Herpes 2 orally

[curious1984]

My new gf was honest enough to tell me before we've had sex that she tested positive a few months ago for Herpes 2 via a blood test (twice) even tho she has never had any symptoms that she is aware of.  Recently I've read a lot, but still have questions -- 1) If she has never had symptoms, it is therefore possible she has Herpes 2 orally, so does that mean I can catch it from kissing her (deep kissing?) Especially if as I've read someone can be contagious even without a sore, i.e. when they are shedding asymptomatically 2) If someone has Herpes 2 orallly, what would the symptoms be?  Would they always show up around the lips or mouth? 3) If someone gets Herpes 2 in one place, can they catch it again in a different place?  The online "experrts" disagree on this, some say yes, some say no. Aren't there websites that can scientifically answer this question? If someone got it genitally, can they catch it again orally, or anal?  4) Are there different strains of Herpes 2?  If not, does this mean that a person who tests positive for Herpes 2 can have sex with another person who has Herpes 2 and not have to worry about catching it again?  Or as before can they catch it in a different part of their body?

[curious1984]

Thank you for your reply, but I still don't understand a couple of things --1) It sounds like you are saying if both people have Herpes 2, even if neither caught if from the other but instead each caught it from someone else, they can still have any kind of sex and kissing without fear of infecting each other with a different strain, or in a different location on their body.  But other websites say the opposite, so are there any scientific studies you can refer me to on this?  In one of the other forums the doctor expert said if you have Herpes 2 in one place on your body but not elsewher you can get infected in new locations.   2) Specifically, if I don't have Herpes 2 orally, and she does, (lets just assume for the moment that she has it both genitally and orally), can I get it orally just by kissing her?  3) Are there any tests to figure out whether someone has it orally if they have no oral symptoms?

[gracefromHHP]

Not many folks have hsv2 orally. It's the cause of about 3% of all oral herpes infections overall. It happens, but not often.  Statistically your gf's hsv2 infection is genital regardless of if she can recall symptoms or not.

Ask your gf if she's had anyone give her a 2nd opinion about her herpes blood test results. If she hasn't, ask her to get a copy of them to post here and I'll gladly take a look at them to see if she needs more testing done to confirm her status or not at this point.

Most folks who have hsv2 orally, also have it genitally.  Most folks have both oral and genital sex during the same encounter so most folks who get hsv2 orally, get it both places.  We can't possibly find enough folks to study who only have it orally and have hsv2+ partners to see if over the long term they also contract hsv2 genitally later on or if it is enough protection.   It's certainly significant protection though probably not 100%, it's probably high up there close.

There are different strains of hsv2 however research up to this point has shown no significance to that fact. In folks who they've detected multiple strains of hsv2, they aren't having more frequent recurrences or anything of that sort.  The general recommendations are, you both have hsv2, it's not an issue.

grace