If you are sexually active, getting tested for STD s is one of the most important things you can do to protect your health. Make sure you have an open and honest conversation about your sexual history and STD testing with your doctor and ask whether you should be tested for STDs.
If you are not comfortable talking with your regular health care provider about STDs, there are many clinics that provide confidential and free or low-cost testing. Genital herpes. Providers generally only recommend testing for genital herpes for people who have symptoms or other risk factors.
But most people with herpes infection never have any symptoms but can still spread the virus to others. Your health care provider may take a tissue sample or culture of blisters or early ulcers, if you have them, and send them to a lab.
But a negative test doesn't always mean you don't have herpes, especially if you have symptoms. A blood test also may tell if you had a past herpes infection, but results aren't always reliable. Some blood tests can help providers see which of the two main types of the herpes virus you have. Type 1 is the virus that usually causes cold sores, although it can also cause genital sores. Type 2 is the virus that causes genital sores more often. Still, the results may not be clear, depending on how sensitive the test is and the stage of the infection.
False-positive and false-negative results are possible. Certain types of human papillomavirus HPV can cause cervical cancer.
