How can a Canadian visiting the UK obtain an INR blood test?

Herpes blood test ? uk answers please?

• I'm 25 weeks pregnant & think i have had hepes before. I'm having no symptoms and was wondering if i go to the GUM and ask for a blood test for antibodies would they give me it? or would they want to do a physical examination aswell? I asked my Dr & she said it's pointless to do anything apart from swabs every week 4 weeks up to the birth ( which i dont really want to have to do)

• Answer:

  They don't give blood tests on the NHS, at least not where I live. I asked at the GUM when I was there and they said they didn't. However, they might do if if you are pregnant and want to know for sure if you have herpes. They just weren't willing to pay for my partner to get tested (I also have genital herpes). I do know that you can get it done through the GP or GUM - it is just a matter of getting them to pay for it. If they won't, you can get it done through the Herpes Viruses Association, www.herpes.org.uk You have to be a member £25, and they send you the blood collection kit £5 and you get the blood taken locally and send it back with a cheque for the laboratory for £22.46. Total cost £52.46. That info was up to date a year ago. Remember, all the herpes blood test can show you is if you test positive for either type of herpes, hsv-1 or hsv-2. If you have already had an outbreak diagnosed by swab in the past it is pretty pointless. And if you only tested positive for hsv-1, they couldn't tell you if it was a genital or oral infeciton (hsv-1 also causes most oral cold sores but is responsible for over half of genital herpes cases in women in the UK). If you are worrying about giving birth naturally when you have herpes, then don't. If you were infected with herpes before getting pregnant, then even if you were having an outbreak at the time of birth the danger is still low - obviously doctors want to err on the side of caution. My sister has genital herpes and has had three children naturally. They didn't even offer her the swabs. If you want to know the facts about giving birth with herpes, this leaflet by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists looks good. It can be found here: http://www.rcog.org.uk/resources/public/pdf/genitalherpes.pdf The RCOG had a pdf of a great study on neonatal herpes that it did a couple of years ago - tried to find it for you but the link seems to be dead on their site or they have moved the page. However, I condensed the article for another yahoo question, so here is what I got from it: UK incidence of neonatal herpes per 100.000 live births: 1.65 Almost ALL cases of neonatal herpes occur as a result of direct contact with infected maternal secretions , i.e. during a vaginal delivery. The risks are greatest when a woman acquires a NEW infection (primary genital herpes) during late pregnancy, so that the baby is delivered before the development of protective maternal antibodies. Daily suppressive aciclovir in the last four weeks of pregnancy may prevent genital herpes recurrences at term. In a clinical trial of the use of suppressive acyclovir during the last four weeks of pregnancy, none of the 21 women treated with aciclovir and nine of the 25 women (36%) treated with placebo had clinical evidence of recurrent genital herpes at delivery. Caesarean section is recommended for all women presenting with first-episode (primary) genital herpes lesions at the time of delivery, but is NOT indicated for women who develop first episode genital herpes lesions during the first or second trimesters, or who acquired HSV before pregnancy. Women with recurrent HSV at delivery can be delivered vaginally (see below). Where first-episode genital herpes lesions are present at the time of delivery and the baby is delivered vaginally, the risk of neonatal herpes, calculated from five studies was 41% . There were NO infected babies born to women who had acquired herpes antibodies prior to pregnancy. For women presenting with recurrent genital herpes lesions at the onset of labour, the risks to the baby of neonatal herpes are small and should be set against the risks to the mother of caesarean section. A recurrent episode of genital herpes occurring at any other time during pregnancy is not an indication for delivery by caesarean section. Recurrent genital herpes infection is associated with a MUCH smaller risk of neonatal herpes. Where vaginal delivery is associated with recurrent genital HSV lesions, one study reported an HSV transmission rate of 3% and another study reported a rate of 0% (note this is only when lesions are actually present during vaginal delivery). NONE of the babies in the study diagnosed with HSV was born to a woman who had acquired herpes antibodies prior to pregnancy. Women who report a history of genital herpes can be reassured that, in the event of an HSV recurrence during pregnancy, the risk of transmission to the neonate is very small, even if genital lesions are present at delivery. Hope this is a help to you.