Can I only confirm I have hsv-1 genitally by having and testing the outbreak?

Question

I had a blood test done and it came back positive for hsv1(cold sores) I was reading up and I saw that you can have it genitally too. Will I only know if I have it genitally if I have a break out ? I haven’t had a breakout in either site yet.

Answer

My obgyn told me that blood tests won’t distinguish between type 1 or 2. It will come back positive if you have either. So you could simply just get cold sores every so often and a blood test will likely come back positive (not always though). Only way to know if you have genital herpes is if you have an outbreak. I’m *pretty* sure. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

Can I only confirm I have hsv-1 genitally by having and testing the outbreak?

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