Confused with this condition

Hi there,

So I found out that my cold sores are actually caused by herpes virus but it seems like people don't really put too much worry into it.  If the herpes virus is as contagious as they say either in oral or genital form, how can I feel confident with the people around me?

People just say "oh don't kiss when your sores are up".  But if I'm not mistaken the virus can be active in my saliva even when sores are not visible, not to mention asymptotic shedding also comes into play.  So what should I do?  Can I still kiss people?  Or I should refrain from kissing people from now on?

I really don't like this condition and I really don't understand why there is no cure yet.  Sure it doesn't kill but the worst part is you can accidentally pass the virus to other parts of your body causing more complications.

[gracefromHHP]

Actually just avoiding contact when you have active symptoms does go a long way. It's something to use common sense about - not something to worry endlessly about.

So what do you do? Well if you have a regular partner talk to them about it. If they can't recall having a history of cold sores then ask them to get tested to see what their status is. The majority of folks who have hsv1 orally don't get obvious cold sores to know it. Even many of us only get our obvious cold sores when we are kids and don't even remember them by the time we are adults.  If your partner is hsv1 negative then talk about if you want to take any precautions or not.  If your partner is worried about hsv1 genitally then consider barrier protection for oral sex.  

By the time we make it into the old folks home about 80% of us has hsv1 orally. It's THAT common. Just keep in mind that hsv1 doesn't protect you from hsv2 so your partners hsv2 status is just as important to know as their hsv1 status is.

grace