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HSV1 ... being a little crazy hehe

Hello! Thanks so much to everyone for their time!
I am a 20 year old female I received a positive HSV1 diagnosis through a blood test ( negative for hsv2). I had taken the test because although  I am a virgin I have performed and received oral sex once, and with my being in college having experienced a few drunken nights which my memory of is a bit foggy ( not good I know haha ) I figured it is better to be on the safe side! All my tests came back negative except for the HSV1, however I can not recall ever having a cold sore ( although my mom gets them once a year ) Now I am so paranoid because I do not know whether it is oral or genital and now I keep thinking any itch or ingrown hair down under is HSV1! I am only concerned on what I should be telling future partners! I don't want to go around telling people I have genital hsv1 if I in fact do not, not that there is anything wrong with it from my understanding it is less contagious to the genitals than oral is! However it is never easy to say anything about the genitals because of the social stigma which is so sad and so in need of a change! I was wondering since I do not know, and it is more likely that it is oral hsv1, if i inform my partners that I in fact have oral hsv1 and they allow me to perform unprotected oral sex on them would that be ethically fulfilling my obligation to them or should I tell them that I have never had an outbreak and it might be genital, just hoping for some input! Thanks so much !
Best Answer
101028 tn?1419603004
yes I do think you have bought a ticket for a ride on the crazy train dear....lol. You aren't shoving the conductor off and taking over yet so it's still ok and should be a short trip ;)

no, your symptoms you had didn't sound like genital herpes.  

