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I have both types of herpes genitally. Hsv1 and Hsv2. Does this matter?

Hi! I have had hsv1 genitally for 8 years and have accepted it. I make sure to use condoms always and recently had a sexual encounter and immediately had an outbreak that was unlike my normal outbreaks.  I got tested right away and came back with hsv1 genitally and now also hsv2 genitally. It feels as if I have been diagnosed all over again, or that my herpes has "doubled" Is herpes just herpes? I'm afraid that people will look at me doubly as gross now.
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207091 tn?1337709493
COMMUNITY LEADER
How were you tested, originally and now?

When you were diagnosed with type 2, did you have a culture that specifically says, "hsv2 isolated" or anything similar? I just want to be sure that a doctor didn't do a culture that wasn't typed, and since it's genital, they are calling it type 2 out of ignorance.

If you had a blood test done, make sure that was a type specific IgG blood test. If it was an IgM, ignore it completely - they are unreliable and often inaccurate. If it's an IgG, they aren't always type specific, and your results may say, "Herpes 1/2 positive" or have a number after it, and that means you are positive for type 1 OR type 2 OR both.

So let's assume for now that you have both types. If someone had type 1 orally and type 2 genitally, would you think they were doubly gross? If your best friend, sister, mother, brother, whoever, had both types, would you think they were doubly gross? Probably not.

And really - if someone thinks you're doubly gross, that isn't someone you need to be spending any time on. If someone thinks you're gross at all, that's not your person. Knowing that up front frees you to find the right person.

Herpes really is just herpes. There are different strains of it - hsv1 and hsv2 - and while each strain has it's preferences, you can get either orally or genitally (oral hsv2 is very rare, but it does happen).

Genital hsv2 does shed more and recur more frequently than ghsv1, so if you do have it, transmission chances are higher. You don't say what your gender is, or the gender of your sexual partners, but I can give you stats for that if you let me know those things.

But first, get copies of your lab results. You might have to sign a release for your doctor to give them to you, but you should always have copies for yourself. If you have a patient portal, if you can copy and paste them here, that's fine (just make sure to not include any identifying information).

If you don't have both, you'll want to make sure you don't have a secondary infection that is giving you a more severe outbreak than you usually have. For women, this could be bacterial vaginitis, a yeast infection, another STD like chlamydia, etc. For men, it could be NGU, a fungal infection, etc.

Let us know what your test results say, and we'll go from there.
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Hi! Thank you for the information!! When I was first tested for hsv1 genitally it was via a swab culture and it came back positive. Last year I got tested again through blood work (IgG) and it came back positive as well but only for hsv1. Today I got my IgG blood test results back and they came back positive for both hsv1 and hsv2.  They are specified as 2 separate tests so I believe that it is very accurate to say I have both genitally.  
You made me feel a lot better to know that herpes is just herpes. But I am having a hard time as I had accepted I had hsv1 and now it feels like I was diagnosed with a SECOND std. For life...It's also my birthday tomorrow and this was terrible news to find out right before that. Thank you again.
Oh 1 more thing. I know it would be personal choice but when I first tell a potential partner I have herpes should I should just say I was diagnosed with herpes? Or do I need to go into detail of what types? Of course if they ask I will give the information.
What is your number for type 2? You should have a number after each one - like Hsv1 IgG 8.72 and Hsv2 4.6 or something.

Lots of us have more than 1 STD in life. It's estimated that 90% of us will get HPV at least once, and since it often doesn't show symptoms, many of us don't know we have it.

You have hsv1 and hsv2. LOADS of people have both. At least half the adult population has hsv1 orally. About 50% of all new ghsv infections are hsv1. You have them both genitally - does it really make you any different than those who have it hsv1 orally hsv2 genitally?

It's up to you what to tell people, but I always look at it as what would I want to be told? If I was negative for both types, would I want to know that my partner had both types? Probably. I would still enter the relationship - I got herpes from a man I was in a long-term relationship with, and I knew he had hsv2. If he hadn't told me, and taken my choice away, that would have blown any chance of a trusting relationship.

You have to assume that your partner is a grown up fully capable of making their own decisions regarding their health. Also, in some places, not letting your partner know you have an STD is a criminal offense. You might want to check that out for your area.

Ultimately, it's up to you.



I definitely agree with you! I always tell people I have herpes. I guess I was just concerned with someone thinking oh wow she has both types! But honestly if they would run away because I had both types they would probably had run away if I had only 1 type as well. Thank you :)
Also unfortunately it does not have a number next to either. They just both separately say IgG EIA and Positive.
URGH. (Not at you, but at your doctor.)

The reason I ask about the number is because it's important. Official test results say that anything over a 1.0 is positive, and that's how a lab will report it, but most experts in the field, and the CDC say that anything under a 3.5 on an hsv2 result needs to be confirmed, as it could be a false positive, ESPECIALLY when there is an existing hsv1 infection.

I'm not trying to give you false hope. I just want to make sure that you are properly diagnosed. I shouldn't be, but I am still shocked at how many people are incorrectly diagnosed with herpes.

https://www.statnews.com/2017/01/26/flawed-herpes-testing-leads-to-false-positives/

https://www.cdc.gov/std/tg2015/herpes.htm - The most commonly used test, HerpeSelect HSV-2 Elisa might be falsely positive at low index values (1.1–3.5)

It's just not that common to get both in the same location. It's definitely possible, but it's uncommon enough that you'd be justified in pursuing this further if you want.

I agree! With my research I thought that the antibodies would likely protect me from contracting both in the same location or at all and when the medical person read to me that I was positive for hsv2 I was initially shocked.  I'm guessing that the numbers were not listed because I went to the government health department where the blood test was only $15, but I don't know. I will contact the office to try and find out.
You are the best by the way.
Yeah I called the laboratory that did the testing and they don't include the numerical.  Which the lady informed me "Doesn't matter because if it's a positive it's a positive". I quickly informed her. So taught someone something new today. Thinking about it it is funny because when I went to get tested 2 weeks ago the medical lady told me "I you don't need to get tested. You already have herpes. And the type you have is oral." I feel 100% more informed than most of these medical professionals that I encounter.
Sigh.

Some days I really hate doctors. I know that most of them are trying their best, and they have to stay up to date on so many things, but this testing info has been out there since at least 2015. It's not all that new. If they are diagnosing herpes, they should know this stuff.

And really? "The type you have is oral?" We've known you get get hsv1 genitally for decades.

You can get a test done yourself, if you can self-pay. There is a company called STDCheck (I have no affiliation with them, nor does this site), and you can get these tests done without a doctor's orders. You just go to a lab and get your blood drawn, and they are all over.

https://www.stdcheck.com/herpes-2-test.php (Ignore the part where they call it "genital herpes" and it's a type 2 test. Their testing is great, from what I hear from others on here, but some of their language and wording could be improved.)

A type 2 test is $65, and doing both 1&2 is $130. It's not cheap.

Oh, and they are US only. If you are in another country, I have some resources for some other locations. I'm assuming you're in the US because you were easily able to get an IgG test. Please correct me if I'm wrong, though. I don't need to know what state you're in, just the country.



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