Herpes on Chapstick

[MMK756]

Hi Terri,

I have a couple questions regarding cold sores and chapstick:

1. Is herpes transmissible if someone uses chapstick on an active sore and another person uses the same chapstick a week later (assuming the chapstick was kept closed between use by the person with a cold sore and someone without herpes)?

2. How long after chapstick is used on a cold sore would the virus no longer be transmissible?

[MMK756]

3. Generally speaking, how long would you suppose the virus could be transmissible in a warm and moist environment away from the body?

[Terri Warren]

I would say that within a week, any virus present on a chapstick would be dead. I don’t have a specific time about how long HSV can live off the human body – being able to recover virus in a swab, for example, does not necessarily mean there is enough to infect another person.
I do advise people who get cold sores not to share lipsticks or chapstick with someone else after immediate use.

Terri

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