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HSV-1
The girl I’m dating has genital HSV-1. Is it possible to contract the virus while kissing through her saliva.
COMMUNITY LEADER
No, if she only has it genitally, she is only infectious from her genitals. She is not infectious from her mouth.
Do you know if you have hsv1? Well over half the population does (your chances go up as you get older), and 90% will never get a cold sore. Ask your doctor for a type specific IgG blood test to know for sure.
If you've ever had a cold sore, then you have hsv1 already, and your antibodies will protect you from getting it again in a new location. There is another thread on this now which you can read for more info - https://www.medhelp.org/posts/Herpes/Transmission-of-HSV-1-/show/3042650
Genital hsv1 rarely sheds (where the virus is active on the skin but has no symptoms) and doesn't recur often. This makes it very unlikely to ever transmit to someone else, even if you don't have it. If you don't have it, I'd just avoid sexual contact with her genitals if she does have symptoms and not worry about it.
Do you know if you have hsv1? Well over half the population does (your chances go up as you get older), and 90% will never get a cold sore. Ask your doctor for a type specific IgG blood test to know for sure.
If you've ever had a cold sore, then you have hsv1 already, and your antibodies will protect you from getting it again in a new location. There is another thread on this now which you can read for more info - https://www.medhelp.org/posts/Herpes/Transmission-of-HSV-1-/show/3042650
Genital hsv1 rarely sheds (where the virus is active on the skin but has no symptoms) and doesn't recur often. This makes it very unlikely to ever transmit to someone else, even if you don't have it. If you don't have it, I'd just avoid sexual contact with her genitals if she does have symptoms and not worry about it.
2 Comments
I just want to take exception with one thing auntijessi has said, and that is that 'antibodies' can prevent transmission. It is possible for an infected individual to 'reinfect' themselves in a different place on their body with HSV-2. Therefore, since HSV-1 is similar, I'm assuming that it is also possible with HSV-1. This is because HSV hides in regional nerve ganglia. So if you had an active sore on your hands and then touched an open wound on your leg, you can then get outbreaks in the future on both your hand and that spot on your leg. But you can't get herpes transmission through intact skin; the skin has to be damaged in some way to be vulnerable, cut or abraded (which is just many many tiny cuts).
Antibodies will prevent autoinnoculation once you've had it long enough to develop them. I mean, I'd be careful to not touch an hsv2 outbreak and then touch your eyes, but it's not something I'd actively worry about.
If you have herpetic whitlow - herpes on your hands - you should cover those in order to not transmit that to someone else's mucus membranes. You are correct that intact skin will protect you, but chances are really low that you'd reinfect yourself once you have antibodies.
If you have herpetic whitlow - herpes on your hands - you should cover those in order to not transmit that to someone else's mucus membranes. You are correct that intact skin will protect you, but chances are really low that you'd reinfect yourself once you have antibodies.
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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.
