tranmission hsv-1

[roxychic01]

I am a female who was recently diagnosed with genital hsv-1. I have only had 2 outbreaks over the course of 9 months, which I understand is normal for this type of hsv. The outbreaks are also pretty mild. My outbreaks occur in the anal region. My question is, if my outbreaks occur in that region is it possible for someone to contract it from my vaginal region, even though i have never had an outbreak there. Meaning, can you only get them from coming in contact with the area of exact infection? if i have someone perform oral sex on me, is that putting that at risk? or am i only putting them at risk when coming in contact with the exact area of my outbreak? thanks for your help

[gracefromHHP]

yes you are correct. definitely your partner needs tested though. You want to know his hsv1 status as well as his hsv2 status since you can still contract hsv2.

We don't recommend suppressive therapy typically for hsv1 genitally. on average it's only shedding about 2 weeks out of the year so taking medication daily for it isn't getting a lot of bang for your buck as we say. we also don't have studies on suppressive therapy and hsv1 genitally so we don't know if it reduces shedding significantly enough or if it reduces transmission to a partner.  Ifyou need the peace of mind in a new relationship it won't hurt but it's a lot of money and effort for unsure results.

grace

[roxychic01]

the advice was very helpful. i was wondering if i could ask one more question. i have read so much about genital hsv-1 and from what i have found it sheds a lot less than hsv-2. i am seeing someone now and he has yet to get tested. if in fact he is negative for hsv-1, the risk of transmitting it to him is still pretty low due to the small amount of time the virus sheds, correct? also, i am not on suppressive therapy, do you think its is a good idea to be on it just to lower the risk of transmission even more? im new at this so any and all advice would be greatly appreciated :)

[petal130]

Even though your OB is in the anal region, it's still considered genital herpes and you would be considered contagious (when shedding or during an OB) anywhere within the "boxer short" area. So in the case of someone performing oral sex on you, or having vaginal intercourse with you, yes you could transmit it...

I have genital HSV1 as well, and only 2 OBs in 18 months. The good news, as you know, is it doesn't shed as often and tends to cause very few OBs. As well, if your partner already has HSV1 orally (as the majority of adults do), it gives significant protection against getting it genitally.