Keeping partners safe

[rebeccac5]

I have type 1 genital herpes and am on daily Acyclovir. I have recently re-enterd the dating world and want to keep potential new partners safe. How long should I wait after an outbreak clears before engaging in sexual contact? Is it normal that I get up to 3 outbreaks a year even when on daily treatment? What is the risk of infection when engaging in non-intercourse activities such as oral sex or "hand jobs"? I will obviously always use condoms when having sex, but I really want to be as responsible as possible. Advice?

[gracefromHHP]

how were you originally diagnosed as having hsv1 genitally?  What testing was done?  How long ago were you diagnosed?

Could you have 3 ob's a year even while on suppressive therapy?  Odds are that you won't so it's well worth further work up at this point when you have active symptoms.  

Acyclovir is not effective when only taken daily ( unless you meant you were taking it twice a day but every single day ).  

Also always get your partners tested for hsv to see what their status is. Hsv1 doesn't significantly protect you from hsv2.

grace

[petal130]

It's actually not common to get that many HSV1 genital herpes outbreaks, especially in taking a suppressive drug. You could possibly have something else going on - don't attribute everything down yonder to a herpes outbreak. I know even a yeast infection can mimic herpes.

I have the same - genital HSV1, and only take Valtrex for outbreaks. The virus sheds very little and again, most folks only have 1 or 2 the first year, and then maybe one every other year after that.

GH is an STD. It requires genital to genital contact, or oral to genital contact, plus heat/friction. Given the fact that you have genital herpes, you may want to read up a bit.

Here is a link for the Herpes Handbook:

http://www.westoverheights.com/genital_herpes/handbook/view_the_chapters.html