Herpes Advice please

[jimbo756]

Doctors

Thank you for your time in providing such great help – I use this site to educate myself and my friends about the importance of safer sex and this site has changed my behaviour for the better.

I have one issue which I would like your view on. I have read many posts about what I  am going to ask but cannot find exactly what I am looking for so apologies if you have already answered this.

I recently had a body slide massage where both bodies were naked. There was a very small amount of incidental genital to genital contact but absolutely no penetration. Thanks to you I know this is quite low risk for many STDs but not sure about Herpes. Would the presence of very soapy water on both bodies which cuts down on friction help reduce the chance of catching Herpes? The body slide was immediately followed by a bath and no other contact except a hand job with a condom on.

I think this is very low risk but don’t know how easy it is to catch Herpes by this activity – I thought I was being safe by restricting my sexual exposure to this but some other posts have cause me to be anxious. Could you please help me understand better?

[jimbo756]

A related discussion, Follow On was started.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Two ppoints in reply to your questions:

The blood test for HSV detects about 50% of infections at two weeks following acquisition of infection.  Thus wiht regard to your two week test, while good news is not the absolute end of the possiblity that you got HSV.  In your case however, given the low risk nature of yoru expsooure AND the negative test, you can be confident that you did not get HSV.  

You are correct. there are data that persons with HSV-1 (cold sores or genital HSV-1) are less likely to get HSV-2 than persons who do not have HSV-1.  The antibodies to HSV-1 offer partial, but not complete resistance to infection.  EWH

[jimbo756]

Many thanks for your help and guidance which has helped enormously. Could I trouble you one more time about the same issue?
I had an appointment with my dermatologist on a completely different issue and I noticed he was also a veneriologist and so I mentioned my recent exposure and what you had said. I was a little confused by two things he said, first that he advised I get tested for HSV2 even though he agreed the risk was incredilby small and second by the fact he said a negative test after just over 2 weeks would be conclusive proof I did not contract HSV2 by the exposure I had. I have read enough to know that it could take up to 4 months for HSV to show up (thanks Doctor Handsfield) in a blood test hence my confusion. I took the test and it was negative.

Just wanted to obtain your thoughts on this and also on an article I read by a Washington Seatle doctor who wrote that a person with HSV1 was less likely to contract HSV2 - I have had cold sores since a child and hence HSV1.

Any views? I have to say I have more faith in you and Doctor Handsfield as practicing STD doctors and so still comforted by what you told me earlier.

Thank you

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to our site and thanks for the complement.  Glad our comments are useful to you.

There is no risk to you from that activity you describe.  This is still masturbation and therefore safe sex.  In fact, the use of soap would reduce your already miniscule risk of infection even further. The soap is toxic to HSV and other bacteria.

I would not worry about this exposure and see no reason for testing based on the exposure you describe.

Take care.  EWH