Preventing outbreak in partner

I rarely have an outbreak; i believe my doctor told me that some people have a form of herpes-2 that is more latent or has fewer outbreaks. That said, i thought that given my stress recently i might be at risk for shedding. I saw no bumps, blisters, etc. There was some vaginal discharge but i have no idea if that was just regular mid-cycle discharge. I was on Valtrex for 4 days and had sex on that 4th day.  

What risk was there to my partner? if i did expose him to anything, is there anything he can take to prevent getting it?

[waringblender]

If you were on Valtrex for that period of time before sex, it's unlikely he'll be exposed to it, but I would let him know to watch for symptoms in the next couple of weeks.  I have never heard that there are more "latent" forms of type 2. If you have it, you have it, and it acts differently in each person.

There is some discussion on the doctor side of the STD forum about the negative partner taking a Valtrex before each episode of sex to prevent infection, but it hasn't been studied, so it can't be confirmed that it would work. However, taking anything after sex wouldn't do your partner any good. The main preventive is for you to take the Valtrex, and use a condom if that is your thing.

I wouldn't worry too much about this. It's possible there wasn't shedding, and the Valtrex prior to the sex would have covered it anyway. Happy holidays.

[gracefromHHP]

Studies have found that in folks who have hsv2 - whether they have 0 ob's a year or 10 ob's a year - they are still shedding the virus about the same amount. It's more than just the number of ob's you are having if you are in a discordant relationship. Yes indeed some folks do shed less than others do but it has little to do with the number of ob's you are having so it's not a good idea to assume that not having frequent obvious recurrences means you are "less contagious" than someone else is.

If you are in a discordant relationship - you have hsv2 and your partner doesn't - you might want to think about daily suppressive therapy if you and your partner want to keep your partner negative for longer.  It's certainly something worth looking into more and talking about. Has your partner been tested for herpes or just assumed no symptoms means no infection?

If we assume that you did indeed have an ob about to start - shedding was dramatically reduced but not necessarily stopped completely by day 4. In the future - it's best to wait an entire week just to err on the side of caution.  

Valtrex for ob's is 500mg 2x/day for 3 days.

grace