How to protect a partner from herpes

"3) The risk of transmission is markedly reduced when the infected person is taking Valtrex.  If in addition to Valtrex you are careful to not have sex when you are having symptoms of an outbreak, the odds are strong you could have regular sex for 10 years without transmission ever occurring.  "   H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.

my partner is not taking valtrex, she has no symptoms of an outbreak and your saying i can have regular sex, ie.  unprotect sex.  and the odds are strong  that she couldn't transmed the std to me?


This discussion is related to How to protect a partner from herpes.

[psle1000]

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/STDs/How-to-protect-a-partner-from-herpes/show/249511?forums=forums


this is were i read it.

[gracefromHHP]

when you try to ask questions in someone else's post on the expert forum, they bump it into the patient to patient forum ( in case you are wondering how your question ended up here ).

if your gf has hsv2 and you don't and you avoid sex during anytime she has anything going on genitally, on average your risk is 4%/year of contracting hsv2 from her.

grace

[psle1000]

"on average your risk is 4%/year of contracting hsv2 from her. "  grace

what do you mean by 4%, 4% out of a 100?  is this 4% even if i use a condom or unprotect sex.  

[gracefromHHP]

4% is if you don't use any precautions other than just avoiding sex any time she has anything going on genitally.  Using a condom would reduce it to about a 3% risk.

4% means, if 100 guys who were hsv2-, had sex over the course of a year with their hsv2+ female partners, 4 of them would contract hsv2 over the course of the year.

grace