Can my partner and I get tested for HPV and herpes at the Women’s Community Clinic? - T.S.

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Hi T.S:

The Clinic does test for herpes and HPV, though we don’t perform these tests as routine screenings on people who don’t show any symptoms.  This can be frustrating for people who really want to “get tested for everything,” but there are some very good reasons why we don’t do these tests.

First, we can test for herpes and HPV if you are having symptoms that you think may be an outbreak.  If you have bumps around your parts, give us a call so we can get you in for an appointment.  The way we would test what those bumps are is with a visual inspection: your clinician will take a look at what’s going on, maybe apply a little bit of acetic acid (that’s plain old vinegar) to see if the bumps change color, and make a diagnosis based on this.  If your clinician suspects that these bumps may be herpes, she would also swab the bumps or sores and send the swab to an outside lab.  This lab would run a test on the swab to see if the sores were caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV), and if so, if it is type I or II.  Many people believe that HSV-I only causes cold sores (oral herpes), and that HSV-II only causes genital herpes, but either type of the virus could live on either of those warm, moist body parts.

To test for HPV that doesn’t cause warts, we do pap smears.  A pap doesn’t look for the virus itself, but instead looks for abnormal cell growth caused by the virus.  Sometimes if one of our patients gets a certain type of abnormal pap, we will perform an HPV test to see if those abnormal cells were caused by an HPV infection or not.  HPV is a very tricky virus, and it could live in your body for months or even years before abnormal cell growth appears.  Unlike some other kinds of STI testing, it isn’t useful to get an HPV test just because you believe you were exposed.

We don’t do blood tests for herpes at the Clinic, even though we get a lot of requests for this test.  The reason is that knowing that you have herpes antibodies in your system won’t tell you much useful information.  Many people believe that type I HSV only causes cold sores, but we see a TON of genital HSV-I here.  And testing positive for antibodies to HSV-II doesn’t guarantee that you have genital herpes, either - this virus can live orally as well.  Basically, HSV blood testing won’t tell you what body part is affected, so we couldn’t diagnose someone as having genital herpes or not based off one of these blood tests.  We only make a diagnosis when someone comes in with an outbreak.

I know this is a frustrating answer, since many people are highly concerned about HPV and herpes.  We don’t do tests that aren’t clinically useful, and blood tests for herpes definitely don’t give us useful information, and HPV tests may not give you the answer you are looking for about whether or not you’ve been exposed.

Also keep in mind, not every bump on your junk is herpes or HPV!  Many clients come in with ingrown hairs, razor burn, and pimples that they are sure is a viral infection.  Not to downplay the severity of these concerns, but if you find yourself with a worrisome bump, consider not only the worst-case scenario, but some alternative explanations as well.  If you do experience symptoms you think could be an infection, the best thing to do is to have them checked out by your healthcare provider.

So the short version of the answer is no, we don’t routinely screen for these two infections.

Hope this helps!

-Yvonne

Posted on April 3rd, 2009 by yvonne
Filed under: ask_yvonne