Rob72723

Hey @mr_hopp, No worries at all. I realized my post was a bit of a long-winded overshare! I would definitely still appreciate your insight on whether to contact former partners about HSV-1.

Hi all, I have a question regarding the ethics of disclosing HSV-1 status to a past partner. I broke up with my girlfriend in April of 2022. A little over a year later, I had what I suspect was my first genital outbreak. I say "suspect" because I went to urgent care at the time and the doctor waved it off as being another skin condition. I also tested negative for both HSV types via an IGG blood test at the time, which I thought was conclusive since I haven't been sexually active with anyone since my ex, but later discovered how unreliable these tests can be, especially in regard to HSV-1. My symptoms resolved but, since I couldn't figure out what else they could be, I decided to schedule a virtual appointment with Terri Warren. I showed her some pictures and she thought they looked a lot like herpes and recommended confirmatory testing. I tested positive for HSV-1 on the Western Blot a few weeks later. Although Terri noted that my symptoms were suspicious of GHSV, when I asked how to disclose in the future, she recommended just saying that I have the cold sore virus and may have had symptoms down there but am not certain. Although I plan on disclosing going forward, I'm a bit conflicted about whether I should text my ex gf 16 months after a tough breakup, which I think she resents me for. I suspect she may have given it to me, since she had "acne breakouts" around her mouth that sometimes looked like cold sores, but I'm definitely not sure about that, and I find it hard to believe that I hadn't at least contracted it orally before meeting her. I guess I'm just wondering how HSV-1 differs from HSV-2 in regard to communicating with past partners. I know the majority of the population has the cold sore virus, and part of me feels like it would be ridiculous to text her about this and that it might drum up some really negative feelings overall.