keep yourself busy and try to stop over thinking about this :)  Start cooking and baking for a super bowl party sunday with friends - even if you hate football like I do, it's worth eating and watching the commercials!!
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Avatar universal
I guess since my doctor doesn't even test for hsv1 because it is so common that's a pretty good sign that maybe my prospective partners will  test positive and I can quit worrying ! haha grr It's so crazy how a silly little virus can cause so much psychological stress! I know it will get better in time and that I am probably just in my initial freak out period and need to cool off ( I don't plan to get intimate with anyone until I can totally accept this as simply a virus just like any other virus which from a logical stand point I already know but still sometimes I get a little bummed )  But I refuse to let this always be a major thing in my life, it is just silly ! I don't even get any cold sores that I have to worry about covering, my mom sadly gets them very bad and gets very embarrassed :(  I don't know why I am doing this to myself haha but whenever you respond to me I feel much better so that's why I keep ranting and raving to you haha because all my friends and my mom and my doctor  think it's not something I should even disclose to partners  ( I disagree but everyone is entitled to their own opinions )  hmph I don't know, I guess if my partner is willing to accept the risk I also have to be willing to accept the risk that I might give them hsv1
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Avatar universal
Hi Grace! Me again hehe how annoying am I ?
Okay so, I just need your advice. I am literally allowing this hsv1 diagnosis to take over my life hah and I know it's nuts since I am actually in the majority of people! But I now believe I am infected orally and I plan to discuss this with prospective partners, and I do not believe it will be an issue for any of them ( I am basing this off of the fact that I know quite a few people with cold sores who have been in relationships and don't even tell and will just have a cold sore one day and the partners don't care at all, and from things I read online that say most people don't even bat an eye when you tell them you have ohsv1) So I am not nervous to tell, but I am just freaking out about giving this to someone genitally via oral sex because although from my countless hours of research I have learned genital hsv1 seems to be a non issue in most people's life because it doesn't typically reoccur and the majority of people have hsv1 already ( like me! ) I am more concerned because I don't want someone to be affected psychologically by this as a lot of people who have hsv genitally tend to get. Do you think I am over reacting to this common virus? I am a female and I was just wondering if it is less likely to give this to a male though oral sex than it is to give to a female because every time I research I seem to see almost all females who were infected genitally from oral sex ( although I understand it could also affect men I would just like to know if it is LESS likely so I can put myself at a little ease) I understand if I disclose this and my partners accept, this is a risk they are willing to take but I am still freaking out haha. I plan to have my partners tested because I want to know what baggage they are coming in with so hopefully all my prospective partners will be hsv1 positive! hahaha  just a little wishful thinking! Also I am 20 years old and I attend college ( I know everything from std's to colds are higher on college campus) So I was just wondering at this age how many people have hsv1, I understand at some point it gets to around 60 to 70%  but at the 20 year old mark I was wondering if it is still pretty high or much lower. Thanks so much for helping me through this time in my life Grace!! Even though everyone I know thinks I am SERIOUSLY over reacting haha some days I know they are probably right but then I get into my head and allow myself to become a nut case and start crying  haha You are the best Grace a look forward to your response and hope you enjoy your superbowl!
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Avatar universal
hahah thank you grace you are right! I guess for hsv1, since it is so common it's not so important to know where as it is to know you carry the virus since most sexual couple include both oral and genital sex!
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101028 tn?1419603004
we don't need to play what if's about this.
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Avatar universal
Really quick Grace just one more little thing if you have the time! ( Don't kill me hahahahah) hypothetically if this is HSV1 genital, which I will have no way to know unless I get recurring symptoms, is it likely to be passed on during genital to genital sex with a hsv1 negative person?  And if so just how likely? Since I have no way to be 100% sure I just want to know some odds hehe ( don't worry I am much calmer now than I was before haha )
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Avatar universal
HAHAHAHA, thank you so much Grace!! You have made feel so much better!! You are right I have been locked in my room googling herpes for WAY TO MANY WEEKS NOW hahah my mom wants to shut the internet down because I'll stop thinking about it one minute and the next im googling away again driving myself nuts! haha I think I just have to accept that since by the time we are old a gray 90% of us have hsv1 that even if I didn't have it today I probably most certainly would have gotten it eventually!  Hahaha enough is enough! TIME TO HAVE SOME FUN HEHEH hope you have a great superbowl! ( even though you hate football hehe )
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Avatar universal
Hi Grace! I wanted to thank you again and again for your patience, and time answering questions here on this board to all of us worriers! haha
After reading your reply and thinking back to when i received oral sex I do remember getting a yeast ( or what I assumed was a yeast infection shortly after) I was a little itchy in my genital area and I had some pimples on my buttocks ( not ulcers or blisters that bursts just little red pimples) I have always gotten pimples in this location so I didn't think anything of it, or have it cultured, however they were never accompanied by an itch before so perhaps I should have taken better notice! And now after doing COUNTLESS hours googling I keep thinking I am experiencing the symptoms I read ( tingling in legs) but I am known to invent symptoms after reading what they are! I had also convinced myself I was HIV positive for a few months and cried myself to sleep every night only to thankfully turn up negative! During that time I thought I saw a body rash, oral thrush, and so many other things that were not there haha not to mention I do not use needles and have never had penetrative intercourse I only engaged in one time oral which is a VERY rare way to transmit the virus so I don't know why I even allowed myself to think that. I don't know what to do! Do you think I am still being a moral person if I only tell partners I have oral HSV1 since that is the more contagious version and I have no definitive evidence to the contrary ? My family and friends think I am absolutely NUTS because I am allowing this to drive me insane I keep calling my mom crying because now I feel I am never going to be comfortable with anyone sexually whether it be giving oral or in bed since I don't know for sure! They think I am so crazy because the majority of them all have hsv1 and don't even find it important to tell partners, and I guess I can see their point, SO many people already have this virus that if people decided not to date or become intimate with anyone who was hsv1 positive they would seriously limit their dating pool haha, when I told my doctor I wanted to test for everything including all the HEP's, Herpes, and HIV via blood test he originally only wrote the test for HSV2 I had to specifically ask for both because he said they and many places no longer even find hsv1 tests important because SO many people will come up positive. I almost wish I never made him test for it so I could continue on blissfully unaware haha ( I know horrible right?! haha) Do you think I am being a total LOON ! Sorry I think I just needed a good vent haha
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Avatar universal
Oh ! Well that's very good to know thank you so much! No current partner at the moment the oral sex was a few months back, I was just thinking in terms of the future ! haha I know if my partner were also positive there would probably be 0 risk since he already would have antibodies so I was more interested in the risk to negative partners!
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101028 tn?1419603004
you would've known if you had contracted hsv1 genitally from oral sex. It typically presents with very obvious and painful lesions that you won't miss. no reason to think your hsv1 isn't oral.

has your partner been tested to know his status?  you can't make educated decisions about what precautions until you know who has what.

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Avatar universal
THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN And I know I am probably being a big pain but  I would just like to ask you one more question if you wouldn't mind and have the time!

Suppose on the off chance that this is hsv1 genital, since I have no 100 % chance way of knowing I would just like to be aware of the risk to future partners: How likely would it be to transmit this genital to genital ?
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Avatar universal
Ahh thank you so much for your time and quick response! I have just been a nervous wreck these past couple of weeks because I was already nervous to have sex to begin with and this just added some additional pressure! haha But the more reading I do the more I know I am being quite a bit irrational since the majority of the world is HSV1 positive anyway !  
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101028 tn?1419603004
odds are your hsv1 is oral. Most people who have hsv1 orally, don't get obvious cold sores to know it.  

http://www.ashastd.org/std-sti-works/Herpes/oral-herpes.html  has terrific info on oral herpes for more reading.

grace
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