Hello,
Hypothetically if someone with cold sores/hsv1 performs oral sex on someone, can they give that person hsv1 genital herpes? I read that a remarkably high number of people do, in fact, have the virus in their system and with cold sores being so seemingly common, this (perhaps poor) question came to my mind.
Thanks a lot.

Yes. It can be transmitted to the genitals, in fact it is quite common.

Yes. It happened to me. It's a lot more common than was previously thought - possibly because the figures have genuinely risen (as apparently we are having more oral sex!) or possibly because it is getting noticed more now.

A lot of people who have genital HSV1 are not aware it has happened to them because they have had a mild genital outbreak and the virus has not returned - most people only have one genital HSV1 outbreak (in contrast with genital HSV2 or oral HSV1, where it is more likely to return every so often).

Thats how I got it. He's never had and OB (or from what he knows) and I had my first OB about a month ago. IT was a bad one too. it hurt so much!! I got it from asymptomatic shedding
So to answer your question... Yes its possible!

What's asymptomatic shedding?

Also, since so many people don't know they have HSV1, doesnt this sort of imply any oral sex without a condom or dental dam is a high risk for genital herpes?

Sorry for the questions; just seems like sex ed teachers dont do a good job sometimes.

Asymptomatic Shedding is pretty much shedding the virus without knowing you have it. Many people who have oral herpes (hsv 1) have such mild outbreaks or have had outbreaks when they were so young that they didnt even notice they had it. (many babies have a higher chance of getting hsv 1 because of all the kissing and cuddling they get). Thats how I got it. My boyfriend must have had such a mild outbreak or had an outbreak when he was very young that as he got older he either forgot he had an OB or he may not of even had one at all.
So... to sum it all up..... asymptomatic shedding is when one person doesnt know he/she has herpes 1 or 2 and performs oral sex or regular sex with or without pertection (can happen either way). THis can happen even in between outbreaks aswell. So, theres no sure way to protect yourself but take precautions, dont have sex during someones outbreak, always wash with soap after contact (20-30 secs should be fine)
I'm not the best with explaining things, so if you have any more questions just let me know!

asymptomatic shedding = shedding the virus without having any symptoms :)

Unprotected oral sex can be a real risk if someone who gets frequent cold sores gives oral sex to someone who doesn't already have HSV1. Having HSV1 orally gives you a great deal - though not 100% (once again I know from my own experience!) of protection from contracting HSV1 genitally. So, as anything up to 80% of the population has HSV1 orally, usually the level of virus connected with asymptomatic shedding (in most cases, a great deal lower than the shedding from an active sore) will not be enough to overcome a person's antibodies to the disease.

The dangers then are:

1. oral sex when active sores are present (a definite no-no)
2. oral sex with someone who does not have HSV1 - they don't have the antibodies to partially protect them
3. possibly, oral sex with someone whose immune system is down because they are unwell for other reasons.

There's another theory that as people have been more careful not to pass on HSV1 orally (the rates seem to be dipping in many societies), fewer people have the antibody partial protection that prior exposure to HSV1 brings - and this is another reason for the increase in genital HSV1 cases.

In summary then: if both partners have HSV1 (and most people do, you don't need frequent cold sores to have it), then the risk of one of them contracting the virus genitally when oral sex is in engaged in OTHER THAN AT THE TIME OF AN OUTBREAK is low, although it wouldn't be impossible. If the receiving partner doesn't have HSV1, they do have less protection from the virus.

Sex education in school never told me cold sores could be passed on to the genitals and I only found out when I was 20 years old and worried about the cold sore I had and how it would affect my girlfriend when I kissed her - I was horrified to realise I could transmit it to her genitals, that simply would never have occurred to me. But then I ended up with genital HSV1 myself :rolleyes: - from someone else, later.

Yes! I got it from my ex who had a visible cold sore, which niether of us thought about. i wasn't sleeping with him....but to him I was dirty and didn't get it from him, cause you can't get it that way. Lol, till the next girl he is with and fails to inform her or take precautions.