Overview Genital herpes is a common sexually transmitted infection (STI). The herpes simplex virus (HSV) causes genital herpes. Genital herpes can often be spread by skin-to-skin contact during sexual activity. Some people infected with the virus may have very mild symptoms or no symptoms. They can still able to spread the virus. Other people have pain, itching and sores around the genitals ...
Diagnosis Your health care provider can usually make a diagnosis of genital herpes based on a physical exam and a history of your sexual activity. To confirm a diagnosis, your provider will likely take a sample from an active sore. One or more tests of these samples are used to see if you have herpes simplex virus (HSV), infection and show whether the infection is HSV-1 or HSV-2.
Herpes outbreaks can be aggravated and triggered by many things and the virus lays dormant, hiding in your nervous system for life. If you have spine compression, this can aggravate the dormant virus to outbreak and reappear at the surface.
Welcome @m68, According to what I've read, you can test negative and still have herpes. Here's some information that might be helpful: "Can you have herpes symptoms and test negative? Image result for herpes symptoms +test negative If the infection occurred very recently (within a few weeks to 3 months), the test may be negative, but you may still be infected. This is called a false negative ...
New York Post: I got herpes on my face at a concert — and ended up in a hospital
I got herpes on my face at a concert — and ended up in a hospital