If you have oral herpes are the chances that you have genital herpes greatly increased? I would think it is since you can give it someone when you give oral sex and then if you have sex with the person you would get it genitally, right?

defenetly. Be very careful when u have sysmptoms.
I beleive i have passed my Genital Herpes to my face by etheir my hands or towel. Keep in mind, i wash my hand extremelly often, and never really touch the sore. I use latex condom to wash my prvate when i have OB. But i havent confirm wether the stuff on my face is herpes or acne. But is weird that i get acne all of the sudden. My geatest fear, is that i even notice some on my body. Thye seem very mild.
So my advice to is to be carefull.

Hi Mahal,

The short answer to your first question is No, not especially. Your chances of getting genital herpes do not typically increase if you have oral herpes, for a number of reasons. First, oral herpes is almost always HSV-1, usually caught in childhood from nonsexual contact with family and friends. HSV-1 doesn't transfer to the genital area (indeed anywhere outside of the mouth and face area) very easily. It's not that it never happens, but it doesn't happen nearly as often or as easily as HSV-2 transfers to the genital area.

Second, having one type of herpes actually slightly decreases your chances of getting the other. Again, we're talking a numbers game here because it can and does happen, but statistically your chances of getting HSV-2 if you already have HSV-1 (anywhere) are slightly lower. It is believed that having the antibodies for one will help to fight off an infection of the other, but I don't think researchers totally understand how or why this happens. They only know it shows up in the numbers. Similarly, if you already have HSV-1 somewhere, you already have the antibodies for this so it is thought to protect you somewhat from getting it elsewhere...but it's far from impossible for this to happen.

Yes, you can pass oral herpes on to someone genitally. Again, HSV-1 doesn't "take hold" in the genital area as easily as HSV-2, but it can and does happen. So like Ricky said, you need to be very careful to avoid skin-to-skin contact between your mouth area and another person when you have a cold sore or when you feel the symptoms coming on (itching, tingling, swelling, burning, etc.).

Yes, if someone catches your HSV-1 genitally, they CAN pass it back to you genitally through intercourse. Again, the chances are slightly lower because (a) you already have it orally (and the antibodies are already in place) and (b) it doesn't like the genital area as much as the oral area, but yes it can and does happen. If you also have genital HSV-2, I believe the chances go down even further for you getting genital HSV-1 on top of it.

Genital HSV-1 (indeed HSV-1 anywhere outside of the mouth area, and even to a large extent IN the mouth area) typically is much milder in symptoms and frequency than HSV-2. As with everything else about herpes, this can vary greatly with the individual (and can change over time with their stress level and other factors). But usually when either HSV-1 or HSV-2 are found outside their area of preference, they don't produce nearly as much in the way of symptoms as when they're in their area of preference. As a result some people don't even know they have genital HSV-1 (or oral HSV-2) because they might get one OB and then never again. (Oral HSV-2 is thought to be quite rare.)

I hope that helps! The best thing to do is avoid skin-to-skin contact with the infected area around OB times. If you're getting frequent OBs, you may be shedding quite a bit between OBs too, so best to avoid giving oral sex until your system settles down. Antiviral drugs or alternative supplements may help that.

TheOneInFour

[This message has been edited by TheOneInFour (edited 06-21-2003).]

Originally posted by Ricky77:
I beleive i have passed my Genital Herpes to my face by etheir my hands or towel.

Ricky, I really think what you're describing isn't herpes but is probably acne brought on by stress, possibly from having herpes genitally. The only way you can transfer herpes from one location on your body to another is by touching the sore and then touching another area of your body pretty much immediately (and even then the second area needs to have a break in the skin somehow, like a cut or rash or scratch). The virus is killed almost instantly after being exposed to the air, so it's not that easy to spread it to other areas of your body.

Herpes enters the body through the skin but then it lives in the nerves. Different nerve "sub-systems" serve different areas of skin on the body (called dermatomes). Herpes stays in the same dermatome (area of skin) unless it's transmitted to another dermatome via external skin transmission (like what I described above).

What I'm trying to say is that you won't get herpes popping up on its own in a whole different area of the body unless you transmit it there. Herpes can and does pop up within the same dermatome as where you were initially infected (e.g., the area covered by boxer shorts, in the case of genital herpes) but it won't spread on its own to your chest, for instance.

I believe it's ASHA (American Social Health Assn.) that says there are no documented cases of herpes being spread through an inanimate object, like a towel or toilet seat or faucet. The virus might live a bit longer in a damp towel, since the virus likes a warm, damp environment, but the chances are still probably very slim that you'd infect yourself with it.

It is my understanding that acne can be aggravated by stress. If you've recently contracted herpes, this is probably a very high stress time for you, so any acne is likely to get worse just because of the stress you're under.

Herpes can also be aggravated by stress and a vast majority of us has oral HSV-1 (also known as cold sores, usually caught in early childhood through nonsexual contact with friends and family), so if even some of your acne is actually herpes, it's much more likely to be HSV-1 that you've probably had for a long time. It's very unlikely that your genital HSV-2 was transmitted to your face. Oral/facial HSV-2 is very rare.

I hope that helps to reassure you a bit. I don't think you need to be quite as nervous about it as you seem to be feeling. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

TheOneInFour

of course i hope is not Herpes and hope what u said is all true.

But the thing is, when one little bump comes, the next 3 days , a few more in that area will pop some more. I have also noticed it on my neck and ear, but they are very mild and go away in a day or two. I really dont get much acne on area such as neck and ear, but now this kept me thinking.I also experrienced nerve pain on my neck and top of the head, just like i feel it at the groin area when i have OB on my Genital .


Anyway, i know u wanted to help me, and i thank u for ur support .

You're welcome. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif I really think you should get one of these facial blisters tested by a doctor. If you get the swab test done within 24-48 hours of when they first appear, you have a much better chance of getting a positive result if it's herpes. It could at least confirm your suspicions. If you keep getting them tested and they keep turning up negative, just maybe it's not herpes then. Good luck! Let us know how you make out.

TheOneInFour

i will, and going to doctor on monday.
I also told my mom about me having herpes and she was really understanding. Man, i broke out and cried cause i felt dirty but then i am a human and have sexual needs. Feeling much better now.

hope everyone will too.

Ricky, nice job. Very nice.