herpes and kissing

[oc1]

Dear Doctor,

Two weeks ago, I kissed a stranger. I am very paranoid about herpes, and I have never caught it. A week later, I thought I felt something on my lip, and basically I rubbed a layer of skin off with a very hot face cloth. I never saw a fever blister, but the exposed sublayer immediately secreted a clear fluid. The wound healed in about three days, but it still feels sensitive. It was never exteremly painful or itching. It felt like a mild burn.

The day after the wound, I walked around outside in the cold rain and acquired a mild cold/cough. That really made me even more scared that i had herpes. When the wound was fresh, I visited the doctor and he did a herpes culture test. I heard that those give many false negatives.

Please give your opinion. I just started dating my ex again. I told him about this. He thinks I'm quite paranoid and doesn't seem to care. How can I protect him?

[northshore07]

I think you boyfriend's comment about being paranoid is accurate, but you have every right to seek advice and research all you can about herpes.  HSV1 is very common and about 1/2 the population has it.  Many people acquired it as a child, sharing toys or drinking glasses.  A lot of people do transfer the virus from kissing.  You could spend a lot of time researching and worrying about whether or not you have any type of herpes.  Why don't you get a blood test to confirm whether or not you have it as I suspect that is going to be the only way that your anxiety will be reduced.  And, even if you did have HSV1, please understand that it is not the end of the world, life goes on and since your boyfriend doesn't care, even better for you.  Best wishes.  

[northshore07]

p.s.  I forgot to mention that this is not the doctor side of the forum--it's patient to patient.  If you want Dr. HHH's opinion, it's on the doctor to patient forum and there's a small fee.  Rita