oral sex and herpes

[whoops84]

last week i performed oral sex on my girlfriend and then we had protected penetrative sex.  the oral sex lasted a little more than 5 mins and she came.  it was the first time we had sex.  about 24 hours later i developed a fever blister on my lower lip.  ive had hsv1 since i was a kid and would only get an outbreak when i had a really high fever or allow my lips to get sunburnt. i ve probably had about 5 outbreaks in the past 10 years.  

i dated a girl before this current girlfriend and we would have oral sex about 3 times a week, receiving and giving.  for the three years that i was with her, i never had an hsv1 outbreak after performing oral sex.

also, im very careful about causing hsv1 outbreaks, meaning i keep my lips moisturized, with a chap stick with spf, maintain clean hygiene and avoid and type of daily activities that may cause an outbreak.

so is it possible that my new girlfriend has hsv and this caused my outbreak, or could it be something other factor that caused the outbreak, like irritation from performing oral sex?  

[gracefromHHP]

odds are that the "trauma" of the oral sex is what triggered your oral herpes. It could've of course been coincidence too but we'll never know. If your body was already ready to have a cold sore recurrence, you would've been shedding the virus when you performed oral sex on your partner. If it was the oral sex itself that triggered the recurrence then you weren't likely to have been actively shedding virus at the time you performed oral.

so what do you do now?  Well has your gf been tested to know her own status? If not, she should pursue a type specific herpes igg blood test to see what her status is. you two can't make educated decisions about what precautions to take together for oral sex until you know who has what. If she already has hsv1 herself, it's not likely that she'll contract hsv1 genitally from you performing oral sex on her. Of course always err on the side of caution and don't perform oral with an active cold sore even if your partner is hsv1 +.   should your gf develop any genital symptoms in the next 2-20 days, she should be seen for a lesion culture and typing and treatment.  

it doesn't really matter that in the past, performing oral didn't trigger a cold sore for you. Every single time is different. Same as you could perform oral 5000 times on a partner and not transmit hsv1 to them and then on the 5001st time, conditions could be perfect for transmitting it. You have to be educated on the risks as well as a partners status and together decide what precautions to take.

grace

[whoops84]

So you are saying that if she has an hsv-2 outbreak or is shedding that her infection didnt cause me to have an outbreak?  she may have given me hsv2 orally, and it may not be a recurrent hsv1 outbreak that i am having.  

it just seemed odd that the countless times ive performed oral sex ive never had an outbreak afterwards, but the first time with her i had one.  i understand friction can be a cause, but its not like i was licking sandpaper.  i mean if i kiss someone that has an hsv1 outrbreak on their lips, that will most likely cause my hsv1 to recur.  whats the difference with oral sex?  what other factors/irritants could have lead to this?

[Mistakeguy789]

I am always interested in why people think that because someone else may have herpes that it will cause them to have an outbreak.

The answer to your question is no.  You can get an outbreak because of the friction.  At this point have your girlfriend be on the look out for symptoms if she has symptoms be seen within 24-48hrs.