurse practioner thought it was...), and if I do get a positive HSV1 result, couldn't this just mean I was exposed to a cold sore when kissing someone at any time in my life?

If so .. what good is the test? :confused:


man this stuff is confusing. :(

Answer:
if you have a "rash" in your genital rea and test positive for HSV1 then it is very likely you have contracted genital herpes type 1, which you would have contracted from anyone who carried hsv1 virus and didnt know it, or who had cold sores in their live (same thing) and didnt understand that coldsores are herpes. So either way, that is how you would have aquired a genital herpes infection if positive test shows that. It could also mean you got it orally from kissing someone with the virus, but if your symptoms are below the belt, and not in the oral region, then it is usually genital herpes type 1. Also, a person can carry the virus and not get symptoms so they have no idea they carry it, but can shed the virus on their skin at times(which is how most peope contract it, when no visible symptoms are present) and it can either be type 1 or 2 and both viruses affect both the oral and the genital region. No cold sores need to be present on the person carrying the virus for them to have transmitted it to you in your oral region or your genital region (through oral sex) just like no symptoms need to be present genitally for you to have obtained herpes from someone in your genital region or mouth (if you performed oral sex on them) so hope that clarifies a bit. The blood test will tell you if you have herpes or not its that simple....being "exposed" means you have the virus now if there are antibodies in your blood.....doctors use that term to be more gentle about telling someone "hey, you've got herpes" and no the test can not tell you where the infection is, that is why you have to look for symptoms. If you dont know where you have it, either way you have to inform any potential partners because either way you have herpes and they could contract it from any contact on their body (genital or orally) that your infected area comes in contact with. So instead of telling someone "I have oral herpes" or "I have genital herpes" you will say "I have herpes and I do not know which area of my body is infected so we need to take precautions, as it could be either my oral or genital region"

Other possibilities include a culture test if you ever develop anything that can be cultured( usually blister/sore or fluid filled lesion) but that is not always conclusive, as there might not be enough of the virus on the skin at the time of the culture, even though the lesion still exists, but if you get genital symptoms, you'll know thats where you have it. Same goes if you develop a cold sore, then you'll know for sure you have it orally. Some people will never get symptoms, or anything people classically associate as being herpes so in that case you will just have to inform people of the fact you have herpes but are not sure which site you have it. Hope the test is negative, but just remember that a negative result at first does NOT mean you dont have herpes...sometimes it takes several tests to find antibodies, so best bet is to get retested 6 weeks later again by blood to see if antibodies are developed yet. And if it is "just HSV1" as you wrote, you still have herpes and I hope you take it seriously as it can affect either region and infect people just the same as type 2 in either region. Good luck

Answer:
Sorry. Just HSV1 was a bad choice of words and I apologize and don't mean to discount anyone suffering from an HSV1 infection in any area on their body.

But, it seems like every other person has cold sores and I've seen estimates of up to 75% of adults have been exposed to HSV1 and have antibodies, many without symptoms ever.

It seems to be taken very lightly by them and by the health profession in general - except when it is genital or recurring oral or ocular etc .....

What I mean is say some aunt or uncle kissed me as a baby and I got exposed then... after all this time I've yet to have a cold sore (sometimes I wish I had... it seems this provides resistance against genital infection of definitely HSV1 and sometimes even HSV2 for some people......) .... it seems like that is "not a big deal" relatively?

Answer:
For me H is a big fucking deal. For others it's not. You have to make up your mind if it's a big deal to you. More importantly you need to inform partners before exposing them, so they can choose for themselves if it's a big deal to them. If you find a way around this, let us know and explain the morality behind it.

And H on the mouth is the same damn thing as H on the genitals, just in a different location. Oral H just has a pet name called "cold sores" so people who can't hide it don't have to say the word HERPES.

Answer:
To answer your question.....If a relative or anyone who had oral herpes kissed you when you were young and they were shedding the virus(nothing visibly seen on their face), or if coldsore visible then you would have contracted herpes. A lot of people do in fact have hsv1 from similar situations, but thousands of people aquire it through kissing and genitally by receiving oral sex from someone who carries the virus orally. Never having visible coldsores does NOT mean you are not contagious. You can never have had a coldsore ever but carried the virus since whenever you were infected(childhood or beyond) and while your mouth may not always be contagious, the virus is still present in your body and can activate and be in the oral region at various times for the rest of your life. Its possible to kiss someone or perform oral sex on someone and have them not get it but it is still a risk, as you can never tell when in fact you are contagious, unless you see or feel something, but millions of people never see or feel anything and that is why it spreads so much. The reason so many people have oral is because it is very easily spread and people shed the virus without coldsores so many are unaware they even have the virus, and tons are so miseducated that their "cold sores" are herpes and their oral region is in fact contagious some of the time when symptoms are not visible, and even when they have not got a coldsore in "years" they can still transmit the virus to others without coldsores present. So that is why it is so important to inform people of your status (genital or oral) as it spreads without symptoms at random times and people have a right to know.

Answer:
John,
The HerpeSelect ELISA numeric result is just a number, it doesn't correlate to how many ob's you'll get in a year or a level of infection, or likelihood of passing this to someone else. Meaning a 4.1 is no different than a 5.8, they're both positive. The same idea goes for negative results; additionally, values will never be zero, values below .90 are referred as "background noise" to the testing procedure. A .13 on a first test and .67 on a second test doesn't mean you're on your way to turning positive. If your first test was a .67 and your second test was .13, it doesn't mean you're less negative; They are both clearly negative.

You could draw blood into two samples, run them through different batch processes and have different numeric results. They'd both be positive or negative, but the numeric values would most likely be different.

Answer:
The HerpeSelect ELISA numeric result is just a number... values will never be zero...
What is your source that HerpeSelect ELISA values are never zero? Please explain to me why my 3 HerpeSelect ELISA blood tests (at 3, 6, and 9 weeks) all had 0.00 results for HSV2. This is very important and I keep getting jerked around by my doctor/lab when I question my zero value results... they seem to have no idea what they are talking about. Can you please clarify? Thanks.

Answer:
Reading HerpeSelect ELISA results can be confusing. I don't think the makers of the Herpes Select (Focus Technologies) ever intended the patients to see numeric results. Most people, including medical professionals expect to see zero, and tend to worry that any number at all means something. Because, you've had three tests all returning zero, I would suspect the lab has adjusted any value

Answer:
My post got cut off.... ...I would suspect the lab has adjusted any value