Dr. Ramchandra Lamba
Psychiatry
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Patient's Query
Hello doctor,
I had sex with a friend and have a swelling on my lymph node under my ear when asked he said he has genital herpes. I wanted to be sure if I have any sort of STD. Please tell me what are the tests I have to go through to be sure.
Hi,
Welcome to icliniq.com.
Usually, the blood test for herpes becomes positive only after 2 to 3 weeks because antibodies in the body take time to give you positive results otherwise false-negative results can occur (antibodies test for HSV1 and HSV2). Herpes infections can be diagnosed by looking on the lesions on body and blood investigations are often not required.
If you have any symptoms then consult a nearby physician or dermatologist for further evala uation. Sometimes, the viral culture of a swab from skin lesions or nuclear amplification test (NAT) can be done without waiting for blood test as this test can be done earlier.
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Psychiatry
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