Can anyone give me the low-down on what to expect with genital HSV-1?

[SkaterDave]

Greetings.  I had a first date with a woman today.  She told that six years ago she had a drunken encounter with someone who had an active cold sore going on. She received oral and within a week or two she developed discomfort and went to the doctor having her first outbreak.  She said that in the six years since, she has never had another outbreak and that her partners have never gotten infected from her and much of htat has been unprotected.  

My question is:

Is there common medical knowledge on HSV-1 on vaginal skin that I can be given a low down on?  How does a genital HSV-1 infection differ from and HSV-2 infection.  I'm kind of stoked on this woman, but I have anxiety issues and this is the perfect storm for me to freak out without any scientific knowledge.  Any help would be gratefully accepted.

Thanks!

[gracefromHHP]

yes this is your anxiety at this point.

definitely if it's been 4 years, get retested for herpes with a type specific herpes igg blood test to see what your current status is.

are you likely to contract hsv1 from this partner? no you are not. It only is active about a dozen days out of the year on average and the odds of you having any intimate contact with her on one of those days is very low in general.

make sure you've both covered all other std testing before having further unprotected sexual contact together as well as discuss if you've both had your gardasil shot series or not too.

keep asking questions!

grace

[SkaterDave]

I guess two specific questions are:

In the heat of the moment tonight, I did give her very brief oral.  Because of my anxiety, I knew instantly what a bad idea that was.  If she indeed hasn't had an outbreak in six years, what are the chances of me getting infected tonight? My lips tingle now and feel "weird", but I'm assuming that is just my anxiety playing tricks on me (i'm diagnosed General Anxiety Disorder).  Am I right to assume that it's anxiety that I'm feeling my lips, or is it technically possible that I'm feeling the initial skin reaction from an infection?  

Also, is there a typical life span or behavior of HSV-1 when it's on the genitals?  Ultimately I just want to learn all I can so that I'm armed with the best knowledge possible to make an informed decision assuming I haven't messed up already. Thanks for the prompt response.

[SkaterDave]

Yes, I am pretty sure i had a blood test done four years ago and what I vaguely remember about it is that there were no herpes antibodies, or markers, found.

[gracefromHHP]

have you ever been tested for herpes to know your own status?

grace