Autoinoculation

[Cignale]

Hi,

Firstly I have to say I'm  a bit paranoid, so excuse for 1) the ugly English (  I'm Italian) and 2) for the probably stupid question.

I'm 43 and I've oral herpes from childness ; for my personal history I THINK is HSV1. Now, having in these days an active outbreak, an open sore with  and moist surface on a lip,  a day ago, after an intercourse  , with the same piece of toilet paper first to use it for clean the penis from the
semen near the penis orifice,  I  accidentally used it,  just an istant before,  to scrub my lips, due to the itching for the cold sore.
Now I'm terrified by the idea to have infected my penis rubbing the (infected by rubbing on lips) toilet paper on it in a zone, the orifice, very delicate and so prone to infection. I've read that the autoinoculation is very rare,  that the trasmission by inanimate objects is difficult, and that the HSV
virus is very fragile, but the terror remains. My partner has the oral herpes too, and so I have to suppose that , anyway, even if I have an herpes infection on penis is very difficult that I can infect my partner genitally with the same virus again. But I'm terrified by the idea that I can harm her.  Please help me.

Thanking You in advance.

PS: once again , sorry for the not clear language.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Your English is fine!  Autoinocuation (self infection from one body part to another) sometimes happens during initial HSV infection, but is extremely rare in chronic or recurrent herpes, if it happens at all.  It isn't that the virus is fragile; it is because the immune system prevents new infections with the same virus strain. For the same reason, neither you nor your partner can acquire a new HSV-1 infection from each other.

Bottom lines:  Do not worry about auto-inoculation; and do not worry about either you or your partner re-infecting the other person.

Good luck--  HHH, MD

[Cignale]

THANKS SO MUCH !!!
And "Felice Anno nuovo" !!!!