[Question #12894] Herpes Concern
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4 months ago
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Hello,
I am hoping this is a crazy question but it has me worried. I have had HSV1 for as long as I can remember, getting cold sores periodically. I have tested positive via blood test and negative for HSV2 years ago.
Recently, a member of my house hold got sick and the doctor thinks they have oral herpes. I guess they could get this from anywhere but I am concerned it may have come from me through an inadvertent shared glass or fork or something.
My concern is that is it possible through some activity that I have gained HSV2 orally and that I am carrying both strains orally? What is the likelihood that me casually passing this to a family member is HSV2 and not HSV1 if I infact had acquired oral HSV2 since my last negative test a few years back.
Maybe I am overthinking this and this is just HSV1 but was a little worried.
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4 months ago
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Is it possible to get a refund for this question? Did not realize it would take so long to get answered.
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Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner
4 months ago
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You are over thinking this. And I apologize for not getting to this sooner, I am out of the country many days without internet.
How would you get oral HSV 2? Were you the giver of oral sex to someone new in your life or to someone who has known genital herpes? You mention "some activity" and that makes me wonder what that might be. In addition, oral HSV 2 is rare - I can count on two hands the number of times I've seen this in 40 years.
We doubt that HSV 1, oral herpes, is transmitted via utensils or glasses.
Hope this is helpful and sorry for the delay in answering your question
Terri
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3 months ago
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Thank you for your reply. The doctor who thought this was Herpes diagnosed visually. The doctor suggested a blood test which was negative but I am wondering if the test was too soon. It was a few weeks after the sickness.
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Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner
3 months ago
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Well, you are correct that it can take time to make the herpes antibody, but you're not describing anything that makes me think you have HSV-2. Those worries can be tough, I know. You aren't describing an activity that would put you at risk for acquiring HSV-2 orally, but perhaps you had one that you aren't describing here, which is fine, but if there was an activity that concerns you, time any future testing at least 8-10 weeks from the activity. And remember that there are lots of false positives on the routine HSV 2 antibody IgG test, though LabCorp uses a test that has been shown to have fewer false positives than other labs. Let me know if there is any other questions that I can answer to help you.
Terri
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