Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

What are the risks of passing oral herpes during oral sex

I am a carrier of genital herpes and am currently in a monogomous relationship. My partner would like to give oral sex but I am concerned about what risks are involved for him and if he can contract it. I have only ever had one outbreak and it was extremely painful but I have read you can have no symptoms and still pass the disease. He is worried about having open sores on his face/mouth if he contracts it.
1 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
207091 tn?1337709493
COMMUNITY LEADER
So first - do you know what type of genital herpes you have? You can have hsv1 or hsv2 genitally. If you don't know, you can get a blood test to find out. (It won't make a difference for oral sex, which I'll explain in a minute, but it can for genital or anal sex.)

So herpes easily goes from the mouth to the genitals (which is why you could have genital herpes type 1 - the number indicates the strain of the virus, not the location), but rarely goes from the genitals to the mouth. It's possible, but not likely.

If you have genital hsv1, it rarely sheds, rarely recurs. This means you are not at all likely to ever transmit it to someone, either to someone's mouth or genitals via oral or genital or anal sex. Also, about half of the adult population already has hsv1 (and 90% of them will never get symptoms, so they don't know they have it), and they can't get what they already have.

If you have genital hsv2, it really doesn't like the oral area. While genital hsv2 does recur and shed more frequently than genital hsv1, oral hsv2 is considered rare. If someone does get oral hsv2, that sheds and recurs less frequently than genital hsv1.

If you have ghsv2, then suppressive therapy (daily valtrex or acyclovir) may be something you consider.

Ask your doctor for a type specific IgG blood test to find out what type you have. How were you diagnosed with herpes? If your results show only hsv1, then you have that genitally (assuming you were diagnosed properly). If you have both types, type 1 is oral, type 2 is genital.

Your partner should also test. He could have either/both types and not know it.

You can read more on all of this in the Herpes Handbook. It's written by Terri Warren, who is one of the leading experts on this. It's also free. :)  https://westoverheights.com/herpes/the-updated-herpes-handbook/

Helpful - 0
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.