Genital herpes can be ruled out if the patient is generally disease-free, has no clinical manifestations such as genital erythema, and no herpes simplex virus antigens or antibodies are found on examination.
Generally the examiner has no history of extramarital sexual intercourse, prostitution, or spousal infection, and no other manifestations such as erythema, papules, small blisters, or ulcers have appeared in the examiner’s genital area. At the same time, the cells from the suspected lesion area are used for viral isolation and culture, viral antigen testing, and viral DNA testing.
If the examiner does not have symptoms of genital herpes and the test results are normal, genital herpes can usually be ruled out.
It is recommended that patients suspected of having genital herpes need to seek medical attention, and the doctor will make a judgment based on the history, symptoms, and test results to avoid delays.