Advice

Hello,

I have a question:

I have been doing much research online, but unfortunately finding a definitive answer has proved difficult.

I was with a guy who told me he had cold sores in the past, but hadn't had one for years. The other day, he performed oral sex on me briefly, and without any sign of outbreak.

What are my chances of getting genital herpes?

Thank you

[petal130]

Yes, he can transmit it to you via oral sex even without symptoms. It's called viral shedding, when the herpes virus is active but there are not visible symptoms.

I have genital HSV1 that was transmitted from my partner's mouth through oral sex. He'd never had a cold sore in the time we were together, and it wasn't until 5 years together, and frequent oral sex, that I was infected.

To answer your question though, there are no stats for chances of acquiring oral to genital HSV1. However, about 30% of all genital herpes cases today are HSV1 - even higher amongst college-aged folks, and almost all genital HSV1 is from oral transmission, not genital.

Have you ever been tested to know your own herpes status?