I developed sores on and near my genitals 3 weeks ago. I was…

I am confused. I thought you stated that the culture (swab) was positive for HSV 1? Were the other two doctors aware of the results of the culture at the time of the diagnosis? What were their diagnoses? Why Valtrex? I am confused just as confused.

Chances of a false positive are slim. False negatives happen in these cultures all the time. A false positive would mean either your culture was mixed up with someone else's or it was misinterpreted. It can happen but unusual. If your blood is taken in three weeks and shows a drop in antibodies to Herpes, then it is indicative that you had herpes. If the level is roughly the same it might be interpreted as negative ( what we call acute and convalescent serum). If there is a question, I would call your doctor's office, and verify. The first attack of herpes often looks less typical than others and is usually more severe.

Are the other two physicians who disagree with me dermatologists?

My advice would to schedule an appointment with a dermatologist. Bring the pictures with you and the lab reports. False positives can happen, though they are happening less and less due to better technology. It would have been nice to have gotten a Western blot test to confirm the herpes test but that is not felt to be as critical for herpes as it is for HIV. So they probably did not. At this point, the only test that would be of value, as I mentioned earlier, is acute and convalescent serum. If your antibodies go down, from the level when they were first taken, that would show that you had an attack at that point in time. That would be presumptive evidence that you had a herpes episode. If you only have antibodies that would mean you had an attack at some time. If the antibodies were to Type 2 that would lean strongly that at some point in time you had genital herpes. Oral-genital transmission can result in Type One transmission to the genitals, but these rules are not hard and fast as they once were ( i.e. Type One oral and Type Two genital). Of course, I am only looking at photographs, if the other two physicians, with extensive experience in STD evaluation and treatment of STD infections had seen you in person, that is more valuable than my observing photographs from afar. I can only give an opinion on what I see and read from lab results you gave me.