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Dermatology  (Expert Forum)
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Oral herpes retransmission?
Answered by
Alan Rockoff, MD - dermatology, Child Skin Problems
The Rockoff Dermatology Center Brookline - MA
Welcome to the DERMATOLOGY FORUM! Questions in this forum are answered by Dermatologists from St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital, under the direction of Andrew Alexis, M.D., M.P.H.

Oral herpes retransmission?

by Pamela, Mar 24, 2000 12:00AM
Can someone with an active oral herpes lesion transmit it to another person who already has occaisional oral herpes outbreaks also?  We know to avoid oral genital contact during outbreaks, but are we denying ourselves unnecessarily to avoid oral kissing?  Also, in perusing the search files, I've begun wondering if it's okay to kiss necks, foreheads, etc. when I have an active lesion?

Thanks.

by Alan Rockoff, MD, Mar 26, 2000 12:00AM
Pamela:

Once you have herpes in a given area, antibodies in your bloodstream make it hard for the virus to "set up shop" elsewhere, even though it recurs in its usual place.  (Otherwise, washing would make us all covered with herpes . . .)  I would wait a few days till the lesion dries up, though, before direct kissing, orally or genitally.  Now and then some people do get herpes in more than one place.

Best.

Dr. R
Member Comments (17)

by Jim, Mar 27, 2000 12:00AM
How can you tell the difference between canker sores and herpes? My wife gets an occasional white spot under her tongue. Is this herpes?

by Babs, Mar 28, 2000 12:00AM
Please also keep in mind that there are two types of herpes (simplex I and II), so unless you know that you and your partner have the same type, it's possible to give your partner the kind s/he doesn't already have.  That is, if you have simplex I and your partner has simplex II (both possible on the mouth or genitals)you could give your partner simplex I.  The research shows that if you have one type your body tends to ward off the other type, but there is no guarantee.  Also, any place on the body (neck, forehead, arm, stomach) where there is any kind of break in the skin, herpes can get in.  Sores are most common on the mouth and genitals, but it can be transmitted anywhere.  A book called "The Truth About Herpes" is a great resource.

by Jeff S., Apr 01, 2000 12:00AM
The tips of my fingers have begun peeling away. It first starts as some whiteness and then a red circle and then the skin starts peeling to the surface below. I've tried all sorts of creams but they just seem to spread from one finger to another as each heals up. What could this be?

by lisa, Apr 13, 2000 12:00AM
I've got oral HSV but i'm not sure if it is type I or II. Is there some kind of medicines that i can take that are over-the-counter, to make the breakouts less recurrent? And why hasn't there been a cure for this yet?? I mean with 90% of our population infected, you would think we had a cure for this years ago.

by Rachel, Jun 21, 2000 12:00AM
i think that my fried might have herpes because she gets these blister like things they are reddish pretty small and warty looking type things, one at a time on her upper lip...and started to get them on her upper lip...but not on the actual lip.. she got them after performing oral sex on a guy..and she doesn't know if she is infected, but i am paranoid now because without thinking i took a couple sips of her drink out of a straw and am wondering if that could ave been transmitted to me

by Rachel, Jun 21, 2000 12:00AM
i think that my fried might have herpes because she gets these blister like things they are reddish pretty small and warty looking type things, one at a time on her upper lipbut not on the actual lip.. she got them after performing oral sex on a guy..and she doesn't know if she is infected, but i am paranoid now because without thinking i took a couple sips of her drink out of a straw and am wondering if that could ave been transmitted to me

by Rachel, Jun 21, 2000 12:00AM
i think that my fried might have herpes because she gets these blister like things they are reddish pretty small and warty looking type things, one at a time on her upper lip she got them after performing oral sex on a guy..and she doesn't know if she is infected, but i am paranoid now because without thinking i took a couple sips of her drink out of a straw and am wondering if that could ave been transmitted to me

by Rachel, Jun 21, 2000 12:00AM
my fried might have herpes because she gets these blister like things they are reddish pretty small and warty looking type things, one at a time on her upper lip she got them after performing oral sex on a guy but i am paranoid now because without thinking i took a couple sips of her drink out of a straw and am wondering if that could ave been transmitted to me

by Rachel, Jun 21, 2000 12:00AM
my fried might have herpes because she gets these blister like things one at a time on her upper lip she got them after performing oral sex on a guy but i am paranoid now because without thinking i took a couple sips of her drink out of a straw and am wondering if that could ave been transmitted to me

by Rachel, Jun 21, 2000 12:00AM
can oral herpes be transmitted by sharing of drinks through a straw?

by geri, Jun 21, 2000 12:00AM
I have found great success with 'cold sores' around the mouth using an amino acid called "L-Lysine".  You can purchase it in the U.S.A. like you would any vitamin.  In Canada, however, the amino acid "L-Lysine" is mixed into pill-form with other supplements.

by tom, Jul 16, 2000 12:00AM
you guys all have nasty problems

by tom, Jul 16, 2000 12:00AM
you guys all have nasty problems

by p'ed off, Aug 30, 2000 12:00AM
tom i hope your **** shrivels up and falls off for saying that

by sarah, Oct 02, 2000 12:00AM
tom needs not to hate.

by ned, Oct 19, 2000 12:00AM
lol, i love america
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