• Swab Testing - while this method of testing is the quickest, the results are not always accurate.  Swab testing allows your health care provider to take a swab (like a Qtip) and sample your sore to see if it might have been caused by the Herpes virus.  The results can come back quickly (within 15 – 20 minutes), but many problems exists.  First, you have to have an outbreak at the time of this test in order for it even to be possible.  Second, this type of test is not as accurate as a blood test and can cause both false positives and negatives.
• Blood Testing – The only proven, accurate way to determine if you are infected with Herpes is by taking a blood test at a professional laboratory.  While the results may take 1 – 4 days to come in, you can rest assured that those results will be accurate as long as the necessary time window has expired (typically 6 weeks).  The IgG test is a type specific test that will indicate if you have either Herpes 1 or Herpes 2.  Another test, the IgM test, can be performed much sooner than the IgG, but it does have a drawback.  The test will only indicate if you have recently been exposed to the Herpes virus, and cannot determine between type 1 and 2.  While not ideal, this is still an important test to consider if you need to take special precautions immediately instead of waiting 6 weeks.

If you have questions, just ask any one of the qualified and experienced std testing counselors at a local std testing center near you.

Cheers!
Andrew M. Gibson

Why should you consider STD Testing? You can’t look at a person you are having sex with and be 100% certain they aren’t infected with an STD. If you think you are at risk if having a sexually transmitted disease, be smart. Testing will not only improve your sexual health, it will also put your mind at ease. Here are three reasons testing is a good idea.

Do you really ever know your partner?

Your sexual partner may be an absolute angel, but if your partner has been sexually active with anyone in his/her past, you may be at risk for contracting an STD. Or grimly, you could be unknowingly infected with an STD and expose your partner. Remember, when you have sex with a person, you are in essence having sex with anyone that person has ever been with as well. It is a mind-boggling thought. But true.

So what are you supposed to do? Well, first, make sure you use a condom each and every time you have sex. Regular condom use gives a good defense against becoming infected with a disease via sex. But STD testing is the only way to know without a doubt if you have an STD. Ask your partner to be tested too. Then the two of you can relax and be certain you have nothing to be concerned with. And if the test comes back positive, you will be able to seek treatment before the disease gets out of hand.

You don’t always show signs of having an STD.

This is unquestionably a scary thought. You may be infected with a disease like Herpes, or Chlamydia, and not even know it. Many of these infections show no signs or symptoms in some instances until it is way too late. So if you think you don’t have Chlamydia because you haven’t experienced any burning when you pee, think again. You may just be asymptomatic.

Just a little statistic for you. According to the American Social Health Association (ASHA, one out of five people in the US currently have genital herpes. So, mathematically, that’s 20% of the US population. Of that 20% who are already infected, about 9 out of every 10 have no idea. They might think they don’t have herpes because no blisters are present. But no blisters doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t have the herpes virus. If you have had unprotected sex, you are still at risk.

If you are asymptomatic, a simple herpes test is the only method to know for sure if you are infected with the herpes simplex virus. Herpes remains a virus that cannot be cured. However it can be managed. Getting tested is a sensible move to prevent you from spreading the virus to others unknowingly.

Stop Worrying.
Is all this information stressing you out? Well, it’s not really the article so much as it is the not knowing. Maybe you do have an STD; or maybe you don’t. Sometimes looking up symptoms on the internet convinces you that you have the most horrible disease on earth. And that will stress you out even worse.

Your sexual health is important. STD testing is a quick, simple solution to all that unnecessary worrying. With one phone call, you will be on the road to having stress-free sex again.