Outbreak without blisters... Yes.

There are other ways that herpes outbreaks manifest themselves. One common alternative outbreak is what's called the "paper cut" type. It's much like the name describes and feels and looks like a few small paper cuts. On the other hand, there are other things that can cause herpes like symptoms. Testing is the only way to really find out.

If you have active symptoms, get to a doctor or clinic right away and have them do a type-specific culture on a swab from the symptomatic area. If there's nothing to culture, then a blood test like the HerpeSelect IgG for types 1&2 is the way to go. Don't let them do an IgM test, it's useless.

Let me know if I can help further. There is also a very active and supportive forum with some nurses that participate at
http://racoon.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi
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