First of all, I like to say that I'm so grateful for this board and the moderators taking the time to answer these questions!

So I recently found out that I have GHSV1 and I can't explain how emotionally traumatizing it has been. Both my partner and I have only been with each other (we both were virgins, even orally) when we met. I'm super cautious so we always used condoms. A year and half into our relationship, I started experiencing pain in my vagina, and then saw sores, freaked out and went to the doctor. We both got tested...mine was a biopsy, his was a blood test and we both have HSV1. He has never had any symptoms and we both were very confused as to how we contracted this? We know that his mom has HSV1 and gets visible cold sores on her mouth. My doctors explanation was that my partner got this from his mom kissing him as a young child. Is that possible?

Also...what are my chances of getting another outbreak? My first one was extremely painful and I can't imagine going through life with these.

I have GHSV1....so does that mean the virus can travel to my mouth, or anywhere else on my body (ie. eyes). Do I need to take precautions with my partner even though he is also infected?

I heard that having GSHV can increase my chances of HIV....is this only during an outbreak? Or am I always going to be at an increased risk?

Thank you for taking the time to answer these ...I was left with so many unanswered ques and am still reeling from the shock of knowing that I contracted and STD even though both of us are monogamous.

Hsv1 orally is incredibly common. If you are in your 20's, about 30-40% of your friends have it whether they are getting obvious cold sores to know it or not. Most folks who have hsv1 orally, never get obvious cold sores to know that they are infected. Your bf could've contracted hsv1 orally as a small child or he could've gotten it from anyone he's kissed in his lifetime.

About 1/2 of folks who have hsv1 genitally, never get another ob. Of those who do, the average is 1 additional ob the first year and 1 ob every other year after that. Only a small percentage of folks are getting them more often. Only time will tell if you will get ob's on a regular basis or not. Typically, unless you have something else going on genitally, recurrences are much milder than the initial one is.

If you only have hsv1 genitally, it won't infect your eyes.

Your partner I assume doesn't have hiv so no worries there. It's hsv2 that's been associated with increased hiv risk since it causes changes in the skin that allow it to infect easier as well as causes more recurrences ( open lesions are easy ways for infections to get into the skin in general ).

Since your current partner has hsv1 orally, typically just avoiding sex anytime you have obvious genital symptoms is all the precautions to take.

keep asking questions as you have them

betsy

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ASHA Moderator