Wondering if I have genital herpes?

I started dating someone that told me up front that they have genital herpes, I have tested negative for it previously in the past by getting tested for everything at the gyno once a year to be sure. I like this person and it doesn't change my view on him, I was under the assumption that you can't catch it from kissing him, which I'm still assuming is true, but what about if he fingers me or goes down on me, can I catch it from that? He told me that he doesn't have Herpes 1, only 2, and he's already went down on me, twice because I, stupidly, assumed you couldn't get it from his mouth if it was Herpes 2 that he has and he has no cold sores that I've ever seen in the 2 months we've been hanging out constantly.

I'm just wondering if I likely have it now and if I should just go get tested to be sure, I go to the OBGYN once a year, if not more, because of silly things like yeast infections, etc. So, going to get tested isn't a big deal if its going to put me at peace of mind to see if I have it or not.

He's only went down on me two times, fingered me two times. I just need to know if I have it or not, if I should just go get the blood work done, etc.

[concerned1809]

Bump, just wanting a few opinions.

[concerned1809]

Bump, just looking for some advice here.

[gracefromHHP]

No, you won't contract his genital herpes from kissing him. Same as his genital herpes won't be transmitted if he performs oral sex on you.

My advice is - call your gyn and see if indeed you are being tested for herpes as part of your routine std screening. It' snot a part of routine std testing at most clinics so it's a good idea to confirm if indeed you are getting type specific herpes igg blood testing done yearly like you think you are. If you were tested at least 3 or 4 months from the last partner you had, no reason to repeat any testing at this time. If you weren't tested since your last partner then get a full std screening to cover the bases. Also request your new partner to get one too so that there aren't too many surprises later on.

Ask your partner how they were diagnosed as having genital herpes. Ask what testing was done to determine if it's hsv1 or hsv2 genitally. Ask him how he treats his herpes too.  If he has hsv2 and you don't, he takes daily suppressive therapy with valtrex and you always use a condom and avoid sex anytime he has any genital symptoms, your risk is 2-3%/year of contracting hsv2 from him. Low odds in general without a whole heck of a lot of work :)

Keep asking questions as you have them also check out the herpes handbook at www.westoverheights.com for free and up to date info on herpes too.

grace

[concerned1809]

Okay, thank you. I know that when I was tested for herpes, it was a blood test, I'm not sure about the type specific igg test, I just know that it was a blood test and I got the call that said, "everything came back negative." My gyno is amazing, sees every woman in my family, gave birth to me, been going to him ever since I was 15, so I feel like he wouldn't decieve me if something else was going on down there.

But thank you for easing my mind that I can't get it from him giving me oral, that was a bit worrisome, as we had already done it twice.