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HSV 1 unknown site and a few questions
Hi, I got married 4 years ago and I knew my husband had hsv but we were under the impression that it was HSV 2 since its most common since its genital. We found out he has hsv 1 not 2 when I got blood work done 8 months ago and tested positive for hsv1 antibodies so he got his blood done. I have never had any outbreaks so I'm not sure when during the last 4 years I contracted it and I don't even know if I have it orally or in my genital area like him. Since I already have the virus, can I "catch" it again on another area or could I cause HIM to have an outbreak where he is already having them since idk when I'm most contagious? Or could exposure to him before or too soon after he has a outbreak cause me to begin having them? Sorry, I'm sure a lot of this is probably common knowledge but I can only seem to find risks for couples with ONE half being hsv positive and then other negative and most people answering know where their infected at.
Hi, how did he test positive for genital hsv? If a swab was performed positive then most likley what has happened is that youve had oral hsv1 from childhood and passed it to him from oral sex. (just a theory). And once a person has an established infection in one area they are basicly immune to contracting it in another.
Most adults have hsv1. For most adults, it is oral. Only about 20-40% of folks who have hsv1 orally get obvious cold sores to know that they are infected.
Since you can't recall symptoms in either location, pretty safe to assume that your hsv1 is oral. Hard to tell if you contracted it from your husband or if you had it previously and it just didn't show up on your original testing ( it's harder to detect on blood tests than hsv2 is ).
If your husband gets genital recurrences more often than once every other year or so, I'd err on the side of caution and try to track down that lesion culture result though odds are it wasn't typed anyways. At this point, assume he does have hsv1 genitally. You also have hsv1 so it's really a non-issue in your relationship other than avoiding sex anytime he has a genital recurrence just for comfort reasons.
grace
Since you can't recall symptoms in either location, pretty safe to assume that your hsv1 is oral. Hard to tell if you contracted it from your husband or if you had it previously and it just didn't show up on your original testing ( it's harder to detect on blood tests than hsv2 is ).
If your husband gets genital recurrences more often than once every other year or so, I'd err on the side of caution and try to track down that lesion culture result though odds are it wasn't typed anyways. At this point, assume he does have hsv1 genitally. You also have hsv1 so it's really a non-issue in your relationship other than avoiding sex anytime he has a genital recurrence just for comfort reasons.
grace
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You are reading content posted in the Herpes Community
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.
