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Does My Having Genital HSV 1 Prevent Oral HSV 1?
I am a woman with genital Herpes 1. I acquired genital HSV 1 via oral sex from my boyfriend when my boyfriend, apparently, was shedding (no sign of a cold sore was present at the time of oral sex). I had the initial outbreak 6 months ago and, thankfully, have had no further episodes. The initial outbreak was severe. I do not get cold sores on or near my mouth so I do not believe I have oral herpes 1. My boyfriend -- who has oral Herpes 1 for sure and may have Herpes 2 as well -- just informed me that he feels a cold sore coming on.
My question is this: Should I avoid kissing him while he has a cold sore (or is fighting a cold sore or is healing from a cold sore) in order to prevent myself from getting ORAL HSV 1 or does my having genital HSV 1 "inoculate" me or protect me from getting HSV 1 in the mouth area? Am I still vulnerable to ORAL HSV 1? Do I have antibodies in my system that will fight the oral HSV 1? Not being able to kiss my boyfriend 4 days from now would be a disappointment as he is traveling to be with me.
I thank you in advance for your help.
My question is this: Should I avoid kissing him while he has a cold sore (or is fighting a cold sore or is healing from a cold sore) in order to prevent myself from getting ORAL HSV 1 or does my having genital HSV 1 "inoculate" me or protect me from getting HSV 1 in the mouth area? Am I still vulnerable to ORAL HSV 1? Do I have antibodies in my system that will fight the oral HSV 1? Not being able to kiss my boyfriend 4 days from now would be a disappointment as he is traveling to be with me.
I thank you in advance for your help.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Since your first infection was 6 months ago, I don't see a significant danger for you getting oral herpes. We believe that once a person has an infection in one place, they are highly unlikely to get it in a new place. Obviously, I can't promise that, but it seems very unlikely.
Are you concerned about getting HSV 2 from him? YOu don't know if he has it or not?
Terri
Are you concerned about getting HSV 2 from him? YOu don't know if he has it or not?
Terri
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
I see. You're welcome.
Terri
Terri
Thank you, Terri. I did not mean to say that YOU had told me that chances are low for getting HSV-1 from receiving oral sex from a person with a history of cold sores. You definitely did not say that. I meant that after I started reading up on the subject (after being diagnosed with genital HSV-1), I found that it was fairly rare compared to other types of herpes transmissions. (I talked with an eye doctor recently who did not even know that a person could have genital HSV-1 -- he thought that all genital herpes was HSV-2).
As for the info that I got from the NP in person about being able to get HSV-1 genitally in a new place, I am glad to hear you say it's a ridiculous idea. Thank you for the information.
As for the info that I got from the NP in person about being able to get HSV-1 genitally in a new place, I am glad to hear you say it's a ridiculous idea. Thank you for the information.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
I don't recall saying the chances are low for getting HSV 1 from receiving oral sex from a person with a history of cold sores. I have seen that way too often to make that comment.
I don't have statistics about how frequently someone can get the same type of HSV, in your case, HSV 1, in a new location on their body after a well established infection in a different place. However, I can tell you that in 31 years of practice, specializing in herpes, I have seen it happen once. Other herpes professionals agree. If this were not true, we would see children, who very often get oral herpes and touch their genitals frequently, get their herpes all over the place. We don't see that.
As for getting it in a new place genitally. That is just ridiculous. Once you have genital herpes, the virus is present in the entire nerve group that supplies the area from waist to mid-thigh. That's why people with genital herpes can recur anywhere in that area. I completely disagree with the nurse practitioner your spoke with. At this point, I think you can freely receive oral sex from you boyfriend. What's done is done.
In terms of receiving HSV 2 from him: Yes, get the numeric values and see if he needs confirmation of his positive result. If he truly is positive, you can reduce the risk of acquiring HSV 2 from him (yes, most often through asymptomatic shedding) by him taking daily antiviral therapy. And yes, it is possible for you to have both types genitally.
Terri
I don't have statistics about how frequently someone can get the same type of HSV, in your case, HSV 1, in a new location on their body after a well established infection in a different place. However, I can tell you that in 31 years of practice, specializing in herpes, I have seen it happen once. Other herpes professionals agree. If this were not true, we would see children, who very often get oral herpes and touch their genitals frequently, get their herpes all over the place. We don't see that.
As for getting it in a new place genitally. That is just ridiculous. Once you have genital herpes, the virus is present in the entire nerve group that supplies the area from waist to mid-thigh. That's why people with genital herpes can recur anywhere in that area. I completely disagree with the nurse practitioner your spoke with. At this point, I think you can freely receive oral sex from you boyfriend. What's done is done.
