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Herpes through oral sex or kissing?
Hello Doctor,
I am so worried right now :( I have an ex bf that recently had such a terrible reaction to herpes in his body that his gums & tongue were bleeding, he had ulcers on his lip, face & also many ulcers in his throat that made it hard for him to swallow which resulted in him not being able to eat.The doctor said this terrible reaction happened b/c he had never been exposed to herpes (never engaged before me in any type of sexual activity whatsoever, & b/c of the country he is from it's not common there like in the states so he had no antibodies built up against the virus)
We engaged in oral sex, giving & receiving, no protection, once.
I've never had any symptoms of genetial herpes, never had intercourse before, only oral sex.
Last time i kissed him i had an active cold sore on my lip & in 5 days he had developed the 103 temp. fatigue, sore throat etc that was originally diagnosed by symptoms as strep. when it didnt go away & became worse with the bleeding tongue & gums he was given blood tests for herpes which came back this week as positive (not sure what type yet)
1. is it more likely that he had this bad reaction from kissing me with this cold sore present if he had never been exposed to it prior to meeting me, or is it more likey that the oral sex might have caused this terrible outbreak?
2. what are the chances of him contracting oral herpes from giving me oral sex without there being any present symptoms or me never having symptoms before & also that i've never had intercourse before?
3. if i have only received oral sex 3 times ,prior to this time with him, (5 yrs ago) what are my chances of having undiagnosed genetial herpes & passing it onto to him without knowing it?
4. I've never had a blood tested for herpes 1 or 2, I believe I would be positive for what causes oral herpes, had cold sores all my life...should i get tested for herpes & if the results come back positive for both types does that mean I have genetial herpes & never knew it?
I am so worried right now :( I have an ex bf that recently had such a terrible reaction to herpes in his body that his gums & tongue were bleeding, he had ulcers on his lip, face & also many ulcers in his throat that made it hard for him to swallow which resulted in him not being able to eat.The doctor said this terrible reaction happened b/c he had never been exposed to herpes (never engaged before me in any type of sexual activity whatsoever, & b/c of the country he is from it's not common there like in the states so he had no antibodies built up against the virus)
We engaged in oral sex, giving & receiving, no protection, once.
I've never had any symptoms of genetial herpes, never had intercourse before, only oral sex.
Last time i kissed him i had an active cold sore on my lip & in 5 days he had developed the 103 temp. fatigue, sore throat etc that was originally diagnosed by symptoms as strep. when it didnt go away & became worse with the bleeding tongue & gums he was given blood tests for herpes which came back this week as positive (not sure what type yet)
1. is it more likely that he had this bad reaction from kissing me with this cold sore present if he had never been exposed to it prior to meeting me, or is it more likey that the oral sex might have caused this terrible outbreak?
2. what are the chances of him contracting oral herpes from giving me oral sex without there being any present symptoms or me never having symptoms before & also that i've never had intercourse before?
3. if i have only received oral sex 3 times ,prior to this time with him, (5 yrs ago) what are my chances of having undiagnosed genetial herpes & passing it onto to him without knowing it?
4. I've never had a blood tested for herpes 1 or 2, I believe I would be positive for what causes oral herpes, had cold sores all my life...should i get tested for herpes & if the results come back positive for both types does that mean I have genetial herpes & never knew it?
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
It sounds as though your BF had a severe first episode of herpes (HSV). This was only a function of his bad luck - please do not feel guilty about the severity of his first episode. The scenario you describe indicates that you are low risk for gential herpes or HSV-2 and that he likely got his HSV from your kiss with a cold sore present, nothing else. Let's go through your questions 1 by 1:
1. Everything you have said leads me to think that this was an infection which originated with your cold sore. I suspect his doctors did cultures which told which type of virus was present and assume that they showed HSV-1. That is most consistent with your tale.
2. Unlikely. There is nothing to suggest that you have genital herpes of any sort. When a person has the herpes virus in one location (like your cold sores) if anything, it tends to make it less likely that they will get the infection elsewhere. Herpes viruses hardly ever spread from place to place on a person's body.
3. The chance is close to zero.
4. I think you are right. It is likely that you have HSV-1. I see no reason for you to have a blood test at this time. If you did, I would be concerned that you might have a false positive test result. If your partner turned out to have HSV-2 or something else unsuspected, then a blood test might be in order.
5. The lesion you describe on your vagina does not sound like herpes. Herpes lesions last days, not weeks or months. The fact that this lesion lasted so long almost guarantees that it is not herpes.
Hope this helps. Sorry to hear of your BF's misfortune. EWH
1. Everything you have said leads me to think that this was an infection which originated with your cold sore. I suspect his doctors did cultures which told which type of virus was present and assume that they showed HSV-1. That is most consistent with your tale.
2. Unlikely. There is nothing to suggest that you have genital herpes of any sort. When a person has the herpes virus in one location (like your cold sores) if anything, it tends to make it less likely that they will get the infection elsewhere. Herpes viruses hardly ever spread from place to place on a person's body.
3. The chance is close to zero.
4. I think you are right. It is likely that you have HSV-1. I see no reason for you to have a blood test at this time. If you did, I would be concerned that you might have a false positive test result. If your partner turned out to have HSV-2 or something else unsuspected, then a blood test might be in order.
5. The lesion you describe on your vagina does not sound like herpes. Herpes lesions last days, not weeks or months. The fact that this lesion lasted so long almost guarantees that it is not herpes.
Hope this helps. Sorry to hear of your BF's misfortune. EWH
I will also mention that I have been a little paranoid about this dry area on the outside of my vagina that has like loose skin that causes it to get irritated and stings when i wipe after going to the bathroom and it has looked like a little papercut & actually bled after I had touched it a bit over the months of it being there. I went to my nurse practitioner and she said this was just a skin tag and the irritation was caused from my underwear rubbing. Now that I think back on it I don't know how much I trust her advice b/c when I asked what are the chances this is herpes....she said this isn't herpes bc the skin has not changed appearance and has remained there looking the same and youd know if you had herpes...when she said that I was thinking, well what about all the asymptomatic people that have herpes?!?!....I duno I am sure I am being paranoid but what are the chances of this being something related to genital herpes?
You are reading content posted in the STDs Forum
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.
