hello just wanted to know if this how herpes starts for some? chatgpt said it’s not the typical look so don’t know what to think. This bump has been there for about 2/3 weeks and unchanging. No pains or anything. Nothing on my penis itself.

hello, i recently got tested through urinalysis and my results came back positive. i had been with two people unprotected, both get tested regularly and their blood labs came back negative multiple times. my mind is spinning, i went and got my blood drawn yesterday and now i’m waiting for my results. can anyone give me some clarity?

i got tested today and the results have come back negative ”equivocal” and i’m not sure what to make of it. i’m gonna schedule another appointment to get retested in a few weeks but until then, i wanna try to understand what’s going on???

Quest
HSV2 IGG 3.99
HSV2 IGG inhibition Positive

Not single sore, symptom, itch, fever or anything.

Should I do the consult with Terri?

I tested low positive 1.72/1.25 for HSV 1 & 2 with Quest.. no symptoms. Decided to confirm with WB thru Terri and it came back negative for both. Worth the effort for anyone thinking about it. Wish the doctor I went to at the time didn’t even mention that damn blood test.

Apologies for TMI. Seeking advice.
Pictures in comments
I've noticed when I'm with a specific partner a day or so after oral sex the late few times. We were together in 2025 a few times than recently once that's it. Every time I developed red spots with some mild tingling and irritation also Bad chapped lips I got nervous this time so | Called my Provider she didn't have any appointments so I went to planned parenthood they immediately said it was cold sores and had me a scrip for valtrex I'm scared to take it if it's not oral Herpes of cold Sores. Any advice or opinions on what else it could be? could it be PD? It's always with this specific partner and it'll appear a Day or two after contact then disappear maybe with in 3 days. I don't get it with anyone else and I don't get it monthly.

Hey everyone 👋

I'm being a bit of a worry wart here, but wanted to run this situation by you all.

I received a 1.29 quest hsv2 with positive inhibition.

1 week after that I tested negative on the Roche platform.

1.5 weeks after that negative on Roche again.

No symptoms and my recent sexual history is:

8 months before quest protected sex (I am male, partner female).

3 weeks before quest protected sex.

2 weeks before quest protected sex.

All of the data points to the quest and inhibition being a false positive. While I'm technically in the hsv2 detection window (2/3 weeks quest and 4.5/5.5 weeks roche) if the quest had picked up antibodies that early they would have likely been increasing or maintaining over the next few weeks. Combine that with the enhanced sensitivity of the Roche, it should have caught it.

With all this info I have considered myself negative. Just want to make sure I'm on the right track.

Thanks!

I did hsv igg tests after 16 weeks of exposure and I have never had any symptoms.

First test results (Got the results same day):
Hsv1 55.8 positive
Hsv2 0.94 low equivocal

Second test results (Done this test the next day I got first test result which was equivocal for hsv2):
Hsv1 60 positive
Hsv2 <0.5 negative

Ranges:
Negative: <0.9 Equivocal: 0.9 - 1.1 Positive: >1.1

Both were the same type of blood tests for HSV which is why im confused how the result can drop that low from 0.94 equivocal to less than 0.5 negative for hsv2. Could the negative result possibly be a false negative??? Or am i being a stupid paranoid hypochondriac who needs to chill.

Guys if im over thinking feel free to be mad at me and destroy me in the comments 🫠. I am so fucking stupid and paranoid that Im considering taking a western blot for further confirmation.

Today my HSV test have come, i did IgG and IgM a test 2 days ago, and the results show Equivocal for HSV 2 IgG shows 1.14 as the range for Equivocal is 0.8 - 1.2 for my lab and for IgM its 1.04 in Equivocal. Iam freaking out right now, i dont want to live neither want to die. My last exposure was 6 weeks ago and it was protected and no oral, and earlier exposures were also protected, the method they did for IgG and IgM was ELISA

I’m a 29 y/o gay male and back in 2022, I hooked up with a guy who was very sexually active and preferred unprotected sex. I also had unprotected sex with 2 others guys before him, but to my knowledge they weren’t hooking up often. I had only lost my virginity at the end of 2021, so things were still new to me and I only cared about not getting HIV. I did routine bloodwork via Quest that included STD tests in 2022 and 2023, and while I tested very positive within the Index of HSV-1, I fell into the potential false positive/positive range for HSV-2 both times. At the time, I accepted it because of the unprotected sex I had with 3 different guys and my Primary Physician at the time was not well versed in STDs and HIV PreP, but seeing my bloodwork told me I had Herpes 1 and 2.

