If you are having a outbreak would the antibodies be present?

In your blood? So say for example, you haven't had the virus for more than a month but you are already having an outbreak. Would the antibodies show up in your blood because they are fighting the virus. I ask because I thought i was having an outbreak, had a blood test and it came back negative. I've read now that the blood tests can sometimes give a false negative if you haven't had it long enough to aculate antibodies. But if I was already having an outbreak wouldn't there be antibodies present in my blood?