Transmission of Herpes

[karlkanib]

Hello, i just have something to ask that is bothering me. I had an outbreak for a cold sore on my mouth about a week ago, and since then ive been applying abreva and another lip medication to stop the cold sore. this was one of my worst cold sores ever, but it eventually started to go away, just leaving scabs that are slowly healing (because the blisters got big, i accidently kept ripping them in my sleep). From my understanding, is it true that once the cold sore begins to heal, that the virus has left your body? Im asking this because today, i have been applying the cream (which is in a baum that i have to dip my finger in) to my mouth, and later in the day, i stimulated my girlfriend's genital area with the same hand without washing it from earlier. the last time i touched the sore (which is not open or weeping in any way, just scabbing) was HOURS earlier. However, i am just wondering if it is possible that my hands kept the virus alive if it was at all there to begin with? If so, what are the possibilities that she is could contract genital herpes? Thank you in advance for any information

[gracefromHHP]

no it won't survive on fingers for hours.

[karlkanib]

thank you for your answer, but i am just worried and cannot find much info as to whether the virus can survive on my fingers for many hours.

[gracefromHHP]

abreva barely got approval to say it heals cold sores faster. It only heals them less than a day sooner than using a placebo.  Talk to your provider about having herpes antivirals on hand to treat cold sores at the very first sign of a tingle of getting one . Valtrex and famvir are 1 day treatments and acyclovir is 2 days.  Easier and more effective and potentially even cheaper ( acyclovir is $4 at walmart for  30 200mg pills  with a prescription ).

has your partner been tested to know her own status?  

until the skin has returned to normal, there is still a chance of the virus being active.

grace