Could I Spread Herpes from my Mouth to Genitals

[billywagner]

I have oral herpes and 3 days ago had my 2nd outbreak in 20 years (the first was many years ago when I was a teenager).  I received my 2nd pfizer shot (covid vaccine) and had some side effects, one of which was a cold sore on my lip 2 days later.

I was completely unaware it was a cold sore.  I literally tried to pop it like a pimple for a good 15 minutes.  As I have had only one initial outbreak 20 years ago, I was not even remotely considering it was a cold sore.  I thought it was acne related to wearing a mask.

I literally tried to pop the cold sore, then immediately touched my penis to urinate without washing my hands (typically I wash my hands AFTER using the bathroom and not the other way around lol).

My mind is playing tricks with me now 48 hours later and I am hyper focused on every sensation in my groin area.  

I got some valtrex immediately and have been taking it since Sunday evening.  Would this decrease the likelihood of an initial genital outbreak if it is indeed possible I spread it to my genitals?

[auntiejessi]

As far as infecting yourself somewhere else, no. You have antibodies that prevent this from happening.

Your girlfriend might be at risk. It depends on if she has the virus or not - at least half the adult population in the US has it, and most don't know it. 2/3 of the adult population globally does. If she has it already, even orally, she can't get it again.

If she doesn't have it, it's possible you were shedding the night before, and that increases her chances of getting it, but remember that you've had it the whole time you were together, and shedding, too, and she hasn't gotten it.

She can go to her doctor and ask for a type specific IgG blood test to find out, but the test misses 30% of hsv1 infections, so it wouldn't be definitive.

Try not to freak out. There's no way of quantifying the risk to her, but chances are good that she already has it, and you didn't have the full on outbreak yet.

[billywagner]

We have only been together 7 months so asymptomatic shedding may not have occurred. However, I put a lot of faith in her having it already.  We both had extensive sexual histories prior to meeting so her likelihood of having the virus before meeting me is higher than average. Thanks for your response.

[auntiejessi]

It probably has. Shedding rates on average:

HSV 2 genital 15-30% (55-110) of days evaluated

HSV 1 genital 3-5% (10-18) of days evaluated
  
HSV 1 oral 25% (91) of days evaluated

HSV 2 oral 1% (~4) of days evaluated

Many people get oral hsv1 as kids, either from adult relatives who kiss us or at day care or something when we put everything in our mouths and things aren't sanitized. It's hard to say if your gf does or not - "extensive" is subjective. For some, it's more than 10, for others, it's more than 50. It really only takes one.

Either way, it's not something I'd overly worry about. If she gets ghsv1 from this, she probably won't get many recurrences, and it's very unlikely to ever transmit to anyone so long as she avoids sex during outbreaks. Assuming you all stay together, if she gets it, you can't keep reinfecting each other, so it won't impact much of anything.

[billywagner]

Thanks so much for your detailed response.

[billywagner]

Also, Friday night (the night before an outbreak) I performed oral sex on my girlfriend.  How substantial is the risk for her to contract genital herpes?  She is unaware if she has the virus.