In terms of receiving HSV 2 from him: Yes, get the numeric values and see if he needs confirmation of his positive result. If he truly is positive, you can reduce the risk of acquiring HSV 2 from him (yes, most often through asymptomatic shedding) by him taking daily antiviral therapy. And yes, it is possible for you to have both types genitally.
Terri
Thank you for your response. What about KISSING him if he has recently had or is getting over a cold sore? From your response, it sounds like you do not think I need to worry about getting the infection in a new place but I would like to know for sure WHEN it is safe to kiss him IF there is a chance that I could, in fact, acquire oral HSV 1. Once the cold sore is gone from his lip, how many days should we wait to kiss? When you say that you believe it's highly unlikely to get HSV-1 in a new place, what is that opinion based on? It was also highly unlikely that I would get HSV-1 from oral sex when my boyfriend had no sign of a cold sore, and yet, here I am with genital HSV-1.
For the record, the NP in my doctor's office thinks it is possible to be infected again even in the same area. She said she thought another nerve in my vulva area could be affected by the virus if it were exposed to the virus again. This subject came up when I asked her if I can have oral sex again with my boyfriend since I have already been infected with HSV-1 in the genital area. What are your thoughts on this subject? Is it safe for him to perform oral sex on me now that he has already given me genital HSV-1? Or should we avoid that activity forever more because there's a small chance I could be infected again in a nearby place. I realize this is a similar question to my initial question but, clearly, I need more definitive information on the subject and need to feel more confident in general about re-infection(s).
Re: my concern about getting HSV-2 from him. He tested positive for HSV 1 and HSV 2 about a year ago in blood tests but he has never had a genital sore. The only outbreak that he gets is the occasional cold sore on his lip. I know that he needs to be retested to confirm if he does or does not have HSV 2 (we need to get the values of the test results). Yes, I am very concerned about getting it from him but realistically, short of breaking up, I don't know if it's possible to prevent it long term. We are in a monogamous relationship, soon to be married, and we simply do not want to use condoms each time we make love. Since he has never had any sign of herpes in his genital area, we proceed as if he does not have HSV-2. I learned the hard way that one CAN acquire Herpes through shedding (when there is no sign of a sore or lesion), and for a while we were using condoms a lot, but, over time, that's a tough practice to keep up in a committed, long-term relationship. One change we have made is that I do not perform oral sex on him now that we know I could get HSV-2 orally. That scenario seems especially awful.
If you have any advice about how to prevent my getting HSV-2, please let me know. He takes Valtrex when we are together and I have Valtrex on hand myself if I ever feel the beginning of another genital outbreak of HSV-1.
Thank you in advance for your help and information. I feel a lot of anxiety about this subject but more information always helps.
For the record, the NP in my doctor's office thinks it is possible to be infected again even in the same area. She said she thought another nerve in my vulva area could be affected by the virus if it were exposed to the virus again. This subject came up when I asked her if I can have oral sex again with my boyfriend since I have already been infected with HSV-1 in the genital area. What are your thoughts on this subject? Is it safe for him to perform oral sex on me now that he has already given me genital HSV-1? Or should we avoid that activity forever more because there's a small chance I could be infected again in a nearby place. I realize this is a similar question to my initial question but, clearly, I need more definitive information on the subject and need to feel more confident in general about re-infection(s).
Re: my concern about getting HSV-2 from him. He tested positive for HSV 1 and HSV 2 about a year ago in blood tests but he has never had a genital sore. The only outbreak that he gets is the occasional cold sore on his lip. I know that he needs to be retested to confirm if he does or does not have HSV 2 (we need to get the values of the test results). Yes, I am very concerned about getting it from him but realistically, short of breaking up, I don't know if it's possible to prevent it long term. We are in a monogamous relationship, soon to be married, and we simply do not want to use condoms each time we make love. Since he has never had any sign of herpes in his genital area, we proceed as if he does not have HSV-2. I learned the hard way that one CAN acquire Herpes through shedding (when there is no sign of a sore or lesion), and for a while we were using condoms a lot, but, over time, that's a tough practice to keep up in a committed, long-term relationship. One change we have made is that I do not perform oral sex on him now that we know I could get HSV-2 orally. That scenario seems especially awful.
If you have any advice about how to prevent my getting HSV-2, please let me know. He takes Valtrex when we are together and I have Valtrex on hand myself if I ever feel the beginning of another genital outbreak of HSV-1.
Thank you in advance for your help and information. I feel a lot of anxiety about this subject but more information always helps.
You are reading content posted in the Herpes Forum
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
