Every couple of months, right before my period, I get these small blisters. They are not painful, just tender. So I went to my primary, she looked at the blisters and automatically said it was herpes (she aslo did a culture and it was positive for herpes, but it didn't indicate which strain). Due to an insurance change, I went to a new gyn and explained the situation. When my gyn took a look, she had doubts that it was herpes. The gyn took blood samples for a herpes antibody test and that came back negative for hpv 1 & 2. Now i'm confused and concerned because i'm not sure what to tell a new partner. What should I do :confused:

I think your second doctor needs to do a cultural test done.

You could have gotten a false positive on your culture.

Also, I've read that the antibodies take 4-6 months to show up in a blood test. If you contracted herpes recently then it might not show up.

You might want to tell your new partner what you are going through at the moment. Explain to them your test results and that you are confused about this. If they care about you then they will be understanding of what you are dealing with. Your partner and you might also decide to use condoms until you are sure you do not carry the herpes virus.

I would also ask your new doctor about getting another blood test done in a few months. When I had my culture done it came back negative, but I had a feeling it was wrong so I insisted on a blood test. My blood test came back positive.

I don't think you can get a false positive, only a false negative. My understanding is that they swab the area, then swish it around in a petri dish, then cover the dish and see what grows. If they see herpes colonies there after a few days, it must have come from you--unless they are really incompetent and switch your test with someone else's. Sometimes, though, you may have herpes but they don't get enough of the virus for it to grow and be recognizable--thus a false negative.

Another blood test is a good idea.

Thanks everybodyfor your insight :wave:! I think that I will ask my gyn for another blood test. I have been having these symptoms 5-6 times a month,for about ten years, so I think that antibodies would show in the blood test. I called my old gyn (well, the nurse answered) asked for my test results to be rechecked and she said nothing came up. I'll keep y'all posted, thanks again :)