HERPES

Traces of Herpes 2

Dear Dr. Rob:

My doctor just did blood work and informed me that he saw traces of Herpes 2. I need to come in in another month for more blood work. He says it was neither neg or pos. How can this be. And why wait a month. I have been married 16 years, no other sexual partners. But my husband has occasional Herpes 1 on his lip. But it’s so painful he never does oral sex during that time. Please inform me, could this be a misdiagnosis or is he wanting to be sure.
Dj

---

Dr. Rob’s Response:

Dear DJ:

I’m not  quite sure what traces of Herpes 2 means. It is true that the antibodies from  Herpes Type 1 or Type 2 can take between 1 and 3 months to fully develop, so it is possible you got tested in what is known as the “window period” when the virus antibody is not as high as would be necessary to give you a definitive diagnosis. Waiting a month would simply allow the antibody to completely form so the doctor can give you better information. 

The fact that your husband has Herpes Type 1 on his lips, which I presume has been documented by a herpes test rather than by just clinical observation, suggests that he could have given it to you because 20%  of genital Herpes is Type 1 which is usually associated with oral lesion.

---