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Herpes or staph
Thanks for your time, my question concerns a recent diagnoses of HSV2.
I first noticed an unusual red sore in my pelvis region. I ignored it for a couple of weeks, but I eventually broke down and went to the Dr about it. At first glance, the Dr. told me it really looked like HSV. But we needed to test for "everything". All my results came back negative, except combined hsv score of 1.9. But negative for hsv 1 and 2. Which was very unusual because my yearly physical was just a month before, and I had all these same tests run with all negative results. But from these results, I was told that I definately had HSV, and a culture was needed. And I needed to start anti viral drugs.
The antiviral drugs did nothing to clear up my original sore, so my Dr retested me for several things, except hsv. Since I was taking antivirals, he said Any test results would be inaccurate. Again my results were negative. Until my culture results came back. The results were (quoting here) "the culture pretty much showed us what we thought already". Positive for hsv.
So I continued the anti viral drugs for another 2 months, with no change to my original sore or red spot on groin. It actually seemed to worsen. So I went back to the Dr and this time he took a culture to test for staph. That test also came back positive. And so after 4-5 days of taking the antibiotics, the original sore has completely healed.
So my question is, could the staph infection do anything to affect the hsv culture test. It was weird the way my Dr said the hsv culture was a good indication I really did have hsv of one kind or another. I thought these tests were all supposed to be extremely accurate.
I first noticed an unusual red sore in my pelvis region. I ignored it for a couple of weeks, but I eventually broke down and went to the Dr about it. At first glance, the Dr. told me it really looked like HSV. But we needed to test for "everything". All my results came back negative, except combined hsv score of 1.9. But negative for hsv 1 and 2. Which was very unusual because my yearly physical was just a month before, and I had all these same tests run with all negative results. But from these results, I was told that I definately had HSV, and a culture was needed. And I needed to start anti viral drugs.
The antiviral drugs did nothing to clear up my original sore, so my Dr retested me for several things, except hsv. Since I was taking antivirals, he said Any test results would be inaccurate. Again my results were negative. Until my culture results came back. The results were (quoting here) "the culture pretty much showed us what we thought already". Positive for hsv.
So I continued the anti viral drugs for another 2 months, with no change to my original sore or red spot on groin. It actually seemed to worsen. So I went back to the Dr and this time he took a culture to test for staph. That test also came back positive. And so after 4-5 days of taking the antibiotics, the original sore has completely healed.
So my question is, could the staph infection do anything to affect the hsv culture test. It was weird the way my Dr said the hsv culture was a good indication I really did have hsv of one kind or another. I thought these tests were all supposed to be extremely accurate.
Best Answer
Thank you for the advice. My culture test was a monoclonal antibody microscopic immunoflourescence test. If that means anything to you. Can anybody get access to the Western B test? I thought it was only conducted at U of Washington, and not every Dr. Or lab had access?
I have been back for another test. This was a type specific igg test. Both results were negative. My first blood test that did come back positive was igm combined test. Any further tnoughts? I'm very interested for any input at this moment.
Hi testing positive for hsv via swab is very accurate and has nothing to do with staph.
Your blood test showed a combined which is not a good test to determine type but i will comment that 1.9 value taken at least 2 moths since your last sex would incline to mean a recent infection, with the positive swab would also mean recently acquired.
Your blood test showed a combined which is not a good test to determine type but i will comment that 1.9 value taken at least 2 moths since your last sex would incline to mean a recent infection, with the positive swab would also mean recently acquired.
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You are reading content posted in the Herpes Community
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
A positive culture is a fairly definitive result. I'm surprised that the culture returned a positive, however, since it was done far too long after symptoms presented. It's possible, however, that the virus continued to replicate for several weeks.
The very best thing you can do to get an absolute answer is to wait until 4 months have passed since your original symptoms presented, then ask your doctor to order the Western Blot - the gold standard of testing, and 99% accurate.