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Can I Get Oral HSV1 if I have Genital HSV1

My boyfriend has oral HSV1 (gets cold sores every 3 months).  Before dating him (we've been together 3 years) I tested negative for both HSV1 and HSV2.  We're careful not to kiss when he has an outbreak.  Last month I had a genital HSV1 outbreak (confirmed by culture).  (I've never had an oral outbreak).  He hasn't performed cunnilingus for a year!  And even at that time, not with an outbreak.  It's strange that I'd have this genital outbreak a year later.  I thought it was a primary outbreak, but maybe I had one a year ago and didn't realize it.  It's a mystery.  In any case, my question is: am I still able to contract oral HSV1 from him on my mouth, considering I now have antibodies for HSV1?  Even though it's at a different site?  The information on the internet is mixed, and my doctor says yes it's still possible; I'm not protected from oral HSV1.  Thank you for your input.
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Avatar universal
Thank you, Fleetwood.  I'll keep you posted in a few months when I get the new test.  I appreciate your input!
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Avatar universal
There are as I see it the following possibilities:
- commercial IgG testing misses 1 in 10 infections and you are one of these people and you actually do have the antibodies present
- contamination or mixed samples at the lab
- you have been infected somehow with your partner's mouth coming into contact with your genitals

I'd keep going with a diagnosis as follows:
- repeat the IgG testing 12 weeks after the first sore appeared, if it is then positive then you would most likely conclude a recent infection, the chance an earlier one would not be completely eliminated but in the end, you'd conclude a genital infection exists.
- if it is negative, then you could proceed with a Westernblot (assuming access) a positive there and you'd conclude an older infection was more likely caused by oral sex
- if the Westernblot is negative, you could conclude lab error on the swab, but keep an eye out for future lesions and think about a further swab
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Avatar universal
Yes, it was the LgG type specific for HSV1 and HSV2.  She said they don't do LgM much anymore.  So the direct culture was positive, and the LgM bloodwork was negative.  That would make sense to me if I just recently was exposed.  But I wasn't exposed by mouth-to-genital contact for sure, in the past year.  It has to be either a case of being exposed a year ago, but the antibodies not forming until the first outbreak a year later, or a case of him exposing me by some other method than mouth-to-genital.  Or do you have other ideas?  Thanks again!  

P.S. I'm going to get bloodwork again in 8 weeks, to see if antibodies have built up by then.  If not, then the direct culture must have been false-positive, but the pathology lab says that just doesn't happen, because they see the virus in the DNA.  If it's there, it's there!  So I'm not holding my breath for that one.

P.P.S. Thank you for your quick responses!
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Avatar universal
Plenty of possibilities as you say, each of low probability.

First though, exactly what bloodwork have you had done and what were the exact results. Let's confirm a true negative. It must be IgG type specific for HSV1 and HSV2 before we proceed.
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Avatar universal
Thank you, Fleetwood20, for your response.

OK, this is weird.  My bloodwork came back negative.  So that means that I don't have the antibodies built up yet.  That would make sense IF...I had been exposed to the virus right before I had the outbreak.  But my boyfriend hasn't given me oral sex in a YEAR!  This is my first outbreak that I know of (and the lack of antibodies confirms that).  

So new question now:  If I was exposed to the virus a year ago but didn't have an outbreak then (ie virus went immediately latent), and just now had an outbreak, would the antibodies not form until this first outbreak a year later?  Or should they have formed when I was first exposed, even though I didn't have an initial outbreak at that time (if that's even possible)?  

It's so weird!  Is it possible that he transferred the virus to my genitals on his fingers, after touching his own mouth?  (He applies a lot of abreva cream with his fingers).  There has been no oral to genital contact by him in a year.

Thanks again!
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Avatar universal
Important to confirm a few things. The blood test will be interesting. If it is a very strong positive, then you will most likely have had the infection for a period of time. It is almost certain that you were infected through oral sex. As you have 'missed' when the infection occurred, it could have been any time in the past, maybe even not your current partner. Perhaps you had a bad yeast style infection with a week of oral sex in the past?

This time around it seems that you may have had a yeast infection or similar and a small outbreak was triggered or simply happened at the same time.

After having the infection for longer than six months you do have strong protection from now being infected elsewhere, maybe zero. Avoiding contact during outbreaks will mean a negligible chance of infection. Much less than previously when you didn't get it infected.
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Avatar universal
Hi Fleetwood20,

The outbreak wasn't terrible.  I almost thought it was a bad yeast or bacteria infection.  But because it was very tender in one spot, and slightly raised, the doctor did a swab for both HSV 1 and 2, and it came back positive for HSV 1.  That was a month ago.  Last week I just took a blood test to confirm, and am awaiting results, however, if it's negative, I'll probably do it again in a couple months since maybe the antibodies aren't built up.  

My partner hasn't had testing for HSV1 or 2, but he's had oral cold sores since he was a kid, and never has had a genital outbreak (that he's aware of).

The weird thing is that he hasn't gone down on me for a year, and I just now had the outbreak.  The only thing I can think of is that I had a primary outbreak a year ago that I didn't realize, and this is a second one.

It's kind of a mystery.  I may never know how he transmitted it to me.  

But I really would just like to know if I am more protected from getting oral HSV1 from him on my mouth, now that I have the virus too, even though it's genital.  Getting oral cold sores from him is something I've always worried about, and it would be nice to know I have a little bit less chance of getting it.  (I still won't kiss him during an outbreak, but sometimes he doesn't realize he's getting one until we've already kissed a bunch).  And likewise, because of his antibodies, is he protected from getting genital HSV1 back from me?

Thank you!





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Avatar universal
Just go through your diagnosis again. How bad an outbreak did you have that prompted a swab? Was the culture properly typed? Has your partner had testing for HSV1 and HSV2? Did your partner become infected with HSV1 in his youth are since becoming sexually active?

Note that sores are not required for transmission due to shedding of the virus.
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