Herpes Test and Treatment in Dubai
A painful blister or sore in the genital area? A doctor at our clinic in Dubai Healthcare City examines the sore, takes a swab for a herpes test and prescribes antiviral treatment when herpes is likely.
Antiviral tablets work best when they start within 72 hours of the first sores.
- Swab test of the sore
- Doctor-prescribed antiviral treatment
- Open every day, 07:00 to 23:00
In short
- The best test for genital herpes is a PCR swab of an active sore, which detects the virus and tells herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) from type 2 (HSV-2).
- A type-specific blood test (IgG) helps when no sore is present. Antibodies appear weeks after infection, so a repeat test 12 weeks after a recent exposure is more reliable.
- Valacyclovir 1,000 mg twice a day for 7 to 10 days is a preferred treatment for a first episode, ideally started within 72 hours.
- Without treatment, genital HSV-2 recurs about 4 times in the first year; genital HSV-1 recurs about once a year.
- Daily suppressive treatment lowered the risk of recurrences by 78 percent compared with treating each outbreak, and almost halved transmission to partners.
Symptoms of genital herpes
Genital herpes starts on average 4 days after infection, within 2 to 12 days, with groups of small blisters, 2 to 4 millimetres in size, that open into painful sores. Many people have mild symptoms or none at all.
In a first infection without treatment, sores take on average 19 days to heal. In one review of people with a first episode, 98 percent had local pain and itching, 80 percent tender swollen lymph nodes in the groin, 67 percent fever, headache or muscle pain, and 63 percent pain when passing urine.
Recurrences are milder: sores heal in about 10 days, and up to half of people feel tingling or shooting pain in the buttocks, legs or hips before a recurrence.
Other causes of genital sores, such as syphilis, look similar, so a laboratory test confirms the diagnosis instead of an examination alone.
Which herpes test is right for you?
The table lists the herpes tests and when each one helps, following the CDC treatment guidelines.
| Test | When it is used | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| PCR swab of a sore | Active blister or sore, best in the first days | Herpes virus DNA, and whether it is HSV-1 or HSV-2 |
| Viral culture of a sore | Active sore, used less often today | Detects only about half of infections |
| Type-specific blood test (HSV-1 and HSV-2 IgG) | No sore present, unclear past symptoms, a partner with herpes | Antibodies from an infection at some point, positive weeks after infection |
| HSV IgM blood test | Not recommended | Does not tell HSV-1 from HSV-2 or a new from an old infection |
A blood test cannot prove that a current sore is herpes, because a positive antibody test only shows an infection at some point in life. A positive HSV-2 blood test usually means genital herpes; a positive HSV-1 test also fits cold sores on the lips. The blood test detects 80 to 98 percent of HSV-2 infections, and low positive results need a confirmation test.
Routine herpes blood tests in people without symptoms are not recommended. The exception is a person whose partner has genital herpes.
Herpes testing and treatment at STD Clinic Dubai
A visit for genital herpes at STD Clinic Dubai follows 4 steps.
- Examination. A doctor examines the sores in a private consultation room.
- Test. A swab of the sore for a PCR test, or a type-specific blood test when no sore is present.
- Treatment. The doctor prescribes antiviral tablets and explains how to ease the pain while the sores heal.
- Plan for recurrences. Together you decide between episodic and daily suppressive treatment, and tests for HIV and other STDs follow.
How genital herpes is treated
Antiviral tablets shorten a first herpes episode by days to weeks. In a trial of 150 people with a first episode, acyclovir shortened healing from 16 to 12 days, pain from 7 to 5 days and virus shedding from 9 to 2 days in people with a first-ever herpes infection. Valacyclovir 1,000 mg twice a day for 7 to 10 days is a preferred regimen because it needs fewer doses than acyclovir; acyclovir and famciclovir work about as well.
Antiviral creams add little and are not part of the treatment. Treatment does not remove the virus from the nerve cells, so recurrences remain possible.
What is episodic treatment?
Episodic treatment is a short course of tablets started at the first tingling, ideally within 24 hours, for example valacyclovir 500 mg twice a day for 3 days. In trials, episodic treatment healed sores about 1 to 2 days faster than no treatment.
Who benefits from daily suppressive treatment?
Daily suppressive treatment, for example valacyclovir 500 mg once a day, suits people with 6 or more recurrences a year, severe recurrences or a partner without herpes. In a trial of 225 people with about 6 recurrences a year, the risk of a recurrence was 78 percent lower on daily valacyclovir than with episodic treatment, and 72 percent of participants preferred the daily option. Resistance to the medicines is rare in healthy people, at about 0.2 to 0.3 percent.
Herpes, partners and transmission
Most genital herpes infections pass on from people who do not know they have herpes or have no symptoms at that moment. In a study of 144 couples, 70 percent of transmissions happened at times without symptoms, when the virus is shed silently from the skin. People with HSV-2 shed the virus on about 10 to 20 percent of days, more often in the first year after infection.
In a trial of 1,484 couples, daily valacyclovir lowered transmission of HSV-2 to the partner from 3.6 to 1.9 percent, almost half. Partners who knew about the infection became infected much later in one study, after a median of 270 days instead of 60 days.
Genital herpes raises the risk of acquiring HIV about threefold, so a test for HIV and other STDs is part of the visit. Pregnant women with genital herpes tell their obstetrician, because herpes can pass to the newborn.
Frequently asked questions about herpes in Dubai
Short answers about tests, treatment and partners.
Laboratory results at STD Clinic Dubai are typically ready in 24 to 48 hours. A doctor reviews the result and contacts you privately.
No. Antiviral treatment controls outbreaks and lowers the risk for partners, but the herpes virus stays in the nerve cells, so recurrences remain possible.
A type-specific blood test shows a past herpes infection without symptoms. Routine herpes screening is not recommended, except for people whose partner has genital herpes.
Genital HSV-1 causes a similar first episode but recurs less often. In a study of 137 people, 14 percent with genital HSV-1 had a recurrence, compared with 60 percent with HSV-2.
Valacyclovir, acyclovir and famciclovir tablets treat genital herpes and work about equally well. Antiviral creams are not recommended.
Sex waits while sores or tingling are present. Between outbreaks the virus can still pass on, and daily suppressive treatment almost halves the risk for a partner.
Herpes sores appear 2 to 12 days after infection and are tested with a PCR swab. Antibodies take several weeks, so a blood test after a recent exposure is repeated 12 weeks later.
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Related guides
Sources
- Genital Herpes: STI Treatment Guidelines (2021), US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Corey L, et al. Genital herpes simplex virus infections: clinical manifestations, course, and complications. Ann Intern Med 1983.
- Corey L, et al. Once-daily valacyclovir to reduce the risk of transmission of genital herpes. N Engl J Med 2004.
- Mertz GJ, et al. Risk factors for the sexual transmission of genital herpes. Ann Intern Med 1992.