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Infection concern

Hello everyone,

     perhaps I am overly concerned, but a few days ago I was accidentally scratched on my hand by a friend, resulting in a very small cut and light bleeding. She felt bad and took my hand to seemingly "kiss the pain away". A quick peck but with sufficient saliva to feel wet. My concern is with the fact that I am aware she has one of the two types of herpes as she's had a few cold sores outbreaks in the past on her lips. How likely is it that I was infected if she did not have any visible outbreak when she kissed my hand? I know of the possibility of asymptomatic infection, but is the herpes virus constantly present/active in the saliva at all times regardless of visible/asymptomatic activity? Thank you very much for your help. Any opinion would be greatly appreciated.
3 Responses
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101028 tn?1419603004
you'd need to wait 3 months to get tested. if you've never been tested before though it's useful to get tested now and then repeat your testing.

you are incredibly unlikely to contract herpes this way. if you did, you'd have very obvious and painful symptoms at the site of your cut within a week or two. Honestly I'd not even bother testing for this at all.

grace
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thank you for your answer. I always thought that infection could happen when there would be a mix of saliva and blood, is that a possibility? And just as a last question, if I were to consider getting tested, what is the window period for herpes after infection during which testing would not yield accurate results?
Helpful - 0
1174003 tn?1308160819
Low risk for the kiss.  HSV is only transmitted in skin to skin contact.  
Helpful - 0
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