Please help me understand

Posted , 4 users are following.

So, 3 weeks ago I've had unprotected oral sex with a guy who has genital herpes. He gets frequent breakouts but he had no sores or lesions at the time.

I just got my test results and tested positive for HSV type 1 IgG 1,3. No symptoms so far. No cold sores ever in my life.

This forum helped me understand that it could either be a false positive, a recently acquired infection, or an existing asymptomatic infection. I'll find out in two months.

My question is, if he gets frequent breakouts that means he has HSV type 2, right? So shouldn't I also have an oral HSV 2 infection? Can the test correctly distinguish between the types? Does type 2 somehow turn into type 1 when contracted orally? In short is it safe to keep having oral sex with him or is there a chance that my mouth can get infected with type 2?

I hope this doesn't sound too stupid. I just wanna know how we can be safe.

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • Posted

    The frequency would certainly tend to suggest he has gHSV2. You should confirm with him to be sure, as exceptions can be possible. Oral HSV2 is possible, but is not thought to be as common, as HSV2 strongly prefers the genitals, and rarely recurs in those who do have it orally (again, exceptions apply). The IgG test is usually performed for both HSV types individually, so it can distinguish between the two. The type number is the virus "name" and has nothing to do with location; 1 cannot turn into 2 or vice versa. There will always be a risk, especially if the oral is unprotected and he is not on daily suppressive meds, albeit the risk is presumed to be lower for oral sex than actual intercourse.

  • Posted

    It is very possible that you already had hsv 1 and no symptoms and thus tested positive hsv 1 igg just three weeks after being with him. If that's the case and then the frequency of his outbreaks suggesting he may have genital hsv2 then you might want to be a little cautious.

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