Is it possible to misdiagnose herpes?

Question

after a pap (no blood test) i was diagnosed with herpes. If i have it, i know who i got it from and only had s*x a handful of times, all of which i thought were protected..but turns out they may not have been. weeks later i started having s*x with an ex who didn't care if i had it. we had unprotected s*x a lot when i was home from school, and a year + a couple of months later he's clean. is it possible that it was misdiagnosed?

Answer 1

If the Doctor says you have herpes....believe me, you have it.

Answer 2

yes, herpes won't show up the pap smear. the way to test it was from the blood and swap the open sore.

Answer 3

Of course things can be misdiagnosed- but generally there is some reason for getting a diagnosis like herpes.  Since you had a pap smear, you may also have had cultures taken for things like chlamydia and herpes.  If the culture grew it out, then you have herpes, even though you may not have had a visible lesion.  You can have the virus for some extended time, even years, and not have one - or ever have one for that matter.  It would be impossible to ever say exactly where and when, or by who you were infected.  Your ex partner could still have herpes, unless he's had a blood test to say otherwise - and not have symptoms.  Once you are infected with the virus, you have either a latent or active infection.  Latent stage infections mean you don't have any visible lesions, the virus is being supressed by the immune system- but you still can be tested and will be positive.  You can also shed the virus at any time.  An active infection is when there is a lesion on the skin present, actively giving off the virus.  I doubt you were misdiagnosed, I just don't know exactly how they reached the diagnosis.  If you have doubts though, just go back and ask to be tested specifically for it.  And in the meantime, please keep in mind that safe s*x doesn't mean you are protected against everything and at risk for nothing.  All it really means is "safer" s*x than nothing at all.  You can still catch things you don't want, it's just less likely to happen.  Unfortunately, it still can happen, and does.  But with herpes, there is just no telling when you caught it, and no point going buggy pointing fingers.

Answer 4

The best thing to do is believe that you have herpes and take treatment for it, if you have another outbreak have the dr do a swab and confirm herpes.  

Answer 5

Sexual promiscuity is dangerous to you health(1 Corinthians 6:18; Romans 1:27). The Bible warns that:he who commits sexual immorality sins against his (or her) own body," and those who commit homosexual sin would"receive in themselves" the penalty of their error. Much data now confirms that any sexual relationship outside of holy matrimony is unsafe. The wages of sin are death. Science, not by choice, is validating The Bible every time they attempt to disprove it. Beware!!!  God is real and The Bible is Truth. I pray your eyes are opened before it' too late.

Answer 6

it is possible to be miss diagnosed. but if they took a swab culture then that would be a more accurate way to test for herpes. there are some things that look like herpes.

even if the s*x was protected, u could still get herpes even if u use a condom. herpes takes skin to skin contact (like s*x) to pass on. plus it can only take one time to pass herpes on. if the person u had s*x with had an out break or symptoms of an out break or a healing out break out side of where the condom covers then u could still end up getting herpes.

its possible that if this person had the blood test done, and didn't have enough anti-bodies for herpes then they could have tested negative. or they weren't properly tested for herpes in the first place.

Answer 7

ok, herpes CAN be misdiagnosed but usually isnt. it wont show up on a routine pap. what may have happened is that you had internal lesions and the doctor noticed this during your pap. the only ways to test for it is blood test (which is VERY accurate) and a swab test if there are lesions present (which is almost 100%) so maybe the doctor swabbed you for that during the pap? Herpes can still be spread even with a condom because the virus is still present on the skin. you should go get a blood test because after this long it will show up positive if you have it. your ex may have just gotten lucky and not have gotten it, but you should definitely get checked for sure. good luck with everything.  

Answer 8

ok one person above didn't know what they were talkin' about. you can get herpes diagnose from pap but i don't think its common. i got an abnormal pap and herpes showed up. its like when you get an abnormal pap, the lab will forward your culture to get tested for viral dna since most abnormal paps are caused by hpv.