Mutual Masterbation(masturbation) and Herpes

I am a 20 yr old male college student who took part in an encounter about 7 days ago. I was with another girl from school (she was naked, I was clothed).. after I fingered her for roughly ten minutes I then began to masturbate myself. Our genitals never touched, but I used the same hand on myself that I had used on her. Now I'm worried that I possibly could have transmitted HSV-2 from her to myself. I've been reading other posts that state that's unlikely, but I also know that you can get HSV-1 just from sharing a glass, so how is it that HSV-2 can't be passed from the hand to the genitals? I have no reason to believe that she has HSV-2, other than that I know she has had a lot of partners. Should I be worried?

[Edward W Hook, MD]

You have no reason to worry. Before I address your concern, please let me try to address a piece of misinformation you seem to have.  A person cannot get HSV-1 (cold sores) from sharing a glass with a person who has a cold sore.  This is an urban myth.

As for the chance that you may have gotten HSV-2 from masturbating your partner and then masturbating yourself with the same hand, they are close to zero.  Despite the theoretical concern, this simply does not happen.  The herpes virus is sensitive to drying and the environment and dies quickly following removal from the body.  

You have no reason to worry and do not need testing.  With respect to the theoretical concern that you could be the "1 in a million" if you do not develop lesions suggestive of herpes (small uncomfortable blisters) within 10 days of exposure you can be confident that you did not get herpes from the activities you describe.  I am confident that this is the case right now.

Hope this helps.  EWH