Asymptomatic and General Transmission Questions

[Tired]

Hi Terri,
I am a male who has had HSV2 for over 20 years. Like others my biggest concern is transmission. For some reason it dawned on me that because of asymptomatic viral shedding I could have the virus on my arms or on my outer clothing in the genital area from normal functions like getting dressed and using the bathroom. I have been researching my concerns but have not really found anything that addresses some of my questions. It has really begun to bother me to a point where it has been very distracting and tiring. I am finding myself washing my hands way too much, and it is making me not want to go out because I feel like I have HSV virus all over the front of me.
1). Do I need to worry about virus that could be on my arms or clothing after getting dressed or using the bathroom?
–You put your underwear on. Should you wash your hands? If you do not will you wipe virus on other parts of your body and then spread it around to other things or people?
–You put your pants and belt on and sometimes you touch the pockets in the process. Should you wash your hands? If you do not will you wipe virus on other parts of your body or clothing and then spread it around to other things or people? What about the pockets? Are you going to spread the virus after you put your hands in the pocket?
–When working I wear a t-shirt and a button down cotton uniform shirt on top that I do not tuck in. When using the bathroom sometimes the bottom of the shirt may brush against my genitals and will touch my body just above my genitals when I am trying to hold it up out of the way. Also the bottoms of my wrists and forearms will touch against my body. When your done you have to zip up and fasten your belt before you wash your hands. Is all this clothing now contaminated? I feel like I can not wash high enough up my arms. Should I try not to touch or let anything touch the genital area of my clothing? It seems impossible especially when you do physical labor for a living.

[Terri Warren]

You are overthinking this. there is absolutely no risk of genital herpes transmission except as a sexually transmitted infection. Behave as you always have and don’t go down this path – it could easily lead to an obsessive compulsive disorder that you don’t want to have.

Terri

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