How to Diagnose Herpes

For diagnosing herpes, one needs to have basic information about herpes and know what herpes symptoms to look out for.

Here are a few tips on how herpes is diagnosed and how to catch potential symptoms early on:

• Presence of genital sores is the first thing to check for when diagnosing genital herpes. The doctor will take a swab and then check for the HSV or the Herpes Simplex virus in cultures of the swab taken from your body.
• For diagnosing herpes, a simple test, namely, Direct Fluorescent Antibody Test, is performed. In this diagnostic test, HSV antibodies and a fluorescent dye are added to a sample taken from your body. If the herpes virus is present in the sample, the antibodies react with the virus and exhibit specific glow.
• Blood tests (IgG and IgM) can detect HSV antibodies even if you do not have symptoms. For diagnosing herpes, a few centers do the Tzanck test (herpes skin test) and the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) herpes test. Although PCR testing of skin sores is sometimes done, the test is best for checking spinal fluid to confirm if the brain’s vicinity or the brain itself has become infected due to herpes.

For more information on herpes, see below:

Herpes: Top 5 Symptoms

Herpes: The Latest Medical Breakthroughs

 

Natural Herpes Treatments

Herpes: Role of Diet

Herpes: Top Natural Supplements for Treatment