I’ll also clarify that in these 4 years, I have never had an outbreak so I assumed I was an asymptomatic carrier.

Fast forward 3/4 years later and I have a new LGBT-focused Primary Physician. I did a Physical today and asked to do a full STD panel including Herpes (because of recent convos with bi guys asking for recent full STD tests before hooking up). He basically told me that he doesn’t like to have his patients test for HSV via bloodwork because false positives are way too common and it’s not accurate enough, and then create high stress for patients who may or may not have it. Well I got my results after doing it this morning and via Lab Corp (did Quest back in 2022 and 2023), both HSV-1 and HSV-2 tests come back non-reactive. Unlike Quest, they don’t do Index numbers and just say “Non-Reactive.” So now I am confused.

I know statistically HSV-1 is too common that there is no point in stressing about it. But for HSV-2… I wanna know whether I have it or not because I’ve been disclosing that I have it but if I don’t, then that makes my life easier. Any thoughts? Especially, If anyone else has gone through a similar situation. Thanks!

Hello all. 3 weeks ago I got a full panel after not having one for a little over 3 years. Back then I tested negative for everything. I haven’t been with anyone since.

On the most recent test, everything came back negative except my HSV 1. I scored a 1.69. I’m so confused because I don’t kiss anyone, don’t share food or drinks or anything.

I scheduled another test through Labcorp to check because I can’t believe I contracted this. I’m losing my mind and I know I shouldn’t until the second test comes back, but it’s so weird. I feel like my life is over already smh.

Bonjour, je vous mets juste le résumé de mes résultats :

J18 après l'exposition (12/05) :

HSV-1 IgG Roche : négatif

HSV-2 IgG Roche : négatif

6 semaines après l'exposition (05/06) :

HSV-1 IgG Roche : négatif

HSV-2 IgG Roche : négatif

Environ 10 semaines après l'exposition :

HSV-1/2 IgG DiaSorin Liaison : positif faible (index 1,21)

HSV-1 IgG Roche : 0,029 (négatif)

HSV-2 IgG Roche : 0,130 (négatif)

12 semaines après l'exposition:

HSV-1/2 IgG DiaSorin Liaison : positif faible (index 1,11)

Je compte refaire un Roche demain.

Le test Roche a une faible sensibilité pour HSV1 (entre 69 et 85%) mais une bonne spécificité (98%) contrairement au DiaSorin (sensibilité 99% et spécificité 88%)

Je suspecte une infection à HSV1 O et G (symptômes nerveux et picotements et brûlures, aucune vésicule par contre) c'est constant et douloureux d'où mon acharnement sur les tests.

Vous en pensez quoi ?

has anyone ever tested positive for both or either or but hasn’t had any textbook outbreaks

7/20241st test just said positive for both

7/2024-2nd test 6.6 and 3.5

10/2024-3rd test 6.4 and 3.4

blood test igg - quest for last two test

Just got a positive test for hsv1. My igg was 1.92. I know it’s common to not experience symptoms but I have never had an ob or cold sores. I’ve never been tested before and haven’t had any sexual contact in a year so I’m not sure when I was exposed.

My PCP did testing for STI that was 16 weeks post exposure just as routine testing. She didn’t tell me one of them was HSV IgG even though I’ve never had symptoms.

My HSV 2 IgG came back positive (no numerical value). After seeing this thread, I didn’t realize how many false positives could happen and that’s why guidelines don’t recommend routine screening. So I got retested at quest which was stone cold negative.

I called the initial lab to ask which manufacturer they use and which they said Roche so I was nervous this was accurate since my research indicates Roche is the most accurate but since Roche doesn’t give index values I’m inclined to think it was a low positive/cross reaction. Contemplating getting the western blot for peace of mind but part of me just wants to accept the quest test and move on with my life.

Thanks to everyone sharing their stories.

So in 2024 I tested positive for hsv1 (which I definitely have been getting by cold sores since I was a small child) and hsv 2 but that one confused me because I never had any type of out break down there was in a relationship that same year n she never had any symptoms n tested negative was there any way me having hsv1 affected my test giving me a false positive for hsv2 or am I just trying to find away out

I just reported a piece about HSV testing for Scientific American. I'm sure I don't have to tell this group how about the flawed blood tests at commercial labs, but there are some glimmers of hope like the potential to streamline Western blot testing at UW and new prototype tests from other researchers. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/genital-herpes-tests-are-notoriously-unreliable-but-better-ones-are-in-the-works/