How do you test for Genital Herpes? Is is a blood test or something else?

There are a couple of different ways a person can be tested for genital herpes.

The most common way, and the most preferred way, is to be tested when there are sores present. A doctor will give a person a physical exam and take some sample fluid from the sores.

There is also a blood test that can be done. However, I've read that this is not always accurate, providing false positives or even coming back as inconclusive. Source(s): Personal experience. I was diagnosed with genital herpes 6 years ago by a physical exam. I took a blood test a year ago just out of curiosity which came back positive.

Usually for genital herpes they have to wait for there to be a sore present. Then it is a matter of collecting a swab of the fluid from that sore and running the tests on it.
The best way to diagnose herpes is when a sore is present - your doctor can "pop" a blister open and swab the contents - sending them to a lab for a tzank smear to look for the virus. There are blood tests for HSV-1 and HSV-2 which are not routinely done because they are not very specific. Plus you can have the herpes virus and have a negative test as some labs only have a 50-90% rate of positivity in patients with known herpes. Until a better blood test is made, the best test is when the actual sore is present. Hope this helps.
I am a doctor.
there is no blood test. The only way to find out is if u have an out break and go to the doctor they have to take a sample from the infected area to get a positive or negative result.
Many doctors are not up-to-date about herpes diagnosis and don't know that there are new herpes blood tests available that are 97-99.9% accurate, if taken no earlier than 12-16 weeks after you have been potentially exposed to the herpes virus. This delay is to give enough time for the virus antibodies to show up in your blood stream. These new (IGG) blood tests can also accurately distinguish between HSV-1 and HSV-2.

The blood tests that were available prior to 1999 were not very accurate, and many doctors don't know that these new, very acccurate tests are now available. If you take a blood test, make sure that they are one of the accurate ones. For a list of the newer, very accurate herpes tests, go to the American Social Health Association website (ASHA) at: http://www.ashastd.org/pdfs/blood_test.p...

Some doctors will still tell you that the only way to know if you have herpes is to test fluid from a current sore/outbreak. It can be hard to get a good sample from a herpes sore - unless you get a swab done as soon as you have an outbreak. But many people don't have outbreaks, or their outbreaks are so mild or infrequent that their herpes is mistaken for something else - like a rash, rough sex, ingrown hair, yeast infection, etc. Even if no symptoms are present, it is still possible to spread herpes to a partner due to occasional "assymptomatic" shedding of the virus. So it is important to get tested - either through a culture from an active outbreak - OR a blood test - so that you know your herpes status and can take precautions to lessen the risk of transmission to your partner.

Good luck!