I have a question....can you get herpes by sharing the same wash clothe as someone who has herpes? I know this may sound like a stupid question...thanks

There are no stupid questions when it comes to a communicable chronic disease. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif The answer is that with rare exceptions, no there is no way to catch it from sharing a wash cloth. The reason is because once the herpes virus is exposed to the air, it dies almost instantly.

The exceptions involve the fact that the virus can apparently survive for a short while in a warm, wet environment. If the washcloth was used by someone with active herpes and some got on the washcloth, and you used it very soon afterwards while it was still damp or wet, it is possible that it could transfer to you. Same applies to a damp towel.

However, even for that to be a way of transmission, (a) the person would have to be shedding the virus (usually from an outbreak like a blister, but there might not be any overt symptoms) and (b) the virus would have to find a break in the second person's skin to enter their body (like a scratch, cut, abrasion, etc.).

But having said all that, it's extremely rare that transmission is caused by something like that.

Hope that helps.

TheOneInFour

thanks so much