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GF is for oral HSV, I'm - for all types/shedding?
Around Sept. of last year I started to date this girl. We had a lot of oral sex until she started to have outbreaks of cold sores on her lips. This went on and off for a few months since she was under a lot of stress from school and running on little to no sleep. One of those days she preformed oral sex on me and a few hours later she had an outbreak on her lips. This led us both do do more research on the virus but also confused...
I learned that I could've caught HSV1 on my genitals through oral sex even when she isn't having an outbreak due to viral shedding. Over a month later we both go to our college clinic to get tested, this is were we found out her cold sores were due to type 1 and I was negative for both HSV1 and HSV2. The reason for the test was I had a red pimple (which it turned out to be) like sore on the shaft of my penis, the doctor said it did not look like herpes but ran the tests for me anyways for peace of mind.
Since I have no anti-bodies to defend against a possible HSV1 infection we've stooped having oral sex. This has become frustrating for the both of us as we both enjoy oral sex and are in a monogamous relationship.
First, am I over reacting? I'd love to have oral sex with her again without a condom, we would never have oral sex if she had an outbreak but viral shedding seems to make that impossible and still very unsafe.
How likely am I to catch HSV1 from her? She has had cold sores ever since she was a young child. AND If I catch her HSV1 somehow is there anyway I could pass it onto her genitals, could she pass it on to herself by licking her fingers and masturbating herself?
Also, how could I have not caught anything the time she had a cold sore appear a mere few hours after preforming oral sex on me? It seems to me the virus was surely active at that point, did I just get lucky that time? This whole issue of shedding and transmission has hindered our sex life.
Thanks Dr. I apoglize if any of this was hard to read and follow.
I learned that I could've caught HSV1 on my genitals through oral sex even when she isn't having an outbreak due to viral shedding. Over a month later we both go to our college clinic to get tested, this is were we found out her cold sores were due to type 1 and I was negative for both HSV1 and HSV2. The reason for the test was I had a red pimple (which it turned out to be) like sore on the shaft of my penis, the doctor said it did not look like herpes but ran the tests for me anyways for peace of mind.
Since I have no anti-bodies to defend against a possible HSV1 infection we've stooped having oral sex. This has become frustrating for the both of us as we both enjoy oral sex and are in a monogamous relationship.
First, am I over reacting? I'd love to have oral sex with her again without a condom, we would never have oral sex if she had an outbreak but viral shedding seems to make that impossible and still very unsafe.
How likely am I to catch HSV1 from her? She has had cold sores ever since she was a young child. AND If I catch her HSV1 somehow is there anyway I could pass it onto her genitals, could she pass it on to herself by licking her fingers and masturbating herself?
Also, how could I have not caught anything the time she had a cold sore appear a mere few hours after preforming oral sex on me? It seems to me the virus was surely active at that point, did I just get lucky that time? This whole issue of shedding and transmission has hindered our sex life.
Thanks Dr. I apoglize if any of this was hard to read and follow.
Some questions about Herpes...
I found out I have Herpes 4 days ago, I am quite devastated...
I met a wonderful man and he does not know he had this and he was actually really surprised to find out that he has transmitted this to me, he like myself did not know HSV2 exists. I got HSV2 even though he was protected.
1) Does this mean we cannot have sex again?
2) Will I always have outbreaks when I have sex with him?r a
3) What can I do to feel better apart from the medication the doctor gave me?
4) Do I have to tell my partner every time that I have HSV2?
Thanks for your answers...
I found out I have Herpes 4 days ago, I am quite devastated...
I met a wonderful man and he does not know he had this and he was actually really surprised to find out that he has transmitted this to me, he like myself did not know HSV2 exists. I got HSV2 even though he was protected.
1) Does this mean we cannot have sex again?
2) Will I always have outbreaks when I have sex with him?r a
3) What can I do to feel better apart from the medication the doctor gave me?
4) Do I have to tell my partner every time that I have HSV2?
Thanks for your answers...
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Because most people with genital herpes have few or no recurrences (especially after a year or so) and little or no asymptomatic shedding, there risk for sexual (i.e., genital to genital) transmission is low. The risk may be sufficiently low that such persons do not even have an ethical duty to warn future partners. This is a matter of some debate (see other threads on "genital HSV-1" for discussions of it); but it is very different than having typical genital herpes due to HSV-2.
I tend not to personalize my replies, but I'll just say I have been in relationships (when I was single) that risked such exposure to HSV-1. Knowing what I know, I simply didn't worry about it.
HHH, MD
I tend not to personalize my replies, but I'll just say I have been in relationships (when I was single) that risked such exposure to HSV-1. Knowing what I know, I simply didn't worry about it.
HHH, MD
Look I have had HSV2 for 10 plus years and if I am not on Valtrex I get an OB almost every month. I have had 2 long term girlfriends and have had unprotected sex 100's of times with them and never gave it to either of them. If you are really worried it have her go on Valtrex, it's expencive as hell but it will cut down on the risk big time. Personaly I think getting a BJ with a condom is worthless and if its a girl you care about it's worth the risk. Good luck and remember there are worse things in life then HSV...
Great questions. Let me first explain to you that I too was negative for both HSV1 and HSVII prior to being infected with gential HSV1.
My boyfriend had a history of cold sores from childhood and would have an outbreak about twice a year. I acquired HSV1 from oral sex; he was not having a symptomatic outbreak at the time; he was shedding the virus asymptomatically however. After the incident of oral sex I had flu symptoms and a true primary outbreak 5-7 days later. I went to the hospital and had a type specific culture done and it came back HSV-1. I also had a HerpesSelect done a year later confirming HSV-1, negative for HSV-2.
