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Am I at risk of HSV-1 contraction?
I allowed a woman to perform unprotected oral for about 1 minute, definitely less than 2 minutes close to 1 minute or less. Also she used her saliva to lubricate her vagina and we had protected sex with a condom. I asked afterwards to get tested and her results came back positive for HSV-1; her reference rating was <.9 so it was on the lower end. My question is are the chances low that I could have contracted HSV-1 from the 1 minute oral or from the mouth saliva on her vagina touching my scrotum or unprotected parts of my shaft that the condom did not cover. Do I have a high risk and should i be highly concerned about contracting HSV-1, if anyone can tell me if i should be worried or if my risks are low??
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Assuming her test wasn't a false positive, which is possible, then yes, you have a chance.
Have you tested? You could have it, and never have symptoms.
If oral lasted less than a couple of minutes, the chances aren't high, but there is a chance.
If she's had enough time to test, and get her results back, and you haven't had symptoms yet, I wouldn't worry. Most of the time, symptoms appear within 2-12 days.
Have you tested? You could have it, and never have symptoms.
If oral lasted less than a couple of minutes, the chances aren't high, but there is a chance.
If she's had enough time to test, and get her results back, and you haven't had symptoms yet, I wouldn't worry. Most of the time, symptoms appear within 2-12 days.
8 Comments
Hi Auntjessi.
Thank you so much for the reply. I have had no symptoms at all, none and it's been 27 days since the sexual encounter. I tested negative for all STD's about 6 months ago and I have had no other partners and there is no possible risk from anyone else. She stated she never had any outbreaks herself (not certain of this) and believes she has had HSV-1 for over 1 year. She told me that her doctor stated it was unlikely she can/would transmit it to other people. To add on my end after sex I thoroughly was my private parts with peroxide multiple times and then follow that with washing my private parts with anti bacterial soap and I do this even with protected sex. I have never had an std so I was concerned about the brief unprotected oral. It was just that one lone single encounter. Again, you state the in your opinion you feel my risks are low and that also if I have not shown any symptoms or had any outbreaks in the 27 days since the encounter, that I'm most likely fine/chances are really low that I contracted genital HSV-1?
Thank you so much for the reply. I have had no symptoms at all, none and it's been 27 days since the sexual encounter. I tested negative for all STD's about 6 months ago and I have had no other partners and there is no possible risk from anyone else. She stated she never had any outbreaks herself (not certain of this) and believes she has had HSV-1 for over 1 year. She told me that her doctor stated it was unlikely she can/would transmit it to other people. To add on my end after sex I thoroughly was my private parts with peroxide multiple times and then follow that with washing my private parts with anti bacterial soap and I do this even with protected sex. I have never had an std so I was concerned about the brief unprotected oral. It was just that one lone single encounter. Again, you state the in your opinion you feel my risks are low and that also if I have not shown any symptoms or had any outbreaks in the 27 days since the encounter, that I'm most likely fine/chances are really low that I contracted genital HSV-1?
Be careful with the excessive washing. It doesn't do much after, and all that with the peroxide and antibacterial soap can just cause irritation that can make you think you have something.
Yes, your risks are low, and since you haven't had symptoms by now, you're most likely fine. I wouldn't spend any more time worrying.
Yes, your risks are low, and since you haven't had symptoms by now, you're most likely fine. I wouldn't spend any more time worrying.
Thank You again. I had been worried about the possibility i could have contracted it and may just had no symptoms as I've read it says often one does not have symptoms and has it but does not know they do. So I diligently monitored to make sure there has been no symptoms or changes to my body, but there does not seem to be much info on how long/much exposure it typically on average can take or the viral loaded needed to become affected; so this lead me to worry of risks from the saliva mixed inside the vaginal fluid coming into contact with me and more so the brief one time oral really had me concerned. Your information really helped. Thanks again
We don't know how much viral load is needed to be infected and it probably varies from person to person, situation to situation, and it doesn't really matter in a sexual setting, because you wouldn't have any way of measuring her viral load at the time of exposure.
All of it really varies from situation to situation, but generally speaking, the shorter the time, the lower the risk. When someone has an outbreak, they have the highest viral load.
Most experts think using saliva as lube is not a big concern.
