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continueed
thank you for the very detailed advice. i might have overlooked it, but i am still confused. sometimes when i am sick, i may get a cold sore (i do take medicine to stop it), and i know it stays with me for life. I know it might now come for years etc., but say on an average day when im not sick, nor have a cold sore or fever blister, can i still give the guy genital herpes.
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I understand your confusion about herpes. I will try to answer you clearly.
When a person contracts HSV-1 or HSV-2, the virus actually lives in the body for the rest of the person's life. There is absolutely no cure.
Because the virus sleeps sometimes, it is unknown when you will have an outbreak. Sometimes people have a few symptoms of an outbreak (the area can be sore, itchy, tingly, etc.) and sometimes people have no idea that they are about to experience an outbreak.
Outbreak or not, your body constantly is shedding skin cells all over--including your lips and genitalia. Sometimes the virus will be shed out of these areas (HSV-1 usually from the lips, HSV-2 usually from the genitals). This being said, you never know when your body is shedding some of the infected cells. Nobody can tell when they are shedding the skin cells because it is so natural your body does not react to it. There will be no "signs" to shedding the cells, you see.
When the skin cells are being shed, this is when the virus is contagious. It is true that they are shed a lot more during an outbreak (which is why it's VERY important to never engage in sexual activity during this time). In short, you are always shedding a virus that is highly contagious--sometimes more than others.
This being said, even if you're not ill you can definately pass the virus along to another person. This is why it is very important to inform sexual partners of any kind about your condition so that they are aware of the possible consequences. There is no guarantee that you will pass it on just as there is no guarantee that you won't pass it along.
Now, it is very possible that you can transfer your herpes onto the genitals of a male or female if giving oral. Your HSV-1 (oral herpes) can definately be contracted on their genitals; however, because it is still the HSV-1 strain it is not considered genital herpes even though it would occur on the genitals. Just as some people have contracted HSV-2 (genital herpes) on their mouths, the two strains are different and cannot morph into each other.
Condoms can lessen your risks of infecting someone but are not considered a preventative. Also, you can spread your oral herpes onto other areas of your body so it's very important that you wash your hands before and after touching the sore (which you should do as little as possible anyway).
I hope I've cleared up some things for you. If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask me.
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