I contracted H about six months ago from my boyfriend. He had no idea he had the virus. Apparently he's had it since he was a child, and his outbreaks are so mild and infrequent it never occurred to either of us what that single bump on his penis was, and how much of a pain it would turn out to be for me. C'est la vie. I cope with it the best I can. I've had several outbreaks since my initial one. I treat them with Valtrex as soon as I feel one coming on and can usually clear up the outbreak in a week, but they're still stressful and uncomfortable.

Anyway, My question: Is it possible for me to re-infect my partner? My outbreaks are so sudden. I might have an outbreak only hours after my partner and I have been intimate, and then I worry about when the outbreak started and whether he might have come into contact with it. I've read that outbreaks are contagious as soon as the bumps and redness start to form. If he comes into contact with my virus, could his become worse? I really worry about this...which doesn't help the outbreak at all! I would hate for him to have to go through the kind of outbreaks that I have.

I'm so glad I found this board yesterday. H is something that people are so secretive about. Even I have only told one other person besides my partner. It's nice to know that I'm not as alone as I feel sometimes. Thank you to everybody who has shared their experiences. I hope that one of you might have some information about my question.

Hey there,
based on my past experience (6 years in oct.) the virus is shedding before the outbreak occurs, so yes it is transmittable. Do you have any pre-symptoms such as, headache, tingling on your thighs, fluish symptoms, low fever, itching, rashes? These could be really subtle and you might not be noticing them until it is too late and you are in the outbreak stage. I know for me it seemed like the first year was always guesswork on when the outbreaks would happen and I was afraid to go near my boyfriend at the time because I was afraid of giving it to him. Be careful and always use protection
http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/bouncing.gif

Actually I'd like to qualify slightly what Kaesle has said, which is technically true. Because herpes is location-specific (it stays in the same place where you've contracted it unless it's re-transmitted elsewhere) it's possible to have it in more than one place at a time. Herpes infects a whole nerve sub-system at a time, so while your bf gets his OB on his penis it actually could OB anywhere in the "boxer shorts" area. So if he starts to get OBs in a new place in that general area, this will be because that's how herpes sometimes behaves, not because you've reinfected him.

It's highly unusual for someone to have *genital* location herpes since childhood. The kind of herpes one usually catches as a child is oral HSV-1, which a majority of us has. This can be transmitted to the genital area usually via oral sex (by someone else) or by oneself by touching your mouth at a time when you're shedding and then immediately touching your genitals.

That's a bit oversimplified and the risk of self-infection that way is very low, but it's possible. If he's ever had a cold sore or fever blister (which is caused by the herpes virus) then he has it orally too, and apparently he has it genitally. If he's never had a cold sore then he *might* not have it orally (or he might but just not get the symptoms), in which case he should avoid giving you oral sex when you're feeling any symptoms.

But if you have genital HSV-1 then you still might have received it via oral sex, and he have got it that way too. Has he actually been tested for the genital sore or are you just assuming that's what it is? It might be worthwhile for him to consult a doctor about it. If the sore is actually something else and he doesn't have it genitally, he might be susceptible to getting it there when *his* sore is active.

Sorry if that's confusing. Bottom line: you might try to get a confirmed diagnosis to be sure he's not at risk for getting something he doesn't already have.

Let me know if that makes any sense. LOL

TheOneInFour