Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Risk of passing HSV-1 to my penis?

I'm a 29 year old male and I have hsv-1 (oral herpes) since I was at least 10 years old. I don't have genital herpes 'cause I've done an herpes test at a lab in december and it came back negative and also because I haven't had sex in over a year, so that option is off the table. However, and because I'm a hypocondriac, the following happened: I may be with a recurrence of oral herpes and this morning I opened my mouth with my fingers to check something on my gum/teeth. I'm not sure if I washed my hands afterwards. About 30 minutes later I went to the bathroom to urinate and I touched my penis. Is there any risk of passing my oral herpes to my genitals? Maybe this is a stupid question but I'd get very anxious if I didn't ask it.

Thanks
1 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
207091 tn?1337709493
COMMUNITY LEADER
You have antibodies for hsv1 that protect you from infecting yourself in another location- it's called autoinoculation when you do that. Antibodies develop within a few months after infection (usually much sooner). Since you've had it for so long, I wouldn't worry about this at all.

Also, a decent amount of time had passed between you touching your mouth to you touching your penis. By that time, any virus that may have been on your hand would have been exposed to air and movement and died.

You have nothing to worry about here. :)
Helpful - 0
4 Comments
Thank you for your reply! So no risk at all? Can I move on with this?
None at all. You can move on. :)
So there's no way I can pass my oral herpes to my penis? Specially if I'm not having a recurrence
Correct. You have antibodies that protect you from getting it in another location.
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Herpes Community

Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.