So I spoke with Anna Wald – as I suspected, she didn’t have an exact answer for me either, except to say that people with oral HSV 2 likely shed even less than people who have genital HSV 1, which is really uncommon.
I guess my opinion is that without a cold sore on your lip, it is likely OK to kiss people without worry and give oral sex to people, especially after you’ve been infected for a year or two. There is no perfect answer here, I’m afraid, no promises about this. Just educated guesses.
Terri