[Mike_T]

Thank you Terri,

I appreciate your time and the great work you are doing. I have to say that I was stunned to learn that HSV1 could be transmitted to the genitals. All these years I felt that using condoms was safe sex, at least safer than not using them. This whole experience has been an eye opener for me.

I feel like the sex education I received growing up was lacking to say the least. I feel like the adults have really let kids down. It doesn’t seem like I’m the only one is this situation. I’m very well educated with a bachelors degree in Biology and graduate degree in finance, so I would have understood this risk had I been taught about it. I was ignorant and naive.

Recently I’ve told others in my age group that thye have at least a 50% chance for testing positive for hsv1 and that it can be transmitted to the genitals through oral sex. Many of them don’t believe me. Keep in mind these are college educated, some with PhDs and some are medical doctors.

[Mike_T]

Terri,

I’m not sure if you miss this based on your previous reply, but I just did take a Quest Herpes Select Type Specific IgG test at 14.5 weeks after last exposure to this relationship which came up negative to both HSV1 and HSV2. I’m not sure if this reinforces your guess that I’m not infected.

I wanted to know your opinion on whether or not I should now take the Western Blot at 16 weeks post last exposure.

• This reply was modified 9 years ago by Mike_T.

[Mike_T]

Hi Terri,

Thank you for your response. Hope your travels are going well. I’m not going to restrict myself from dating hsv-1 positive women, but I would like to have an some idea about the potential for being infected in my genital area from this recent relationship and then infecting another completely innocent person. I would feel horrible!

I’ve read blogposts by Dr. Handsfield and Dr. Hook that strongly suggesting that in the absence of overt lesions, blisters, etc within 2 weeks of oral to genital exposure of hsv1, one can safely assume they were not infected with the hsv1 virus. I’ve also read that if someone didn’t have antibodies to hsv1 or hsv2 and were infected (ie true primary) with hsv1 genitally, they would show obvious symptoms that could not be ignored within 2 weeks of the exposure.

In addition, you wrote in a Medscape column the following:

“Most patients with genital herpes do not have truly asymptomatic infection; they have symptoms but aren’t tying them to genital herpes.”

1. When you say “most” do you mean like 70%, 80% or 90%? I feel with your many decades of experience you would have a really good feel for this.

2. Would you’ve expected someone like me if I’m truly negative for hsv1 and hsv2 antibodies to have shown symptoms by now from my recent relationship that ended over 16 weeks ago?

3. I’ve seen the odds of acquiring hsv1 through oral sex being quoted as 1/1,000 and even lower when no lesions are present by Dr. Handsfield and Dr. Hook. Do you think this is credible?

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