I wanted to write this to say that although it is highly unlikely that your girlfriend would transmit to you when she is not having a symptomatic outbreak, it is possible.
That being said, if I knew going into the relationship what I know now (learning from this great forum about the virus!!) I would probably not have gential HSV-1; I would have been educated and therefore would have had a greater sense of awareness.
My advise is be on the lookout for signs of an outbreak (and avoid oral during these times)and to be extra conservative, your girlfriend may want to consider anti-viral therapy, especially if she is having frequent outbreaks and you have frequent oral sex. If you do one of these or both, you should be OK!! Just my thoughts not a sermon!!!
My boyfriend had a history of cold sores from childhood and would have an outbreak about twice a year. I acquired HSV1 from oral sex; he was not having a symptomatic outbreak at the time; he was shedding the virus asymptomatically however. After the incident of oral sex I had flu symptoms and a true primary outbreak 5-7 days later. I went to the hospital and had a type specific culture done and it came back HSV-1. I also had a HerpesSelect done a year later confirming HSV-1, negative for HSV-2.
I wanted to write this to say that although it is highly unlikely that your girlfriend would transmit to you when she is not having a symptomatic outbreak, it is possible.
That being said, if I knew going into the relationship what I know now (learning from this great forum about the virus!!) I would probably not have gential HSV-1; I would have been educated and therefore would have had a greater sense of awareness.
My advise is be on the lookout for signs of an outbreak (and avoid oral during these times)and to be extra conservative, your girlfriend may want to consider anti-viral therapy, especially if she is having frequent outbreaks and you have frequent oral sex. If you do one of these or both, you should be OK!! Just my thoughts not a sermon!!!
Thanks to the Doc and everyone else.
I guess this is one of those things were I have to weigh the risks. I wouldn't care if I got HSV1 on my genitals if I knew I was going to spend my whole life with her. Knowing that she couldn't re catch it and thus affect us having children is a relief. But its really a mater of if this relationship doesn't work out (which I hope never happens) and I fall into that small percent of people who catch the virus from shedding what does that mean for me and future partners.
I'll ask her to look into anti-viral therapy. She only gets outbreaks once a year. I know that its expensive, I wonder if I could get a prescription as a preventive measure and if she could get it for her oral outbreaks.... We'd have to look into our issuance plans to figure out if we could afford it.
Thanks Again. :)
I guess this is one of those things were I have to weigh the risks. I wouldn't care if I got HSV1 on my genitals if I knew I was going to spend my whole life with her. Knowing that she couldn't re catch it and thus affect us having children is a relief. But its really a mater of if this relationship doesn't work out (which I hope never happens) and I fall into that small percent of people who catch the virus from shedding what does that mean for me and future partners.
I'll ask her to look into anti-viral therapy. She only gets outbreaks once a year. I know that its expensive, I wonder if I could get a prescription as a preventive measure and if she could get it for her oral outbreaks.... We'd have to look into our issuance plans to figure out if we could afford it.
Thanks Again. :)
Sorry to post a reply so soon but to help avoid confusion my title has a typo in it, it should've read...
GF is postive for oral HSV, I'm - for all types/Q's about shedding?
GF is postive for oral HSV, I'm - for all types/Q's about shedding?
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Your blood test results show you are susceptible to both HSV-1 and HSV-2, and there is some risk you could acquire genital herpes due to HSV-1. The research on asymptomatic oral shedding of HSV-1 is not very extensive, but the available data suggest it is relatively uncommon, probably quite a bit less than HSV-2 in people with genital herpes.
So if you and your partner are careful about avoiding sex when she has a cold sore, you probably will never get it, even if you have oral sex frequently over the years. However, there are no guarantees and it is possible. The risk could be further lowered if she were to take suppressive therapy with an anti-herpes drug like acyclovir, valacyclovir, or famciclovir. This has only been studied for genital herpes, not oral, but probably would reduce the risk.
But nobody should ever let herpes have such a big effect on rewarding sex. Take reasonable precautions but don't let this run your sex life. If you get infected with symptoms, you can be treated; and most people with genital HSV-1 do not have frequent outbreaks or asymptomatic shedding. That is, it really wouldn't be a big deal.
Your partner cannot catch HSV-1 of the genitals, from you, herself, or anyone else. Once someone has either HSV-1 or HSV-2 of any part of the body, s/he is pretty much immune to catching it again.
I hope this helps. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
So if you and your partner are careful about avoiding sex when she has a cold sore, you probably will never get it, even if you have oral sex frequently over the years. However, there are no guarantees and it is possible. The risk could be further lowered if she were to take suppressive therapy with an anti-herpes drug like acyclovir, valacyclovir, or famciclovir. This has only been studied for genital herpes, not oral, but probably would reduce the risk.
But nobody should ever let herpes have such a big effect on rewarding sex. Take reasonable precautions but don't let this run your sex life. If you get infected with symptoms, you can be treated; and most people with genital HSV-1 do not have frequent outbreaks or asymptomatic shedding. That is, it really wouldn't be a big deal.
Your partner cannot catch HSV-1 of the genitals, from you, herself, or anyone else. Once someone has either HSV-1 or HSV-2 of any part of the body, s/he is pretty much immune to catching it again.
I hope this helps. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
You are reading content posted in the STDs Forum
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
