PIV without a condom

[ggpp]

Hi Terri.

I am a male, and have had HSV-2 since 1987.

I have not had a outbreak since 2018 at least, maybe even longer ago.

I take Valacyclovir twice daily.

My partner has the antibodies for HSV-1 but has never had an outbreak. She does not have the antibodies for HSV-2.

We are very disciplined about not having sex if I am feeling at all concerned.

We are considering not using condom for PIV. I am curious to hear your thoughts on that. What can we do to make transmission as unlikely as possible? What level of risk would you assign to this situation?

Would doing a swab test to get a baseline understanding of my shedding be a useful thing to know?

Any other considerations?

Thank you so much for this forum and the work to do to help folks like me!

[Terri Warren]

I would say that if you are on acyclovir twice a day, the approximate risk of transmission to your partner is about 5% in a year – that is, about 5 women out of 100 will become infected having sex about twice per week without a condom. You could do some daily home swabbing, but I think you would need to do it about three months for any accuracy and that is spendy.

Terri

[ggpp]

Thanks for the reply.

We want to get a little more information to be as clear as we can about the risks/benefits of anti-virals and condoms. Can you tell us the transmission rate for HSV 2 for:
-No anti-viral, no condom
-Anti-viral 2x/day no condom
-Anti-viral 2x/day, condom

Also my female partner has the antibodies for HSV 1. She has never had a breakout from it. How does this affect our situation?

Is she likely to have less severe outbreaks if she contracts HSV2?

Thank you!

[Terri Warren]

These are averages and come from research into couples who’ve been together for a while.
No antiviral, no condom – abou9t 10% per year
Antiviral, no condom, – about 5% per year
Antiviral, condoms – about 2% per year.

These are all averages – some studies show higher rates, some much lower.

If your partner contracts HSV 2, with her HSV 1 antibody, she may never had symptoms or her symptoms could be quite mild, correct.

Terri

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