Newly Diagnosed with HSV2 - Many Questions

[Sunny31]

I am a 55-year-old woman, divorced for five years, who has not been sexually active since my divorce.  About 3 months ago, I had a cold sore for the first time in my life which was followed by another cold sore about two weeks later.  Then about a month ago, I developed a very red, itchy spot on my buttock that turned into a small group of three blisters.  I went to my family practive doctor who told me she thought it highly unlikely I had herpes since I have not been sexually active and had been entirely monagamous in my previous marital relationship for a number of years.  However, both the blood test and culture came back positive for HSV2.  Since then, I've been trying to learn as much as I can to protect myself and my other family members.  I do not have a copy of my test results and my doctor doesn't seem very knowledage on herpes in general.  She told me there is no risk of transmission to my grandchildren because this is a sexually transmitted disease.  If I only tested positive for HSV2 does that mean my cold sores are HSV2 as well as the genital sore?  Are they at risk if I cuddle them or allow them to sleep in my bed?   Is there a risk of transmitting oral HSV2 to them through kissing, drinking from the same glass, etc?  I've gone crazy with personal hygiene and Lysol and I'm afraid to touch my mouth (or rear for that matter) because I also worry about transmitting it to my eyes or other parts of my body.  Is this a risk only during the initial phase or also just before and during an outbreak?  I'm driving myself and the rest of my family a little buggy.  I won't even use the common toilet in my home for fear I'll pass this on to someone else.  Help!

[gracefromHHP]

I really recommend "the good news about the bad news" by Terri Warren. You can order it thru amazon for under $15 if you can't find it at your local bookstore. It's way more detailed than her free herpes handbook we recommend all the time here and it also really spends time going over the emotional aspects of finding out you have genital herpes too.

grace

[Sunny31]

Thanks to both of you for your responses.   I've just been absolutely paranoid about this!  I plan on going to the book store this weekend to see what I can find .  Take care.  Sunny

[gracefromHHP]

You can put the lysol away too. No need for any special cleaning. You are not shedding virus all over everything to risk infecting anyone that way.  The exception being - if you are getting lesions in an area that touches the toilet seat it's not a bad idea when you have them present to use one of those clorox wipes or similar product to just wipe off the seat when you are done using it ( even just a regular ole butt wipe would be fine - soap and water kills the virus easily ).  

grace

[waringblender]

Was an HSV1 test performed on you? If it wasn't, you need to get that done, but I'm guessing the oral sores are type 1. Or it could be something else. Without a culture result, we're just guessing here.

You don't need to worry about spreading it around on your body. Nobody else is going to get your herpes from a toilet seat. Unless you're having sex with your family members, HSV2 isn't transmitted through common household activity.

You may have had this for years, and if you were sexually active before your marriage, it's possible you carried it into the marriage. Or the hubster was a player. I guess it doesn't matter at this point since you're divorced. :)