Recently Diagnosed with HSV2 & HSV 1

[soccerguy1234]

Hello, I am a male, 26,  and was recently diagnosed with genital HSV 2. I also tested positive for HSV 1,and do not had any issues with cold sores, but did have a shingles outbreak 3 years ago. I have been reading up on the virus and have a few open questions, which if could be answered, would be greatly appreciated.

1. I have read that it is very uncommon for genital HSV 2 to be passed on through oral sex. Could you please provide insight on how uncommon the transmission actually is? Is there a %?

2. I am currently on a daily dose of 400mg Acyclovir, which I take 2 pills a day. My initial and reoccurring outbreaks were not severe and I only had a couple minor blisters on the shaft of my penis. My main concern with the virus is passing it along to a partner, therefore my plan is to continue taking the suppressive dose, to always wear a condom, and of course, to not have sex when I have an outbreak. Could you please provide some insight on how effective my approach should be? If I follow the aforementioned actions, what is the % chance that I will pass the virus on?

3. As an expert on the virus, what is your personal opinion on notifying a partner before sexual intercourse? I believe that the precautions that I am taking should be very effective in preventing any transmission and therefore the chance is so minimal that bringing the topic up is essentially a non issue.  From my research, it appears that HSV2 has more a psychological effect on a person, than a physical. Is this a reasonable assumption?


4. In my research, I read multiple times how condoms do not provide 100% protection against the transmission of the virus, due to a condom only covering the penis. If my blisters only occur on the shaft of my penis, does that mean that the virus only  sheds in that region as well and therefore a condom would be 99.9% effective?

Many thanks for your help!

[soccerguy1234]

Hi Terri,

Thanks for the input! In regards to my first question, I was asking what the chances are of transmission of HSV2 when I receive oral sex; with the assumption that I am taking the suppressive drugs.

Thanks!

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

1.  Do you mean would it be unlikely for someone giving you oral sex to contract HSV 2 orally?  We really don't have numbers on that.  What we do know is that if someone has HSV 2 orally, which is not all that common, they shed virus infrequently, perhaps 1% of days (which means if you swabbed every day for 100 days, you would be giving off virus from the mouth on about one day).  But I don't really think that is what you are asking, is it?

2.  If you take daily antiviral therapy, use a condom AND inform your partner prior to sex, the risk of infecting them would be somewhere around 2% per year, having sex twice a week with no outbreaks.  

3.  I feel that you should absolutely disclose this information to sex partners.  Part of how we know about herpes is hat disclose is an important part of avoiding transmission.  I think it is unethical to do anything else.  In addition, at some point you might develop a serious relationship with someone and this will come out and trust will become a serious issue  There are also legal issues here and that varies from state to state, but if your transmit without disclosure, you could lose big time in a court of law.  Google it.  I think this is a thoughtful question on your part and you really don't know the answer, but I hope I am giving you enough reasons to disclose.

4. You can shed virus when you have no symptoms and are on suppression and are using a condom.  Virus can be shed from parts of the penis that are not always covered during intercourse, though they most certainly help reduce transmission.

Terri