Your health care provider can determine if you have herpes in two ways:
1. You can be examined while you are having symptoms. If sores are present, your provider will swab the sores and perform a viral culture test for the virus. This method is not always reliable; if the sores are starting to heal, the test might be negative even if you have herpes.
2. You can have a blood test for herpes antibodies (the body’s response to the infection). A blood test can detect herpes antibodies 4 – 6 weeks after the first infection; testing before that time will not give an accurate result. A positive antibody test means that you are infected with HSV and are contagious from time to time. It does not indicate when you were infected with HSV nor does it indicate which body site is infected (e.g. vagina, penis, anus, mouth)
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Herpes