Question:
Hello my gf was jsut diagnosed with herpes. we have been having unprotected sex for six months now and i was wandering what are the chances that i have gotten it. she has never had an outbreak in her entire life and nothing has appeared on my penis to make me believe i have herpes. i am going to the doctgers to get tested in 2 days but im starting to fall apart and would really appreciate some advice.

Answer:
herpes infections can exist without the symptoms of an ob. many people who are infected with the herpes virus do not know they have it.

It is also possible to have it for many years without knowing and in that time to pass it on to others without you ever manifesting symptoms.

When you go to get tested you should request herpes specific blood testing. It usually takes a week or 10 days to get the results. If your dr tells you the results are positive then I recommend you go in for a consult and discuss the results. You want to know which simplex virus you have. The test should also tell you what percentage of antibodies are present. This will help you to know if you have a recent infection or if you have had it longer. A negative test can actually be an inconclusive result and if you test negative you may want to be retested in several months.

Please keep in mind if you have ever in your life had a coldsore it is herpes and will show as a positive result with the blood test. If this is the case you can spread oral herpes (coldsores) to your partner when you perform oral sex on her. This would cause her to have genital herpes. Similarly if you have ever had someone perform oral sex on you and they have herpes coldsores you could have been infected genitally. Which can then be spread to someone either orally or genitally by contact.

Try to stay calm. Your immune system is responsible for the frequency and/or severity of ob's and emotions can trigger ob's. It is a good sign you've never had an ob. If you have hsv it means you have a strong immune system. If you don't have it your immune system has been protecting you. Even condoms are not a 100% effective way of preventing herpes genital infections but can help reduce transmission.

I hope you don't have it.

I've attached a link that talks about herpes and the different types that are responsible for oral and genital herpes infections.



Answer:
Can you give me more information regarding the percentages that the test results show? My type 1 showed as 3 and type 2 showed as 6. I have no basis to compare these to. Is it better to have higher percentages? (assuming it means higher antibodies to fight it?) How do the percentages relate to how long I may have had this?


Answer:
I don't have a reference point for those scores. I'd have to see the results and any information that accompanied it or the dr would have to interpret the results.

When you are first exposed (infected) the antibodies are beginning at zero and begin to develop in response to your immune system trying to stop the virus from taking over new cells.

The more antibodies you have the better your immune system can control ob's and prevent the virus from replicating.

Hypothetically if you have two tests spread out over 2 months and the first test shows antibodies at a low level and the second test shows them much higher it would say that the infection occurred fairly close to the first test. If you have the same two tests and the levels of antibodies are equal then I would hypothesize that the exposure happened months or years before the first test was taken in a time frame that would have allowed your body sufficient time to develop a stable level of antibodies.

Answer:
Caliope. I have a copy of the blood test that was done. It was a Type 2 -Specific IgG Ab. The doctor said the antibodies show that I've had the infection for a long time. In reading the results, I'm trying to figure out where she got this and what it means. Does the number 4.9H index mean anthing to you. I had my first outbreak about a month ago, and I'm 59! Imagine this. I don't understand the antibodies concept. Does it mean that the higher the anitbodies, the fewer outbreaks? Also, can the man definitely get herpes from oral sex with me.