HSV 1 Transmission Q!

[ht1092]

Hi, I’m going to try and keep it short.

In college, me and 2-3 friends would smoke together using a joint. One of our friends has a history of cold sores, but she didn’t tell any of us (I found out later on). When we all smoked together (2017) I never saw a bump and/or lesion on my lip. Oct 2018, me and her just smoked together, then I remembered that you can pass HSV through sharing joints so I freaked out, then around Nov I saw a tiny bump but never got it checked out. I believe I saw it again in 2020 (I don’t remember).

I recently did an antibody test but doesn’t it seem pointless? I know people can be asymptomatic, so I’m wondering if that was my case? Maybe in 2017 I was just asymptomatic. I had a partner at the time and he didn’t show signs of anything so I’m just trying to figure out the timeline of it all. Thank you!

[Terri Warren]

I would say that if someone did not have a cold sore at the time you shared a joint, the risk of transmission to your is really low.
You mentioned that you had an antibody test – what did it show?

Terri

[ht1092]

Thanks for the response. I did an antibody test (IGG) and it gave me a negative result (HSV1). I know this can play out 50/50. Should I look into a Western Blot for confirmatory testing? I figured blood tests can sometimes be faulty, but years have passed since the “exposure” so I figured it would’ve shown.

2. I also mainly have uncertainty around my negative result because around that time (2018/2019 I believe), I had shared my bong with another friend who does/did not have a history of cold sores. 2 weeks later he said that he was eating something, felt a burning sensation in his mouth (like something had popped) went to the doctor, was told by visual exam it was HSV1, received medication, and that was that.

I’ve also been feeling a tingly sensation around my lip area currently but haven’t seen anything. Just want to make sure I get accurate results.

[Terri Warren]

1. I would think if it has been years since this happened and you’ve never had a cold sore and you test negative, I think you should put this worry away.

If you want extra certainty, do the western blot and get this settled.

Terri

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