Thank you so much doctor, I am very glad I took advantage of this really great service.
I talked to my doctor again today, and while he doubts type2, he thinks I may have been infected by type1 through oral (which I forgot to mention). Just wondering how likely that is. It would seem even less likely than getting type2 and maybe even impossible.
I have already gotten more than my money's worth here, so if you think I should post a new question I am more than willing.
Blood has nothing to do with it. The result is false for both the other reasons you state: from your description, there is no realistic chance your symptoms were due to herpes; and because the test is inherently unreliable.
Thanks doctor.
I'm just wondering if the fact that my blood (having type1) contaminating the sample can result in a false positive, or if you believe it is false because of my symptoms and the inherent error in the Tzanck test.
It sounds like your doctor did a versions of the Tzanck test. Like the pap, it involves looking under the micrcoscope for abnormal cells, in this case cells typical of herpes simplex virus infection.
It is an old fashioned, totally worhthless test. It should not have been done. It misses most cases of herpes; and false positive results are common. (We did our last Tzanck test in my STD clinic over 30 years ago.) Your symptoms do not suggest herpes, and unless you are the unluckiest guy in the world, you weren't exposed. Not that someone couldn't get genital herpes the first time s/he has sex, but the odds are overwhelmingly against it. Your own oral herpes is irrelevant; you cannot catch your own HSV infection at a new body site.
Having had the positive test, even though I believe it is meaningless, you now should have proper testing. Have your provider do a blood test for HSV-1 and HSV-2 antibody. You can expect a positive result for HSV-1 and negative for HSV-2. Then have another test in 3-4 months. If the result is the same, you can be absolutely certain you weren't infected last Saturday. Make sure your doc does NOT send the specimen for IgM antibody testing. (You can search the forum for 'herpes diagnosis' and 'IgM' to see why that test is unreliable.) In the meantime, I believe you can be confident you do not have herpes, despite the reported test result.
Good luck-- HHH, MD