Treatment Begins with a Reliable Herpes Diagnosis
Left untreated, herpes can intensify, easily be passed on to your partner, and even spread to other areas of the body.  Known as “autoinoculation,” the virus can infect other nerve cells within the ganglion and infect new skin areas.  A conclusive herpes diagnosis is essential to managing genital herpes infection and protecting your partner.  Should you detect any symptoms of herpes, you should contact your physician immediately to schedule a medical evaluation. 

Available Tests for Herpes Diagnosis
A herpes diagnosis cannot be made merely from a visual examination.  Instead, one or more diagnostic tests need to be made in order to determine the source of your symptoms.  The following tests currently serve as a means for herpes diagnosis:

• Viral Culture—A very reliable, common course for herpes diagnosis, a viral culture is performed directly on a blister to ascertain whether the herpes simplex virus is present within it.  Providing the culture arrives at the laboratory intact, test results should be accurate (damaged cultures can produce a false negative result).  Viral cultures can be typed to establish whether the rash is a result of HSV-1 or HSV-2, thereby providing a strain-specific herpes diagnosis that can facilitate treatment and help prevent the spread of the virus.

• Blood Test—While not always 100 percent conclusive, a blood test can be used for herpes diagnosis

HerpeSelect Blood Test is a type-specific blood test for herpes simplex virus.  This blood culture tests for antibodies that the body produces in response to the foreign infection of either HSV-1 and/or HSV-2.  These antibodies may take several weeks to reach detectable levels after primary infection so it is recommended to confirm a negative test result by repeating testing 4 to 6 weeks later in the case of suspected early infection.  This test is beneficial to confirm presence of the virus in the body when ulcers are too subtle or not present for culturing.  The test is able to distinguish between HSV-1 and HSV-2.

• Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) DNA Test—The PCR DNA test, a relatively new means of acquiring a herpes diagnosis, serves to identify the DNA of herpes viral particles.  Even more precise than the viral culture at giving an accurate herpes diagnosis, the PCR can also make a distinction between HSV-1 and HSV-2.
• POCkit/BioKit Test—Used specifically as a means of HSV-2 (genital herpes) diagnosis, the BioKit test (previously known as the POCkit test) is a quick, easy, and inexpensive fingerstick blood test that seeks the presence of antibodies to HSV-2 in your bloodstream.  This path to a herpes diagnosis is highly-sensitive and specific.
• Antigen Detection Test—This means of herpes diagnosis involves the microscopic examination of cells scraped from a lesion to find antigens that reveal the presence of the herpes simplex virus.  An antigen detection test is often used in conjunction with a viral culture to achieve a herpes diagnosis.
• Western Blot Blood Test—Exceeding the precision of the BioKit test, the Western Blot test delivers an accurate, type-specific herpes diagnosis through a blood profiling of antibody response to herpes simplex proteins.  With an accuracy rate near 99 percent, the Western Blot test is highly sought after by patients needing a herpes diagnosis.
  

Empower Yourself with an Accurate Herpes Diagnosis
Genital Herpes is a contagious lifelong disease that can be managed to reduce outbreaks and prevent transmitting the disease to your partner.  However difficult it can be to accept a positive test for herpes, your herpes diagnosis is a first step toward treatment and prevention .  With the proper management of this disease, it is possible you will eventually achieve a low- or non-symptomatic stage.  Should you suspect you might have herpes, contact your physician today.

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