having hsv1 orally gives you significant protection against contracting it on other body parts. It's not 100% but it's up there.
Thank you Grace for your reply....when a couple is tested and they both carry HSV 1, and have cold sores does this lower the risk even more? ,Do you believe all couples should be tested on their status, perhaps, if they carry the virus and may not know?.Thank you again for your help and expertise on the subject.
Grace, one more item that has confused me, I have read that people can get herpes on any part of their bodies, hypothetically, if someone has herpes orally can they aquire later a new infection of the same virus type (type 1) on another part of the body. Meaning how would this have to happen; providing the person had a healthy immune system? I have heard of people having type 1 on their shoulder, or even their ankle, no where near their "oral" region or "boxer shorts" area. Does the virus travel throughout the nervous system, or by blood. I have never understood this about the virus. Thank you Grace I hope I did not "overloaded" you on too many questions. I know you provide a great service to the health community about herpes.
of course every one should have herpes testing done routinely!! I know the std experts here on medhelp take the party line and say otherwise but really, we recommend routine hiv testing and in the US 1 out of every 100 folks have hiv and don't recommend testing for something every 1 out of 2-3 of us has? makes no sense at all! Herpes typically is brushed off as a nuisance as well as the scarcity of confirmatory testing makes it difficult to confirm status accurately so it's typically still not recommended unless you have a partner with a known herpes infection or are pregnant.
the virus will travel down a nerve ganglia - it will not travel all over the body though routinely. unfortunately many folks don't get the right testing done and only get visual diagnosis which isn't always accurate.
I know you have questions about your own situation that I previously did not answer. I don't think there was anything I could really add at this point that dr hook I believe it was didn't already cover.
Grace, what would you tell a prospective mate...is really what I need to know? This goes beyond all the medical information. Would you please help me? Thank you so much.
hsv1 orally sheds far more than hsv1 does on any other body part. know their status for both hsv1 and hsv2 and discuss what precautions to be taking for sex and oral sex.