Dr. Edward Hook -
"There are no STIs, including HIV which are transmitted in saliva. While some studies may show the occasional (rare presence) of STI organisms in saliva, no one has ever been infected by exposure to saliva, whether through kissing, spitting or receipt of masturbation." Repeating your question will not change my answer. None of us has ever seen a case transmitted in this way."
https://www.askexpertsnow.com/search-results - question #2669
Dr. H. Hunter Handsfield -
"Exposure to saliva carries little or no risk for any STI -- in fact, saliva inhibits or kills most or all STI bacteria and viruses. And hand-genital contact is entirely risk free as well, even if saliva (or even genital fluids) are used for lubrication. In addition, even among the most sexually active persons -- such as sex workers -- the large majority have no active oral STI at any point in time; there's probably under one chance in 20 your partner had a transmissible infection in her mouth or throat. In my 50 years in the STI business, I have never seen a male patient with any STI who had not had intercourse, i.e. penis inside a partner's vagina, rectum or mouth, and certainly none that appeared to have been acquired by hand-genital contact. That doesn't necessarily mean the risk is zero, but You do not need testing on account of this event, for herpes or anything else."
https://www.askexpertsnow.com/search-results - question #8311
From Terri Warren -
"I think the chances of you getting HSV 1 from him using saliva as a lubricant are low. Not zero but low, especially since you’ve had no sores."
https://westoverheights.com/forum/question/searching-for-insight/
Q - can ohsv1 be transmitted via saliva while an asymptomatic shedding event is occurring orally? For example if using saliva (spit) as lube on my partner for a hand job- no contact with inside the mouth of infected, just saliva of infected used externally.
A - I get that question often. That is extremely unlikely.
https://westoverheights.com/forum/question/hsv-1-clarity-of-msg-to-partners/
I'm glad to have helped.
All of it really varies from situation to situation, but generally speaking, the shorter the time, the lower the risk. When someone has an outbreak, they have the highest viral load.
Most experts think using saliva as lube is not a big concern.
Dr. Edward Hook -
"There are no STIs, including HIV which are transmitted in saliva. While some studies may show the occasional (rare presence) of STI organisms in saliva, no one has ever been infected by exposure to saliva, whether through kissing, spitting or receipt of masturbation." Repeating your question will not change my answer. None of us has ever seen a case transmitted in this way."
https://www.askexpertsnow.com/search-results - question #2669
Dr. H. Hunter Handsfield -
"Exposure to saliva carries little or no risk for any STI -- in fact, saliva inhibits or kills most or all STI bacteria and viruses. And hand-genital contact is entirely risk free as well, even if saliva (or even genital fluids) are used for lubrication. In addition, even among the most sexually active persons -- such as sex workers -- the large majority have no active oral STI at any point in time; there's probably under one chance in 20 your partner had a transmissible infection in her mouth or throat. In my 50 years in the STI business, I have never seen a male patient with any STI who had not had intercourse, i.e. penis inside a partner's vagina, rectum or mouth, and certainly none that appeared to have been acquired by hand-genital contact. That doesn't necessarily mean the risk is zero, but You do not need testing on account of this event, for herpes or anything else."
https://www.askexpertsnow.com/search-results - question #8311
From Terri Warren -
"I think the chances of you getting HSV 1 from him using saliva as a lubricant are low. Not zero but low, especially since you’ve had no sores."
https://westoverheights.com/forum/question/searching-for-insight/
Q - can ohsv1 be transmitted via saliva while an asymptomatic shedding event is occurring orally? For example if using saliva (spit) as lube on my partner for a hand job- no contact with inside the mouth of infected, just saliva of infected used externally.
A - I get that question often. That is extremely unlikely.
https://westoverheights.com/forum/question/hsv-1-clarity-of-msg-to-partners/
I'm glad to have helped.
Hi again,
One more question, so sorry to bother you again. From my understanding brief and singular (chances being you wont become infected) exposures carry much lower risks compared to prolonged and repeated exposers
So I'm pretty much safe considering it was just a brief oral encounter and I've had no symptoms or outbreaks after a months time
So just so i can further understand, my question is
Since her reference range is <.9 she stated that the doctor told her she could not transmit the HSV-1. Without getting too much into the science of what she attempted to explain to me, she basically said the doctor told her the length of time she has had it (over 1 year) and the low reference rating her immune system was able to better control the virus or her infection viral load was not significant that she cant/won't be able to transmit it to others. That people who typically transmit have over 3.65 rating, people over 30 rating are the ones that transmit
I'm not sure how true this is and if she was simply trying to tell me this in order to convince me not to stop talking to her
Im not sure how rating relates to potential shedding and outbreaks, which she states she does not have them and has not had them that she's aware of. Not sure how the rating then would relate to asymptomatic shedding
In any case, in a nutshell does/is this accurate that a person with a <.9 rating who has had it for over a year pretty much would not transmit it to others; that the rating actually makes it less likely or closer to very minimal chance one can transmit to another
Any info here that you can provide would help because I'm not sure if she's lying or not; or if she is indeed telling the truth and the doctor told her she cant/won't be able to transmit to others????
