Clinicians recommend specific screening tests for sexually transmitted infections, but HSV testing is not part of the usual screening. Your clinician will recommend testing individually, based on history and symptoms. If you have symptoms that suggest herpes, she or he can take a swab of an active lesion and send it to a lab for confirmation (Viral culture and DNA tests). If you do not have symptoms but are curious to know if you’ve been exposed to HSV, a blood test will indicate if you have antibodies to it.