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A 25-year-old female asked:

Is a hsv igm & igg blood test helpful after g herpes exposure 6+months ago? no genital outbreak, other symptoms, but have had mouth cold sores before.

1 doctor answer2 doctors weighed in
Dr. Hunter Handsfield
Infectious Disease 55 years experience
Probably yes: The HSV IgG tests are excellent, and a negative result for HSV2 6+ months after exposure shows you were not infected. The HSV1 result should have been positive if your diagnosis of past cold sores is correct, but once in a while the test misses HSV1 (but rarely HSV2). The IgM result doesn't help one way or the other -- it's inherently unreliable anyway, never done by herpes or STD experts.
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Related questions

A 23-year-old male asked:
3 weeks passed since the herpes-like genital outbreak. Igg for hsv-1&2 was (-) on the day of outbreak. Is 3 weeks enough time for an accurate test?
Dr. Dennis Higginbotham
American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology 32 years experience
6 weeks better: Convalescent blood titers are typically done about 6 weeks after the initial blood test.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 29-year-old male asked:
I had an exposure a year before , i took HSV 1 & 2 IGG and IGM AB test last week, Both came back with negative , am i free for Herpes?
Dr. Brian Nguyen
Obstetrics and Gynecology 13 years experience
Negative tests: if both your serological tests came back negative then you are free of herpes, congratulations!
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 31-year-old male asked:
Exposure to oral sex was 2.5 months back. I had got a sore a month back on my lips which lasted 10 days. Now again i have got a sore since a week. 2 days back Got the HSV 1&2 igg & igm antibodies test which have come negative. Can herpes b ruled out?
Dr. Birendra Tandan
Urology 36 years experience
HSV ulcers are usually painful at first. You could have your MD try out an empiric course of treatment and see if it helps. You could also ask your c... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 31-year-old male asked:
I had a positive IgG HSV-1 test (negative IgM) but have had no outbreaks or symptoms. Im not even sure when I was exposed. How do I identify the location - oral or genitals? I know HSV-1 is usually oral but theres a growing rate of genital spread?
Dr. Jay Park
Dr. Jay Parkanswered
Pediatrics 52 years experience
Primary HSV infections are usually mild, in fact, most are asymptomatic. 26% of US children have serologic evidence of HSV-1 infection by 7 years of ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
View all answers
A 38-year-old male asked:
Doctors Sir please advise Test Results. ELISA HSV -1 IGG 0.09 HSV1-IGM 0.3 HSV -2 IGG 0.08 HSV -2 IGM 0.4 All negative but I have Symptoms which come and go Similar to Herpes,could it be another thing.Thanks?
Dr. John Berryman
Obstetrics and Gynecology 56 years experience
HSV testing ?'s: HSV can cause symptoms of pain, irritation, and depending on the timing of your recent contacts, the testing may be still negative. There are other po... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
Last updated Jan 8, 2019

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