Difficult questions about genital HSV-1

Hello

I have some complicated questions about the risks of passing genital herpes type 1 to another person.

Well, we know that herpes type 1 is less violent than the type 2 when the location is the genitals, but:

1) I know it's possible, but how difficult is to spread the virus doing oral sex without outbreak and without protection? I mean, is it the same than kissing your partner when she/he doesn't have outbreaks? Because I have read that there are not documented cases of spreading the virus through any mouth to mouth contact when you don't have outbreaks...

2) I know it's possible, but how difficult is passing the virus having genital sex with your partner (an without protection) if you have genital herpes type 1 and your partner has oral herpes type 1 in her/his mouth? Have she/he usually enough antibodies to lock the entrance of the virus?

Would be great to find clear answers to this questions!
Thank you very much,
Marc

[daisy315]

HSV1 and 2 usually have what is called prefered Sites
HSV1 Oral
HSV2 Genital
If you both have the same virus but in different Sites of preference it is unlikely to change location ....
That is not to say a person with HSV1 Orally cannot get HSV2 Genitally it is possible to have both.

Daisy

[marcsilo]

Thank you very much Daisy, but I still have the questions on the air:

I know all this about the prefered sites, it's a topic about herpes. In my case, I have genital HSV-1, so I'm talking you from my own experience: I would know how exactly this kind of herpes works in my body and/or related to other person. I also read about the possibilities of get another type of herpes, but that's not the question.

The questions are:

1) "How difficult is to spread the virus doing oral sex without outbreak and without protection if you have genital HSV-1 and your partner is clean?" Is it the same than kissing your partner when she/he doesn't have outbreaks related with an oral HSV-1?

2) You said it is unlikely to change location, but I'm not talking about it, I'm talking about HOW unlikely is it, "how difficult is passing the virus having genital sex with your partner (an without protection) if you have genital herpes type 1 and your partner has oral herpes type 1 in her/his mouth? Have she/he usually enough antibodies to lock the entrance of the virus?"

I really think this questions are confusing and complex, and nobody explain it in the Internet. The only clear explanation I found is in Wikipedia:

"Antibodies that develop following an initial infection with a type of HSV prevents reinfection with the same virus type—a person with a history of orofacial infection caused by HSV-1 cannot contract herpes whitlow or a genital infection caused by HSV-1"

But I didn't find more about.
What do you think?
Thanks a lot!!!
Marc

[gracefromHHP]

1) "How difficult is to spread the virus doing oral sex without outbreak and without protection if you have genital HSV-1 and your partner is clean?" Is it the same than kissing your partner when she/he doesn't have outbreaks related with an oral HSV-1?


Hsv1 genitally only sheds about 3% of days on average.  That means that it's active less than 2 weeks total in an entire year.  You can still transmit it even if symptoms aren't present but the risk is much less over all.  We don't have the same transmissin stats for hsv1 genitally that we have for hsv2 just because it sheds less often and is so less likely to be transmitted to a partner that we can't affordably and properly study it.



2) You said it is unlikely to change location, but I'm not talking about it, I'm talking about HOW unlikely is it, "how difficult is passing the virus having genital sex with your partner (an without protection) if you have genital herpes type 1 and your partner has oral herpes type 1 in her/his mouth? Have she/he usually enough antibodies to lock the entrance of the virus?"


If a partner has hsv1 orally, they have significant protection against acquiring hsv1 genitally. Usually just avoiding sex during obvious genital symptoms is all it takes to protect a partner.

grace

[liveitup23]

it seems like its almost impossible to contract and then just lays dormant if it is... why is it so different from hsv2 how it interacts eventho they are pretty much the same virus?

[gracefromHHP]

Both hsv1 and hsv2 when you take them out of their preferred site of infection tend to reoccur less and shed less.  Just the way they've evolved I suppose.

grace

[marcsilo]

Hello people

So fortunately the chances to transmit genital HSV-1 to a partner, as liveitup23 said, 'seems almost impossible'. Anyway I will use all the protection I can, but it's good to know it for my future relations. I think there is not enought information about the genital HSV-1 in the Internet and would be cool talking more about it, because it is a quite normal variant of genital herpes today.

Thank you very much!
Marc

[daisy315]

I agree that there is little information on the transmission risks when one or the other of the virus's are outwith their prefered Site which is unfortunate really for those of us who do not have the "black and white" issue as far as Herpes is concerned I do know however that the saying on most Herpes Sites and from discussions I have had with Health Providers and GUM/STD  Specialists that outwith their prefered Site they "lose much of their punch" and are usually less bothersome in every way as well as the risk of transmission being less likely providing no skin to skin contact is made when active lesions are present regardless of where they appear..

Daisy