Aa
HSV-1 and HSV-2 questions
(1) If you have HSV-1 genital, can you catch HSV-2 genital if you are having sex with a person who has HSV-2? In other words, can you get both strains of HSV in the same area?
(2) If you can get both strains of HSV in the same area, how common is this?
(3) The chances of catching HSV-2 genital from a person who has HSV-2 oral is extremely rare, right? If you get "genital herpes" from oral sex, it is pretty much always genital herpes HSV-1, right?
(2) If you can get both strains of HSV in the same area, how common is this?
(3) The chances of catching HSV-2 genital from a person who has HSV-2 oral is extremely rare, right? If you get "genital herpes" from oral sex, it is pretty much always genital herpes HSV-1, right?
Greeneyed, there are absolutely NO recorded cases of anyone having BOTH HSV 1 and 2. Though you’ll be hard pressed to find a doc to state you can’t contract both. My wife is HSV 2+ and I am 1+. There was concern when we first started dating of spread of the virus. I had done extensive research for weeks prior to our first intimate encounter and could not find one case in any medical article, journal or otherwise with a single example of a patient with both. We have been together for five years and after each of us having ‘break outs’ respective of our HSV, neither one of us has contracted the other form of HSV.
1 Comments
Actually, there are loads of people who have both hsv1 and 2, according to blood tests. Statistically, most of those people have oral hsv1 and genital hsv2.
What we don't know is how many people have both of those genitally. Without some really intensive PCR swabbing over a long period of time, it would probably be really hard to find out. Since many people with ghsv1 never get an outbreak past their first one, and ghsv1 only sheds 3-5% of days evaluated, compared to 25% of days with ghsv2, it would be hard to find ghsv1 in the presence of ghsv2.
That said, your wife will probably never get hsv1 from you, in any location, since hsv2 offers protection from hsv1. You could still get hsv2 from her, but if all you do is avoid sex during her outbreaks, there's only a 4-5% chance of that happening per year.
It's not about immunity for you, but about transmission rates from women to men, as it's generally harder for a man to get an STD from a woman.
In any case, does it matter for you and your wife? Probably not much. :)
What we don't know is how many people have both of those genitally. Without some really intensive PCR swabbing over a long period of time, it would probably be really hard to find out. Since many people with ghsv1 never get an outbreak past their first one, and ghsv1 only sheds 3-5% of days evaluated, compared to 25% of days with ghsv2, it would be hard to find ghsv1 in the presence of ghsv2.
That said, your wife will probably never get hsv1 from you, in any location, since hsv2 offers protection from hsv1. You could still get hsv2 from her, but if all you do is avoid sex during her outbreaks, there's only a 4-5% chance of that happening per year.
It's not about immunity for you, but about transmission rates from women to men, as it's generally harder for a man to get an STD from a woman.
In any case, does it matter for you and your wife? Probably not much. :)
It takes 2 days to a week to get the big surprise :-/
once you have HSV you have it for life
once you have HSV you have it for life
Grace, I just wanted to follow up on one of my earlier questions (#3).
Can you confirm that it is EXTREMELY unlikely that a person would get HSV-2 genital from oral sex with a person with oral HSV (type is unknown)?
Facts that back this up:
* HSV-2 is 98% genital, so it's unlikely a person with oral HSV would have oral HSV-2 in the first place
* HSV-2 oral is only contagious 1% of the days in a year, so it's unlikely that even if a person had HSV-2 oral, they would actually be contagious at the time
THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!!!
Can you confirm that it is EXTREMELY unlikely that a person would get HSV-2 genital from oral sex with a person with oral HSV (type is unknown)?
Facts that back this up:
* HSV-2 is 98% genital, so it's unlikely a person with oral HSV would have oral HSV-2 in the first place
* HSV-2 oral is only contagious 1% of the days in a year, so it's unlikely that even if a person had HSV-2 oral, they would actually be contagious at the time
THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!!!
as far as we know it doesn't offer any significant protection against hsv2.
you have to pay by credit card for the online places. it just never gets back to your medical record.
you have to pay by credit card for the online places. it just never gets back to your medical record.
Thank you Grace, so just to confirm, having HSV-1 genital provides no protection against catching HSV-2 genital if you are having sex with someone with HSV-2?
Do these online testing places link it back to your name, address, credit card, etc.?
Do these online testing places link it back to your name, address, credit card, etc.?
the risks of hsv2 transmission are the same whether the other partner has hsv1 genitally or not. transmission rates vary by gender and are listed in the herpes handbook for more reading.
yes there is online std testing you can order up on your own that never goes into your regular medical record. www.tstd.org and www.healthcheckusa.com are 2 that are reputable but there are many others out there. they vary in price so shop around. also some planned parenthoods offer herpes igg blood testing. you can pay with cash and it never gets linked back to your regular medical record either.
yes there is online std testing you can order up on your own that never goes into your regular medical record. www.tstd.org and www.healthcheckusa.com are 2 that are reputable but there are many others out there. they vary in price so shop around. also some planned parenthoods offer herpes igg blood testing. you can pay with cash and it never gets linked back to your regular medical record either.
Thank you so much Grace for the reply. For #2, if a person has HSV-1 genital and has a long term relationship with a person with HSV-2 genital, what are the risks of transferring the different types to each other? Assuming neither of us are on valtrex but we do use condoms? Would Valtrex help a lot? Can you give some estimates of how likely (percentages if possible) each of us transferring the virus would be?
Also, is there a such thing as anonymous STD testing, where a person can get the HSV 1 and 2 blood test without the results ever being tied back to them through medical records (yes I know medical records are anonymous, but I need to know if there is an added level of security available)?
Also, is there a such thing as anonymous STD testing, where a person can get the HSV 1 and 2 blood test without the results ever being tied back to them through medical records (yes I know medical records are anonymous, but I need to know if there is an added level of security available)?
1 - yes
2- it's not very common but it does happen
3 - correct - typically it's hsv1 from oral sex because not many folks have hsv2 orally and those who do, typically aren't shedding more than a few days out of the year.
grace
2- it's not very common but it does happen
3 - correct - typically it's hsv1 from oral sex because not many folks have hsv2 orally and those who do, typically aren't shedding more than a few days out of the year.
grace
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Herpes Community
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.