One more question, so sorry to bother you again. From my understanding brief and singular (chances being you wont become infected) exposures carry much lower risks compared to prolonged and repeated exposers
So I'm pretty much safe considering it was just a brief oral encounter and I've had no symptoms or outbreaks after a months time
So just so i can further understand, my question is
Since her reference range is <.9 she stated that the doctor told her she could not transmit the HSV-1. Without getting too much into the science of what she attempted to explain to me, she basically said the doctor told her the length of time she has had it (over 1 year) and the low reference rating her immune system was able to better control the virus or her infection viral load was not significant that she cant/won't be able to transmit it to others. That people who typically transmit have over 3.65 rating, people over 30 rating are the ones that transmit
I'm not sure how true this is and if she was simply trying to tell me this in order to convince me not to stop talking to her
Im not sure how rating relates to potential shedding and outbreaks, which she states she does not have them and has not had them that she's aware of. Not sure how the rating then would relate to asymptomatic shedding
In any case, in a nutshell does/is this accurate that a person with a <.9 rating who has had it for over a year pretty much would not transmit it to others; that the rating actually makes it less likely or closer to very minimal chance one can transmit to another
Any info here that you can provide would help because I'm not sure if she's lying or not; or if she is indeed telling the truth and the doctor told her she cant/won't be able to transmit to others????
She is probably not lying to you - that could be what her doctor told her. Doctors don't understand herpes testing, unfortunately. Don't blame her.
I've never seen a test result with a <.9 result, but every lab is different. It's unfortunate, because there is a cut off from .9-1.10 that is considered equivocal - neither pos nor neg.
Above 1.10 is positive, though if it's close to that, it could be a false positive.
Herpes testing sucks. I have no other way to describe it than that. The hsv1 test - a type specific IgG test - misses 30% of infections. The hsv2 test misses 8% of infections. Both can give false positives, though the hsv2 test is more likely to.
If she does have hsv1 - and I can't say that she does without knowing an actual real index value - she can transmit it. The index value doesn't mean a single thing except that she has it, or doesn't.
Again, don't blame her, blame her doctor. So many other illnesses/infections use the index value to indicate severity of disease or problem, but herpes doesn't, and doctors don't understand that.
If you think of the cholesterol test, the higher your number is over 200, the worse it is for you. Herpes doesn't work that way. If I test positive on the hsv2 with a 19.8, it doesn't mean I have more herpes or am more infectious or will get more outbreaks than someone who gets a 7.6. It also doesn't indicate how long I've had it.
Also, I could test today and get a 19.8, and tomorrow, get a 17.5. It doesn't mean anything except that I have it.
The important thing, and the thing you should have gotten from my most recent post with the quotes and links, is that you have very little, if any, risk.
I've never seen a test result with a <.9 result, but every lab is different. It's unfortunate, because there is a cut off from .9-1.10 that is considered equivocal - neither pos nor neg.
Above 1.10 is positive, though if it's close to that, it could be a false positive.
Herpes testing sucks. I have no other way to describe it than that. The hsv1 test - a type specific IgG test - misses 30% of infections. The hsv2 test misses 8% of infections. Both can give false positives, though the hsv2 test is more likely to.
If she does have hsv1 - and I can't say that she does without knowing an actual real index value - she can transmit it. The index value doesn't mean a single thing except that she has it, or doesn't.
Again, don't blame her, blame her doctor. So many other illnesses/infections use the index value to indicate severity of disease or problem, but herpes doesn't, and doctors don't understand that.
If you think of the cholesterol test, the higher your number is over 200, the worse it is for you. Herpes doesn't work that way. If I test positive on the hsv2 with a 19.8, it doesn't mean I have more herpes or am more infectious or will get more outbreaks than someone who gets a 7.6. It also doesn't indicate how long I've had it.
Also, I could test today and get a 19.8, and tomorrow, get a 17.5. It doesn't mean anything except that I have it.
The important thing, and the thing you should have gotten from my most recent post with the quotes and links, is that you have very little, if any, risk.
Thank You so Much. Everyone have a great weekend
You're welcome. :)
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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.
