More Confused Than Before

[nightmer.livejournal.com]

It's me, the girl with the possible herpes again . . . went to my doctor and she agreed it looked like herpes, though the sore was too old to be tested.  She thought it was more likely I picked up HSV-2 in addition to cold sores, so sent me off to be blood tested, assuming I'd either find one virus or both.

I'm negative for HSV-1 and HSV-2.  So I had a spot on my labia that looked like classic herpes, and I've had spots on my lip since I was a little kid that tingle and look like cold sores but aren't.  Obviously I've never bothered to be tested for HSV-1, but I've had people with cold sores and doctors tell they looked like them.  And they predated my acne, so while now they could be weird pimples, I don't think they always were.

Are there any other types of skin conditions that act like this?  Should I be suspicious of my blood test for either virus?  If I had cold sores as a kid but haven't in a decade or so, could my antibodies be low enough to not trigger a positive?

Comments

[archangelbeth]

I would be suspicious of the blood test, personally. Do you know what type was used? Some of the older ones have a lot of false positives and false negatives (another of the reasons doctors got into the habit of not testing for HSV)... And yeah, it could be that you had low antibodies. For that matter, if your immune system is routinely depressed, I don't know if that would result in low antibodies. It seems plausible, anyway?

If it wouldn't break the bank, another test at some point might be useful. If that one is also negative, then... dermatologist, maybe?

[sashafarce.livejournal.com]

I have a skin condition called hidradenitis suppurativa that sometimes causes sores in my genital area. They have varied in color, size, and even texture over the years, and I had one that apparently looked like a herpes spot once upon a time. (It wasn't.) I have never actually seen a spot of herpes so I can't attest to the veracity of that, but I have heard of other people with HS, especially initially, wondering if their sores were herpes. I definitely echo archangelbeth's advice about getting another test and visiting the dermatologist just to rule some sort of skin condition out. Good luck!

[shihtzulover.livejournal.com]

I think that it's important to find out which type of HSV blood test was performed. Older tests are not as accurate, and you should make sure that it was an IgG test, and not an IgM test (IgM tests are highly inaccurate, with many false positives and false negatives). I would really recommend the HerpeSelect test, if that's an option.

However, even the HerpeSelect test misses approximately 10% of HSV-1 infections, and I believe about 2% of HSV-2 infections. Also, you have to be sure to wait 4-6 months after the exposure before you have the blood test, because it can take that long for the antibodies to build up in your system.