HSV question

[jake87]

Dr's-

I recently had a full STD check, 4 months after being out of my last relationship and since having sex.  Everything test including HSV1 and HSV2 were negative.

Since my results came back (Aug 4th) I have been getting physical therapy for a shoulder injury (deep tissue massage with my shirt off) and also I rented a wesuit for a race in a triathlon.  Normally this wouldn't cause me concern, but I had a red lesion surrounded by a circle of blue bruise (kind of looked like a bullseye) under my arm and a red area around my neck since renting the wetsuit and undergoing physical therapy.

Questions:
1. Can you get HSV1 or HSV2 from using a rented wetsuit?
2. Can you get HSV 1 or HSV2 from getting physical therapy either from the touch of the therapist or the therapy table/bench? Could I get infected from previous patients leaving the virus on the table or from the therapists hands?

Feel free to let me know if this is a silly question....but there seems to be some disagreement over the issue of being able to catch HSV from objects and how long the virus lives outside the body on objects.  

thanks

[jake87]

So nothing to worry about concerning a rented wetsuit or massage therapy table or therapist hands?

Thanks, much help

[Edward W Hook, MD]

I don't know if this is a silly question or not but judging by the fact that you have posted repeatedly about HSV over the past year, it certainly appears that you do worry about HSV a great deal.  Going directly to your questions, I hope my comments will be helpful.  

1.  No.  HSV does not live well outside the body and I would think there is no risk for HSV from a rented wet suit. In addition to the logic behind this answer based on what I  know about the virus and it's transmission, I would point out that the location is most unusual for HSV but might be a place where you could experience chaffing in the course of a triathalon.
2.  No herpes is not passed by inanimate objects of the sort you mention, nor is it transferred by one persons hands to other people.

the issue of how long the virus lives outside the body depend on lots if things including temperature (doesn't live well when heated, drying (dies quickly) and the fact that when outside of the body there is not much virus present, something that also hinders transmission (more virus, more likely to be transmitted). the few believable cases of HSV transmission I have heard of are the "exceptions that prove the rule".  I urge you not to worry about getting HSV from inanimate objects.  

Hope these comments help.  EWH