Oral sex right after Kissing? - sore on his lip

[Greeneyedgirl19]

For the past week or so, all my partner and I have been doing is kissing, because I've been on my period. Well, my period ended, so this morning, we kissed, and then i received oral sex from him and we had intercourse also. Right after we were finished, I noticed a little red sore on his upper lip, and he told me that he's had cold sores before. (he wasn't aware that cold sores=herpes)

I *beleive* that when I was ten years old, I had a cold sore, and again when I was 16. (I'm 19 now). But I'm not completely sure that it was herpes. I'm not sure what else it could have been...the one I had when I was 10 was in the corner of my mouth and I think the one I had at 16 was in the same spot. Anyway,  would this mean that if the type I have is HSV 1, and the type he has on his mouth is HSV 1 also, then I cannot get HSV 1 on my genitals? Also, if I didn't ever have HSV 1 (since as I said I'm not completely sure), would the fact that we've only been kissing and have not had oral sex for the past week make it so if I got it, it was transmitted to my mouth and not my genitals? since the virus would be exposed to my mouth first?

Also, he wasn't tested for HSV 2, and we have had unprotected sex (I know, I'm stupid), about 7 times. He has never had symptoms of HSV 2 that he knows of. What are the chanced that I have HSV 2 now?

Also, the oral sex was pretty brief and involved only his tongue. I don't know if this matters but I thought I would add that. I probably should wait to see if I get symptoms to pay and ask here but I'm too nervous and just want to know my risk.

[Greeneyedgirl19]

Thank you!

[Edward W Hook, MD]

1.  typically the infection occurs at one site or another but not both.
2.  HSV does ot typically infect or get transmitted by the tongue but by the lips.  Transmission occurs with direct contact.  EWH

[Greeneyedgirl19]

Dr. Hook,

Thank you very much for your response. Just a few more questions...

1. If I was not in fact infected with HSV-1 before this exposure with my boyfriend, could i potentially be infected on my mouth AND genitals now? I'm just wondering since i kissed him, and then maybe 4 minutes later, he gave me oral sex, so if I got infected on my mouth from kissing, it seems that 4 minutes wouldn't be enough time for my body to develop antibodies, so I would be infected on my genitals as well.

2. I mentioned that he just used his tongue...I'm almost positive that his actaul herpes sore did not touch my vagina. And he has no visible sores on his tongue. Does the virus shed from sites other than the sore? Or would his herpes sore have to come in direct contact with me in order for it to be transmitted?

Thank you

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Lots of questions, all of which come down to are you susceptible to herpes.  You need more information.  Let's think about this in terms of what you know, what might be and what you need to know.

What you know. Your BF gets cold sores. These are almost certainly due to HSV-1.  Thus through contact of his mouth with you he could give you oral herpes (cold sores) through kissing or genital herpes due to HSV-1 through oral sex.  If you are susceptible to HSV-1, this could occur at any site of infection and whether or not he has a cold sore present although it is more likely when he has a cold sore present.

What might be.  You might have HSV-1.  Your history is compatible with cold sores and statistically, since over 60% of adults have HSV-1, it is more likely than not that you have HSV-1.  If you already have HSV-1, you cannot be infected by your BF's cold sore at either the mouth or the genitals.  Your body's own immune response will keep that from happening.

What you need to know.  You need to know if you have had HSV-1 (or for that matter, HSV-2) before. The best and most practical way to do this is to get a type-specific, gG protein based IgG blood test for HSV-1 and HSV-2 such as the HerpeSelect.  This will tell you if you have ever had HSV-1 or HSV-2 before.  In addition, to find out if your partner ahs HSV-2 as well as HSV-1, you may want for him to get a blood test too.

Finally, regarding your recent exposure, if you are going to develop HSV at either exposed location, you will probably develop lesions sometime between 4 and 10 days after your exposure. If you don't develop lesions, you need not worry.   Chances are pretty good that you will not develop lesions as most exposures to infected partners do not result in HSV transmission.

Hope these comments help.  EWH