Herpes is the medical condition that is regarded as an STD. It is caused by the attack of the foreign intruder virus. There are two viruses, HSV 1 and HSV 2 (Herpes Simplex Virus), that carry this STD and transmit it to the body of a healthy individual. Therefore, there are two types of this medical condition: herpes simplex and genital herpes; both these types are contagious and very common.

The symptoms of this condition are so common that they help one predict this condition easily. The symptoms are mucous membranes on the nose, lips, and the mouth. Watery blisters on the skin are the most common symptom among all.

The different diagnostic processes followed by a physician to detect herpes

As herpes is caused by two viruses, HSV 2 and HSV 1, a physician has to prescribe a patient to undergo several tests. This will help the physician know the exact virus and the cause by which one is affected by this health condition.

This is because HSV 1 is caused by cold sores and HSV 2 is caused by STD. Moreover, the tests are necessary for detecting the presence of lesions in the body at the same time. The tests that are necessary for diagnosing this medical condition are given below:

• Self-checks
  Self-check is the prime diagnosis of this medical condition. This can be easily done with the help of skin lesions. Skin lesions are the prime symptom of this medical condition and can be easily noticed on the skin. Both HSV 2 and HSV 1 promote skin lesions, and clusters of watery blisters can also be observed on the skin.
• In newborns
  One of the most challenging diagnosis of herpes is that of neonatal herpes. As the infection of this medical condition does not show any symptoms on the body of the baby, it becomes difficult to diagnose. After a few days, lesions can be observed around the mouth, which points to this medical condition. With the help of the swab sample, the diagnosis can be performed. If the baby is affected with the complicated neonatal herpes, the lumbar puncture is used for diagnosing it.
• Laboratory tests
  The laboratory tests are classified according to the requirement of the diagnosis of this medical condition. It includes a herpes blood test and swab testing. Swab testing is performed to detect herpes in the newborns. A blood test is performed for detecting the severity of the infection of asymptomatic herpes and the antibodies that are already affected by this medical condition.
• Differential diagnosis
  In this category, several other tests like pre-cancer, cancer, medication reaction, syphilis, and canker sores are included. Basically, these tests are suggested as post-treatment tests to find the probability of other health complications that are associated with herpes and the side effects of the medications.

Therefore, these are the various diagnostic processes of this complex medical condition. A physician will also suggest a differential diagnosis that is necessary after the treatment of this medical condition.