Can Pap Smears Test for Herpes?
For all you women out there getting annual exams with pap smears: you need to be very careful. There is a bad thing happening out there - a pap with a herpes PCR test built in. This is sometimes called a "silver pap". It often includes tests for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and herpes.
Here's the problem: If you get a pap and the PCR HSV test portion is negative for herpes, does that mean you don't have herpes? Of course not. It means that there was no herpes virus present at the moment the pap was taken, but that certainly does not mean that you don't have herpes!
The bacterial infections gonorrhea and chlamydia are always present until they are treated. They aren't there intermittently, and so the "silver pap" that includes only gonorrhea and chlamydia is legitimate. But in order to test for herpes, an antibody test needs to be done, not a swab test (PCR or culture) and certainly not a pap.
Herpes virus is present only intermittently and so looking at one point in time for VIRUS is not accurate, not legitimate, and a total waste of money in the asymptomatic individual. It gives false reassurance about lack of infection to patients who have no idea how to interpret these results. Clinicians are confused enough about testing that they don't seem to get it either.
Testing for herpes with a pap test is like someone did a pap looking for sperm and found none and saying, therefore, this person never has sex. It just isn't valid!
Related Topics:
Technorati Tags: health and wellness, genital herpes, pap smear, HSV PCR
Here's the problem: If you get a pap and the PCR HSV test portion is negative for herpes, does that mean you don't have herpes? Of course not. It means that there was no herpes virus present at the moment the pap was taken, but that certainly does not mean that you don't have herpes!
The bacterial infections gonorrhea and chlamydia are always present until they are treated. They aren't there intermittently, and so the "silver pap" that includes only gonorrhea and chlamydia is legitimate. But in order to test for herpes, an antibody test needs to be done, not a swab test (PCR or culture) and certainly not a pap.
Herpes virus is present only intermittently and so looking at one point in time for VIRUS is not accurate, not legitimate, and a total waste of money in the asymptomatic individual. It gives false reassurance about lack of infection to patients who have no idea how to interpret these results. Clinicians are confused enough about testing that they don't seem to get it either.
Testing for herpes with a pap test is like someone did a pap looking for sperm and found none and saying, therefore, this person never has sex. It just isn't valid!
Related Topics:
Technorati Tags: health and wellness, genital herpes, pap smear, HSV PCR
6 Comments:
question...if a woman comes into contact with genital warts, and is infected, would a pap smear show up as abnormal within 2 weeks without fail, or is there a chance that such a immediate test would not show the infection? I know it's not 100% related to herpes, but figured I would ask.
Thanks,
-D
Question. Two weeks ago I went to the Dr. because I had this sore that came up on my vagina that sort of looked like a canker sore. They took a what looked like a medal blade and took a sample (ouch!!!). Well today the test came back negative. So do I or don't I have genital herpes? I have no insurance and was told the blood test is expensive. need your help. thanks
Best test for herpes? This blog says an Ab test needs to be done to test for herpes, "not a swab test", but your previous blog (12/5/06) says that you can use a swab test. Here:
"If you have new symptoms, and you want to know if this is actually your first infection or reactivation of an old one, you can use a combination of swab test and blood test to sort that out."
Even in this case, when you want to know if it's the first case or a reactivation, wouldn't the Antibody test be better? And by "antibody test", that could mean two things: 1)staining a sample w/a fluorescent antibody to the virus or 2)testing a blood sample with an ELISA-type test that would look for existing antibodies?
i have recently had a blood test and feel it may be more complex than usual ...I have had cancer twice, breast and Hodgkins/ chemo/radiation. Shingles/Zoster, chicken pox as child, test also revealed EBsyndrome, mono, HPV no other STD....How can I delineate the HPV1 which I know I have been exposed to and get the most concrete answer to whether I have type 1 or 2?? I will be retested with whichever test is best...never had a symptom..blood tests say I have both according to nurse??? thanks
Buenas Noches. Saludos.
Tengo una consulta y muchas dudas…Soy una chica de 26 años, procedente de Venezuela, con antecedentes del Herpesvirus Tipo-1 diagnosticado desde la infancia mediante un cultivo. Desde entonces he tenido infecciones recurrentes, las cuales han sido con manifestaciones leves y de rápida evolución.
Actualmente, específicamente hace 8 días, he tenido una nueva reactivación del virus, la cuál ha sido muchísimo mas significativa que las veces anteriores, comprometiendo tanto labio sup. como inf.
Como en cada oportunidad estoy cumpliendo el tto. con Aciclovir 200mg c/5hrs,(También aplicando la crema labial), ya las vesículas iniciales se han roto y al 4to. día de iniciado los síntomas, se comenzaron a formar las costras, todo iba bien, hasta el día 5to. cuando al levantarme note que las lesiones se habían diseminado aun mas, a todo el borde de los labios y los orificios nasales, y habían nuevas vesículas, comencé a presentar fiebre cuantificada de 49 grados centígrados, malestar general, mucho dolor y mayor resequedad en los labios, impidiéndome todo esto poder articular bien las palabras e ingerir alimentos... Ya han pasado 8 días, y las lesiones persisten, inclusive he notado que tengo unas pequeñas vesiculitas de pus alrededor de las demás lesiones del herpes, cada día me siento mas deprimida, y siento que el tratamiento no se hace efectivo, he perdido peso y muchos días de clase en la Universidad, ya no soporto verme así al espejo; se que esto es algo con lo que debo vivir toda mi vida, pero el virus nunca me había agredido de esta forma..!!
El aseo del área afectada lo hago con solución Betadine, para luego aplicar la crema, me lavo las manos constantemente para evitar empeorar, soy muy precavida en cuanto al cuidado... Pero que Sucede..?? Por que no mejoro..?? Hay algún Tto. secundario que pueda usar para mejorar la agresión del VHS-1..? Hay posibilidad de que esas pequeñas vesiculitas de pus compliquen y empeoren aun mas el Herpes..?? Tendré que tomar algún Antibiótico..? Es normal que las lesiones se diseminen tan rápidamente.? Tendré algún problema grave en mi sistema inmunológico..?? Hay alguna posibilidad de aplicar algún tratamiento de crioterapia para el herpes..??
Son muchas las cosas que quisiera preguntar...
Me despido muy cordialmente y Gracias de antemano..!! *VMM*
There are over 65 million Americans currently living with an STD, 19 million new STD infections each year, one in three sexually active men and women living with Herpes, and about 50% of all sexually active Americans affected by HPV. One-third of all single and dating Americans now exploring online personal ads (BusinessWeek, 2006) and niche dating has never been hotter at STDromance.com
Good luck
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