The two types of herpes

Getting herpes diagnosis is more complicated and can spread from one part of your body to another as explained by Cheryl Iglesia, an MD and associate professor at Georgetown University, school of medicine. The herpes virus has an effect on the nerves and causes skin sores.  It comes in two types; HVS-1 that causes lesions on the mouth and HVS-2 that affects the genitals.  However, any the herpes can occur on any of the mentioned places.

It is possible to have herpes without knowing as the majority of people show no symptoms.  Dr Igleisa says that there are available medications that can help tame outbreaks as well as suppress the virus. It is possible to go back to your normal life although the disease is incurable.  The doctors put a few things into considerations such as current outbreak signs, the symptoms you have and your risks factors so as to come up with an accurate diagnosis.  In some cases, the physicians recommend for a laboratory STD tests, especially in cases where you are pregnant or had sex with a person who has genital herpes.

Where herpes gets complicated

Herpes is tested in two ways: a swab of the sores or a blood test according to Dr.Iglesia.  The U.S Center for Disease Control and Prevention says that blood tests are not a 100% reliable since you may test positive even when you don’t have herpes.  The rate of false positive results is very high such that the agency does not recommend routine screening of herpes via blood test.  The CDC states that a positive outcome which is false raises more concerns than the benefits of the actual diagnosis. 

Other blood tests done apart from screening can be very helpful in some circumstances.  There is one that tests for IgM antibody, which is unreliable as the IgM response may not be detected immediately.  It happens as so because your body has not produced enough of them and once the antibodies are at the peak, they fade very quickly.  This test cannot be recommended to determine a herpes diagnosis. The other one is the IgG test which is the most reliable.  It is effective as it can differentiate between the two types of herpes.  However, it can take up to six months after infection for your body to have an IgG response.

Another reliable mode of testing herpes is the swab test. It means you initially have the symptoms. The swab test looks for the actual virus rather than antibodies. Your tissue samples undergo various STD tests where they are tested with a viral culture to see if there is growth f the herpes virus or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) where DNA copies are made for actual detection.  PCR is the widely used method for herpes DNA test.

Misdiagnoses of herpes do happen. Shannon Coffey in an episode of report card on RIOT explains how she was diagnosed with herpes and a week later went for the same test which came out negative. If you think, you have herpes, it is advisable to check with your doctor and have it checked. It is an ideal approach to get over the initial stigma and shock f the results turn out positive. A wide variety of treatment approaches are available even when you have frequent outbreaks.

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