HSV 1 and HSV 2 Questions

[questions101]

Hi Terri,

I have HSV1 I have been tested and get cold sores very infrequently ( once every few years )

I have met a girl who has HSV2 she takes antivirals and says she does not have regular outbreaks.

My Questions:

Am I at less of a risk because I have HSV1?

Can I get HSV2 Orally?

Are there any statistics based on protected and unprotected sex?

Thanks

[Terri Warren]

You are not at less of a risk of acquiring HSV 2 because you have oral HSV 1. There is a possibility you could acquire HSV 2 by giving her oral sex but this is not a high risk. If she takes antiviral medicine daily, you avoid sex with outbreaks and you have sex about twice per week, the risk is about 2% in a year that you would acquire HSV 2 from her. That means if there were 100 uninfected men having one on one sex with 100 HSV 2 infected women, given the circumstances described above, 2 men would get HSV 2 from their partner and 98 would not. If you add condoms, the risk is reduced even more. These are AVERAGES, I don’t make any promises about transmission.

Terri

[Author]

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