For all the research I've done, I feel like I should know the answer to this question, but I am stil unclear.
My boyfriend gave me HSV-1 genital. He says he's asymptommatic and we don't know whether he has it orally or gentially, since both are possible. We haven't had any sexual contact since I contracted it, but I'm working on getting my symptoms to a point where we can.
It's obviously not possible to know which part of his body he has it on. If I am shedding, and we are having sex, can he get it gentially if he has it orally now? Or if we have oral sex, can he get it orally if he has it genitally now? Obviously, if I have a symptom, I could spread it to the other location on him. But if I am just shedding, does it work the same way? Also, if he DOES get it in the other location, will he not have symtoms since he doesn't now?
The short answer is YES you theoretically can spread your genital HSV1 to any part of his body that contacts your genitals. Since he already has HSV1, it will provide him some protection from getting it in other locations (besides where he already has it), but it isnt fool proof. Also, even though he may not have symptoms of it in one location, if you spread it to another location on his body, he could have symptoms there. Chances are, if he already has HSV1 orally, and you give it to him genitally by engaging in sex, his symptoms will be somewhat milder, possibly even unnoticeable since he has already built antibodies for it (if he got this in childhood, his body has dealt with it for a very long time and will decrease the chances of a true primary infection of his genitals.) Most people that get genital HSV1, have never been previously exposed to the virus. Like I said before though, he can surely still be infected downstairs by you, or himself by touching an OB on his mouth and then immediately touching his genitals.
Thanks for your response, and I'm sure you're right, but doesn't that seem strange?
If the virus remains latent and never surfaces, why would it all of a sudden be activated if a person is exposed in a different spot? If I am correct in my knowledge, the immune system is exactly the same, and a person cannot be infected twice with the same exact virus (since he gave me this strain). So, in other words, the internal state is the same, but the new exposure could serve as a trigger somehow? I don't get it.
I understand if you have a cold sore on your mouth, you can spread it to other parts of your body (i.e. genitals) and vice versa, but that scenario assumes that you get outbreaks period -- that the HSV is symptommatic and you are simply altering where it shows up.
So in my situation, for him to have symtpoms in a new spot, the mere exposure would have to cause the disease to behave differently in him. Apart from the coincidence that suddenly something in his life caused his herpes to become symptommatic, why would my re-exposing him to it change the way it acts in him?
Well, I certainly am not a viral expert and I don't have a background in human biology/anatomy , but I don't think even doctors can give you a fair answer to that question. The real answer to your question is, there is no straight answer. Everybody has their own unique immune responses and body chemistry. Meaning, even though he has oral HSV1, his immune system might somehow be able to provide a better response in that region. I would also say that, generally, your mouth is subject to better hygiene than downstairs, where its dark, sometimes sweaty, and underwear provide less of a chance for your skin to breath. In that sense, it may be easier for HSV to erupt genitally because of those conditions.
I am beginning to BELIEVE personally, and this is very controversial, that there is no difference between type 1 and type 2. When people say each one prefers a different region, I really think thats a load of crap. The reason HSV 1 generally tends to LOOK like it breaks out less often genitally, is simply because a vast majority of people already have it orally (and have had it for years, and we all know herpes gets better with time), so once they get it genitally, their bodies already have an arsenal to unleash on it. However, my argument falls apart somewhat when you look at the supposed statistics of HSV2 oral OBs, and their very infrequent recurrences. I have two things to refute that though. First, most people ASSUME when they get a cold sore that its type 1. They dont go out and get it cultured. So in fact alot of those cold sores might indeed be HSV2 and those facts might be somewhat disfigured. Also, this goes back to my argument of better hygiene. HSV2 might tends to be less sturdy on the mouth because of that reason as well. This is pure speculation on my part, but I honestly fail to see how the virus could be better genitically coded to literally survive better in one region, more so than it could in another region. You guys can eat this up all you want. I just think a true wise person realizes that he really isnt that wise, and still has alot to learn. By this I mean, herpes is something that we truly knows VERY little about. So we should consider all perspectives.
I hope I didn't bore the heck out of you.
Have a great day!
Colbe - I do think there is a difference in type 1 and 2 for, if not, tests like the western blot test would not be able to differentiate it. So, there is a difference, though I do not understand exactly why the types "prefer" one location to others.
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