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Originally posted by dquist091391: I think a smear (sample needs to be done to conclude herpes cause I could be wrong but I think you have to have had a repeted episode of herpes before its found in blood. |
You don't need any symptoms at all to get an accurate blood test. You just need enough time (at least 12-16 weeks from transmission) for the antibodies to build up enough to be picked up by the test. That's why a blood test is good to show if someone is HSV+ but asymptomatic. They can still pass it on, even though they don't get symptoms. Otherwise we'd never be able to tell if they're HSV+, which isn't the case.
For a culture it might be different though. I think you may need some kind of irritation of the skin (rash, redness, swelling or blister) to swab/scrape, but I could be wrong about that. It might be just that the chances of an accurate result of a swab increases if there's some "stuff" there to scrape off. (ugh, sorry) But if someone is shedding the virus from a known site, even without symptoms, it should be possible to measure it somehow with a swab. It might take more precise methods to get a good sample though.
So I don't seem to know what I'm talking about with the swab/smear but I'm sure about the blood test. LOL
TheOneInFour