Answers to herpes questions
Dear Dr. Donohue: I need some information on herpes. I can’t find much about it. Please answer my questions. 1. Is sex the only way to get it? 2. Do you have to be broken out when you are tested? 3. Do you have to be tested in the first couple of days of the infection? 4. Can a doctor tell you if you have herpes by just looking at it? 5. What does it look like? 6. How often do you break out if you have it?
K.B.
Dear K.B.: 1. Sexual transmission is the most common way to acquire herpes infection. Around 50 million Americans are infected with it, and another one-half to 1 million get it yearly. The genital infection is usually caused by the herpes-2 virus. The herpes-1 virus causes cold sores. The herpes-1 virus can cause a genital infection through oral sex. And, in rare instances, a person could transfer the herpes-1 virus from his or her cold sore to the genital area by touching the cold sore and then touching the genitals.
2. and 3. The most reliable test for herpes infection is a viral culture. That entails swabbing the rash with an applicator and sending the applicator to a lab for viral growth. The best results are obtained when the rash is fresh — in the first few days of infection. There are, however, other herpes tests — a blood test and a test for the virus’s nucleic acid.
4. A doctor can pretty well recognize a herpes rash, but a visual inspection is not absolute proof of infection.
5. The rash is a patch or patches of painful, tiny blisters whose roofs eventually break to form a sore that heals on its own.
6. After the first breakout, a person can have one to five subsequent breakouts a year. Some have none; a few have more.
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The herpes booklet describes this infection, as well as genital wart infections. Readers can obtain a copy by writing to: Dr. Donohue — No. 1202, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6.75 Can. with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.
Dear Dr. Donohue: Ferritin: What is it, what is its normal range, and how important is it in the body? My reading was 5.
J.W.
Dear J.W.: Ferritin is a protein that serves as a storage bin for iron. Normal values differ in different labs, but commonly employed ones are 12 to 300 ng/ml for men and 10 to 150 for women.
Causes for a low ferritin include blood loss, iron deficiency and pregnancy.
Have you had other lab tests, like a blood count? Anemia follows on the heels of a low ferritin count.