False Negative on Blood Test?

by Debbie
(New York, NY)

About 6 years ago, I had sex with someone who, apparently, was having sex with a lot of other people I didn't know about. A few weeks later, I developed what I thought was a yeast infection but it seemed to get worse after OTC treatments. I was really itchy and scratching my labia area a lot. I ended up with what looked like a skin ulcer after a couple of weeks (this was about 6 weeks after I had sex with him). I was worried that it might be herpes and went to Planned Parenthood. They did a swab test but told me it could come up false negative because the ulcer had pretty much dried by then.


It was negative but my mind would not let it go. I kept worrying that it was a false negative. So, 3 months later, I had an anonymous blood test for herpes through an online place (this was more than 4 months after what could have been exposure). I brought a form into a Quest lab and they drew blood. To my relief, the test came back negative for both type 1 and type 2 HSV.

Now, more than 5 years later, I've discovered another extremely painful skin ulcer in the same general area, after a lot of itching in that area. I have not had sex in the years since being tested because, quite frankly, one STD scare was enough for a lifetime for me. I'd rather just not bother with sex or relationships after that. It was too scary for me. So, I'm wondering if the two tests could have possibly been false negatives?

I want to get tested again but it needs to be anonymous because I work in healthcare and don't want my information out there for personal reasons. I don't mind paying whatever it costs but would like to make sure I am getting the most accurate test I can so I can either deal with the problem or put my mind to rest for once and all.

Can someone please direct me to the most accurate place to do this? I liked the way it was done before online but I don't even remember the name of the company and since I think it might have been a false negative, I'd rather try another place, anyway. Also, does anyone know the likelihood of a false negative and then no further outbreak for almost 6 years? I'm just curious.

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