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I was diagnosed with HSV1 on my genital area 9 years ago. During that time I was fortunate enough to have my schooling and career in order to keep my mind off the matter. Last year I finished school and finally landed the job of dreams and decided to begin dating. I met an amazing woman who I have not had intercourse with because I am afraid that I might pass it on to her. I am even more afraid of telling her because I think it might scare her off. My only outbreak I can remember other than my initial one was 8 years ago and have not had another one since. I plan on talking to her soon. I have read debates that it is so unusual to pass it genitally that it is not even worth mentioning but I refuse to do that because I want to start this relationship on the right track. What is the HSV1 genital to genital transmission rate with and without protection? Are there any facts I can relay to her that can put her more at ease about the situation besides the fact the 50-80% of the population have it orally? Thank you in advance.
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Unfortunately, we don’t have statistics on the transmission of HSV 1 because it is so uncommon. The correct statistic is that 56% of the adult population between the ages of 14-49 have HSV 1 infection – we don’t know where those infections are, only that they have antibody. The younger the person, the more likely it is that they have it genitally vs. orally. Has she been tested to know if she has HSV 1, do you know? Has she ever in her life had a cold sore on her lip? If the answer is yes to either, then she is not vulnerable to your genital HSV 1 infection because she already has it somewhere. I do think you are on the right track to tell her, I would if I were in your situation.
Terri
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1) Because HSV 1 is shed quite infrequently from the genital tract.
2) There is an 88% chance you will not have another outbreak but that does not mean that you are not shedding virus without symptoms
3) probably about the same but since HSV 1 shed so infrequently, it’s just not as much of an issue
4) I don’t think I’ve seen more than a handful in 32 years of practice, that I know are genital to genital transmission for sure. But that’s really hard to sort out because often people have intercourse with and receive oral sex from the same person so you can’t know for sure where it came from.It should not only be determined whether she gets cold sores or not but also what is her actual HSV 1 antibody status. Probably 70% of people who are HSV 1 positive don’t get cold sores that they recall. If this is a meaningful relationship, I can’t imagine that she would mind testing. Also, she could have HSV 2 and not know it and you would be vulnerable to that. It only makes sense to test for all likely STD’s before having sex these days.
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Terri
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Yes, genital to genital transmission of HSV 1 is uncommon and outbreaks are generally infrequent.
And yes, though we have no specific research, we know that the antiviral medicines work well with HSV 1 as well as HSV 2. I don’t have a percentage I can give you, however. If I had to make an educated guess, it would reduce viral shedding similarly to the way to reduces viral shedding with HSV 2. It reduces transmission of HSV 2 by almost 50%.Terri
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