Question: I just wanted to start off saying that I have been worrying my self so much that I have given myself anxiety over this for a year now. So It all started when my ex boyfriend told me he caught something from me last may. He told me he had chylmedia. I had no symptoms of that but I still wanted to go get checked. I came back negative for every std. I didnt stop there. I kept going to the doctor every two weeks for three months to get blood work down etc. They all came back negative. I let it go but wanted to just see one more time. I went in October 10 (Last time i went was august 8 and those results were negative) and my test results came back Positive HSV 1 iGg(positive) IGm Positive. I am STILL freaking out and the doctors i have haven't really been informative. WHen i asked what all this meant was the IGM shows I just acquired it since i have been getting tested left and right. but when i read the internet it says igg is a past exposure and IGm is a recent exposure. So did i not acquire this recently? She said that i am freaking out for no reason since i hadnt had sex or done anything since may and all my results have been negative until then. I get that HSV1 is SO common such as cold sores but im still freaking out. I have never received oral for anyone but i know you can get HSV 1 genitally as well but these results and my history arnt matching up. Am I just freaking out about a cold sore orally? Please help me cause this has literally caused me so much anxietiy for a year now

I got tested a lot up until August 6 which all were negative and the. decided to et checked again October 8 which is when I saw the positive hsv1 igg&igm. I am just curious is to if I could have contracted it between August and October from sharing drinks, lipstick, etc. The last person I had sex with was May 11 last year. Do you think it's from him? All my results were negative up until October and it was igm that was positive. I just don't want this to be a sexual disease. I know condoms can't prevent this but we used a condom and I have NEVER received or given oral. Help me I'm so anxious and worried sick :(

So with my igg and igm from hsv 1, the timeline of my results indicate that it came after August?

Is contracting. Cold sores at 21 normal??

I am very confused. I just got this messages from my OBGYN and at first when she first told me she said it was a recent exposure but she just sent this:


Our nurse XXXXXXX forwarded your message to me regarding your questions about herpes. No, it means that it is a previous exposure to the virus. There there are two antibodies that can be present when you have an infection. The IgM antibody is the first antibody that shows up when you are having a new infection or if you have an active infection (current outbreak). If you had never been exposed, the IgM antibody stays positive for up to about 4 weeks. The second antibody, known as IgG, shows up later after you have already been exposed to the virus. If IgM is negative and IgG is positive, the infection is considered dormant. If IgM and and IgG are both positive at the time of the bloodwork, it means that you have a current active infection (current outbreak) to and infection that you have already been exposed to. Your blood work shows only previous exposure to type 1 herpes.


What do I make from this:( I am so confused now.

Yes with the reports I was given in October it shows igm igg both positive for hsv 1.

In August it was still ALL negative.

What exactly do you mean? Sorry I'm very confused ha

The lab results I got back from the lady said igm igg positive.

I guess what scares me is her saying it's a previous exposure which I don't want cause I'm freakingg out that it's a sexual disease but before she said that, I went into her office in January and she said it was a recent exposure. So I'm just confused

Can you explain how you. Came to that conclusion though? I just want to know how so I can stop over analyzing

One last one I swear doc. Ok so I have read that it takes time for antibodies to form , could these igg igm be from May? Or is that too far from exposire

This was the last response I just got:


I looked at all the bloodwork that was done. We drew a lot of STD blood tests in the past year. In regards to the herpes blood work, here is a detailed summary of the results:
6/27/13: HSV IgM negative; HSV1 IgG negative; HSV 2 IgG negative
This means that you did NOT have an active infection at the time of the blood draw on 6/27/13 and that you were NOT previously exposed to either strain of the herpes virus.
7/22/13: HSV IgM negative; HSV 1 IgG negative; HSV 2 IgG negative
Again, this still means that you did NOT have an active infection at the time of the blood draw on 7/22/13 and that you were NOT previously exposed to either strain of the herpes virus.
8/5/13: Oral swab for herpes negative for HSV 1 and HSV 2
You had requested testing our mouth for STDs at the time but did not have any symptoms at the time. No infection with herpes in the mouth were found at the time of the swab since the test was negative.
10/8/13: HSV IgM positive; HSV 1 IgG positive; HSV 2 IgG negative
Because the IgM was positive on that day, you were having an active outbreak at the time of the bloodwork. Because the IgG antibody for type 1 herpes was positive, it also meant that you had been previously exposed to the virus. This could have happened anytime between July 22nd and October 8th of last year, but there is not a test that could pinpoint the exact time or day that you were exposed to that strain of the virus. Since the IgG antibody for type 2 herpes was negative, you did not have previous exposure to that strain of the virus and do not have type 2 herpes. Hopefully, that is more clear. When I saw you in October, I told you that it was a relatively recent exposure since your bloodwork in July was negative (meaning you did not have the infection at the time). Again, because the IgG antibody for type 1 herpes was positive at the time of the blood draw, it meant that you had been exposed to the virus for at least a month before the blood was drawn, therefore "previous exposure" is the appropriate term.
In regards to a sexual encounter on May 11, do you mean May 11th of this year or last year? If it was last year, I can tell you that the infection was not due to that encounter since your bloodwork from 6/27/13 and 7/22/13 were negative. Does this make sense? I am not sure of any clearer way to explain this. Please come in to see us if there is any further concerns or if you have any suspicous lesions that you want to evaluate if you are in town.



In response that message se just sent, I know I recieved a few other lab test I don't think she marked but they were also negative and those were between July and August. I guess I'm just curious if she could be right that this isn't a std cause I know igg can take months to form so how does she know this isn't from May? Or am I just over analyzing and std free??

So you don't think these antibodies from my May 11 encounter formed to make it posiive in my October blood test? That's what I keep pondering that I have read online that high and igm can take months to form and ok scared that these just formed for the October blood test making these the std. Can you explain this out for me?

Like I see igg can form in months and I'm scared that these took awhile to form and that's why they didn't show on my blood work till October

But would these antibodies be a result of my sexual encounter since igg takes a whole to form? I'm just confused with all of this igg igm stuff. Like I get igg is ine forever but for me to have gotten something from May 11 would that have formed right away or later on in months resulting in my current bloodwork. Please explain