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Do i have Herpes 1 and 2

So I went to the medical records and had a print out to see about my test results for Herpes. It shows on the paper Hsv 1 IGG serQN and for 2 value positive no numbers. But then this year I had a lesion and the doctor swab it and it came back abnormal for Herpes simplex virus rapid culture. Then it says final result heroes virus islolated in cell culture confirmed by fluorescent antigen test. It says no value. The doctor told me I have Genital Herpes which I don’t know how. I had a cold sore before twice. But I don’t if she is saying it cause I had it on my private area or what I am confused.
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Avatar universal
Thank you so much
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You're welcome! Best of luck, and let us know what happens if you re-test.
207091 tn?1337709493
COMMUNITY LEADER
Oh if you can't get your doctor to do it, there are places you can get it done yourself, if you can afford to self-pay. Try https://www.stdcheck.com/.
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207091 tn?1337709493
COMMUNITY LEADER
It sounds like your blood test (the IgG) was a combination test, and not a type specific. Is there one result that says positive, or two separate results?

The issue with that is that all it says is that you have at least one type, and you already know you do since you have had cold sores. You need a type specific IgG blood test, which will give you a specific result for each type.

"Abnormal" - that's an odd report. If they found the virus in the cell culture, that would mean it's positive, and if you had that done on your genital area, then you have genital herpes. The rapid culture usually types it, if ordered by the doctor - I guess it doesn't say that?

Ask your doctor for a type specific IgG blood test. Get copies of the results, and we can help you figure it out.

I'm sorry it's been so confusing. It doesn't have to be.
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Yes she did an culture and it came back I have Genital herpes. I have never had an exposure down there before.  But back in 2014 or 2015 I was told I had herpes 1 and 2 when I seen the doctor she said usually people get herpes 1 which is cold sores. I just had an outbreak last year of the sudden on my Genital that’s weird to me. I am just now getting an outbreak and being told I have gential herpes. I get cold sores.
If you get cold sores, you have hsv1.

So your genital culture came back positive for herpes, meaning you have genital herpes. Statistically, this is type 2, but you can also have type 1 genitally. I don't know how long you've had hsv1 orally, but if you've been getting cold sores for a long time, it's not a new infection. You probably wouldn't get it genitally unless your genitals came into contact with a cold sore, and even then, I'd doubt it would happen.

If your test in 2014 was a type specific test and you indeed tested positive for type 2, then you are one that has had it with no symptoms, or really mild symptoms you'd never recognize as herpes. Since you have type 1 already, it means you wouldn't have a big, bad primary outbreak. Keep in mind that 90% of those with genital herpes don't even know they have it because they have no symptoms, or they have really mild symptoms.

The only way to know if you had it in 2014 is to get a copy of your test results so we can help interpret those. You may never know, though.
I do have my copy
Can you tell me what it says exactly?

It should say something like "IgG type 1 positive, IgG type 2 positive" or IgG hsv1/hsv2 positive".
It said when I wrote the post. It says for blood screening HSV 1 Ser, QN value Positive HSV 2 ser, QN positive that was taken in 2015. Which I already knew I had HSV 1 because I had a cold sore before on my lip way back in 2010. Then Jan 26 18 I had to get swab due to outbreak and it says herpes simplex virus rapid culture abnormal then it says final result herpes simplex virus isolated in cell culture. Confirmed by fluorescent antigen test. The thing is I never had an outbreak before down there. The doctor email me and told me my results and said I had gential herpes which I don’t know how if I never been had an outbreak down there. How can I have 1 and 2.
Right, but it doesn't say IgG or IgM on there anywhere?

I'm confused - so January 2018 was your first genital outbreak?

Because you have hsv1 already, it means that whenever you got hsv2, you wouldn't have a primary outbreak, which is the big, bad painful one. You may have had really mild symptoms you didn't even notice or recognize as herpes, or you might not have had any symptoms at all. Most people with herpes get mild or no symptoms.

Hsv1 and hsv2 are different strains of the same virus, just like there are different strains of the flu virus every year. Many people have both strains.

You've had an outbreak genitally - she cultured something to get that positive result on the swab. Why was she culturing if you had no symptoms? She must have seen something to culture.
Did someone delete my comment I left
No, no comments have been deleted.
I am sorry I been going through it. But she didn’t tell me what type of herpes it was when she culture me. She did the culture test. I just know that I had cold sores on my lip but I know who I caught it from. It was from a guy that had something on his lip and i didn’t know what herpes was when I was 18. When he kiss me I caught it a few days later from him which was in 2010. I got tested for herpes with blood for 1 and 2 with Igg Jan 2015. Both came back positive. I have always had cold sore from on and on. Then I had one on my gential  so she swab me because she thought it Was that and it turn out that I had a herpe but she didn’t tell me what type of herpes it was. What I don’t get is the doctor is saying your partner still can get it even though you wear a condom. That’s my biggest fear. I don’t want my boyfriend to catch this.
Okay, I get it now - you definitely have type 1 and 2.

So yes, your boyfriend can get it if you wear a condom, but the chances aren't that high. Has he been tested for it? If he has it already, he can't get it again.

The following statistics are based on if you are female.

So if all you do is avoid sex when you have an outbreak, there is about a 4-5% chance that your boyfriend could get this over the course of a year.

If you take daily suppressive medication like valtrex or acyclovir, OR you use condoms, there is about a 2-3% chance that your boyfriend would get it over the course of a year.

If you take daily suppressive medication like valtrex or acyclovir, AND you use condoms, there is about a 1-2% chance that your boyfriend would get it over the course of a year.

Unfortunately, they have not studied same sex partner transmission, so we don't have statistics for that. Male to female is a higher chance - about 10% (and then cut in half with each precaution), and it's assumed that male to male transmission is higher than male to female.  (Female to female transmission, which doesn't apply here, is assumed to be the lowest risk, but again, no studies have been done.)

You can still get it while using condoms due to viral shedding. This can occur on skin that isn't protected by the condom. You can read more about it in the Herpes Handbook, which is free and can be found here - https://westoverheights.com/herpes/the-updated-herpes-handbook/
she didn’t tell me if it was type 1 or 2 when she did a culture. She just said I have gential herpes. She didn’t swab for type 1 or 2 it just says herpes in cell was found in a culture. The only way I know I had type 1 and 2 was through blood. It’s very confusing. I just wish they had a cure for this.
It would be VERY unusual for you to have type 2 orally, and since you've had a cold sore, you can assume that you have type 1 orally and type 2 genitally.

I wish they had a cure for this, too, but I hope in time, you realize that it's not as bad as you think it is. :(
I never had an outbreak down until last year. I haven’t been sexually active. So what I don’t get is why would I get an outbreak down there all of the sudden. And I read the handbook you told me about. and it said you can get hsv 1 down in gential area. I have always had cold sores. And I am getting upset because I seen it says the index number I was never given no numbers it was just positive or negative.
Ask them for a new test so you can know your numbers, or go somewhere else and get tested. You have a right to know that, and since the numbers are important, you should know that.
What kind of test do I ask for igg blood test with numbers see I am with Kaiser Permanente
I don't know about Kaiser Permanente. Getting a positive or negative vs a numeric index depends on how they run the test. I believe the doctor can ask for it. It's important to know because it makes a difference if your number is something like 1.10 vs 9.0. Just talk to your doctor.
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