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HSV1 and oral sex
I recently attended (2 days ago) a music festival with a number of my friends. One of them had a cold sore on his lip. We shared many marijuana cigarettes during the festival, and though I tried to give it at least a few minutes before puffing anything that he had puffed, it was unavoidable to come in contact with something that hadn't just touched his lips.
I have some concerns about this. I tested positive for HSV1 about 10 years ago (when I was 13, I am 23 now) with a cold sore on my upper lip. I have not since gotten a cold sore.
I will return to New York tomorrow and see my girlfriend. Is it ok to have oral sex with her without waiting a few weeks first (to see if I get a cold sore)?
The reason I ask, and am so concerned, is that another one of my good friends has HSV1 on his genitals from a night of unprotected oral sex. He claims that the girl who he got it from had no cold sores on her lips at the time. It causes him a great amount of pain and stress every few months. Although I have read in many places that it is very uncommom to be infected with HSV 1 genitally, I know someone personally who it has happened to, and it seems like a very real risk to me.
If I don't have any cold sores, can I perform oral sex on my girlfriend? Or do I run a risk of infecting her genitally anyway? I am very worried about this, as I really like her, and don't want to cause her the same grief that my friend has to go through on a daily basis. It is scary for me to think that I could have caught something from smoking a joint with my friend, and that it could later become a sexually transmitted disease for someone I care deeply about.
What are the risks of practicing oral sex on her, even if I don't have any cold sores?
I have some concerns about this. I tested positive for HSV1 about 10 years ago (when I was 13, I am 23 now) with a cold sore on my upper lip. I have not since gotten a cold sore.
I will return to New York tomorrow and see my girlfriend. Is it ok to have oral sex with her without waiting a few weeks first (to see if I get a cold sore)?
The reason I ask, and am so concerned, is that another one of my good friends has HSV1 on his genitals from a night of unprotected oral sex. He claims that the girl who he got it from had no cold sores on her lips at the time. It causes him a great amount of pain and stress every few months. Although I have read in many places that it is very uncommom to be infected with HSV 1 genitally, I know someone personally who it has happened to, and it seems like a very real risk to me.
If I don't have any cold sores, can I perform oral sex on my girlfriend? Or do I run a risk of infecting her genitally anyway? I am very worried about this, as I really like her, and don't want to cause her the same grief that my friend has to go through on a daily basis. It is scary for me to think that I could have caught something from smoking a joint with my friend, and that it could later become a sexually transmitted disease for someone I care deeply about.
What are the risks of practicing oral sex on her, even if I don't have any cold sores?
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to our Forum. I'll be pleased to comment. If you already have HSV-1, then you cannot get it again and are not at risk from having shared a joint with someone who has a cold sore. You cannot get HSV-1 more than once.
Your history is not unusual. Most people with HSV-1 do not get cold sores or, if they do, get them very rarely.
Finally, among people with HSV-1, even those who do not have cold sores can have what we call "asymptomatic shedding" in which the virus is present on normal appearing skin. Because of this, persons with HSV-1 without cold sores can spread infections to others as happened to your friend. The risk of this occurring is rather low- we estimate that transmission occurs in persons without active cold sores about once in every 10,000 exposures.
In your specific situation, please also remember that unless she has been tested or has cold sores herself (at which point there would be no doubt that she was infected), there is still a better than 60% chance that she, like all Americans has HSV-1 but does not know it. If she already has the infection, she cannot get it again from you.
I hope this information is helpful to you. EWH
Your history is not unusual. Most people with HSV-1 do not get cold sores or, if they do, get them very rarely.
Finally, among people with HSV-1, even those who do not have cold sores can have what we call "asymptomatic shedding" in which the virus is present on normal appearing skin. Because of this, persons with HSV-1 without cold sores can spread infections to others as happened to your friend. The risk of this occurring is rather low- we estimate that transmission occurs in persons without active cold sores about once in every 10,000 exposures.
In your specific situation, please also remember that unless she has been tested or has cold sores herself (at which point there would be no doubt that she was infected), there is still a better than 60% chance that she, like all Americans has HSV-1 but does not know it. If she already has the infection, she cannot get it again from you.
I hope this information is helpful to you. EWH
sorry for posting twice. Thought I was posting in the paid forum the first time. Realized once the question was up on the normal forum that I hadn't missed the billing info. Not trying to cause ant grief for you all.
You are reading content posted in the STDs Forum
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
