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Herpes and HIV transmission mechanics

by Kalibri, May 13, 2008 07:45AM
Great work and Thank you very much to all the doctors helping the millions of people who come here with questions. I appreciate your service.
I have 2 questions.
a) From the info in the forums i've read that  Herpes is transmitted via contact, ie physically moving the virus via rubbing or getting into contact with a sore during the outbreak period. This i assume is the fluid in the herpes sores getting into contact with some part of ones genital area to affect the transmission.
If the Herpes Virus is able to do this, how is it then that the HIV is not transmitted at the same time? suppose the person with Herpes also had HIV wouldnt the HIV virus also be passed along? or would you get herpes and not HIV?

b) After reading about Herpes on your forum ive realized that i've had it for years.Probably my partner has it too, we just didnt know it. Recently i had an outbreak. Poor diet, stress at work , generally having alot of balls in the air, must have gotten to me because i had an outbreak but unlike in the past it didnt just go away on its own. it became quite painful. to make matters worse because i didnt know and used a steriod based cream (first Travocort then Neomycin sulphate), not knowing that they make things worse. later got Zovirax and that seems to help but a transient burning sensation persists.
My question, I have a roomate who had protected vaginal sex and claims washed up carefully afterwards. The condom did not break or slip and yet after three days he had what looked like herpes blisters midway on the penis shaft. This prompted a discussion that led to my initial question on Herpes Hiv Transmission. Anyway, the question is, Is it possible to get Herpes on a location that was covered with a condom during intercourse?

Thank you.

Member Comments (4)

by evenflow1121, May 13, 2008 07:52AM
Yes and No, you can acquire both HIV and Herpes together, but Herpes and HIV require different settings.  For example, you can acquire herpes by rubbing genitals or through oral sex, you are not likely to catch HIV like that, you can also use a condom and catch herpes, you are not going to catch HIV if you use a condom.  However, even if you had unprotected penetrative sex, there is no guarantee that you would catch both or one only.  If you do have herpes however, you do have a higher possibility of catching HIV if you have unprotected sex.

I dont think its possible to catch herpes on a location that was protected by a condom, keep in mind that your entire genital area  will never be covered by a condom, thus, if the person has an outbreak, you may not see the rash but if its there and it touches your uncovered location, you have a higher risk of catching herpes.

by Kalibri, May 13, 2008 07:59AM
To: evenflow1121
thank you very much for your quick response.
Is it correct to understand that if a person has an unprotected encounter with a parter how is hiv + and also has herpes that the recepient would likely acquire HSV but NOT HIV?

by snippets69, May 13, 2008 08:02AM
Having open sores from HSV makes HIV transmission more likely, but it doesn't necessarily mean you'll get HIV.  

by Kalibri, May 13, 2008 08:05AM
To: Everyone
Thanks Guys.
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