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Thanks Dave, Have read through her forums extensively already and she has a free handbook too with all the essential info. https://www.westoverheights.com/herpes/the-updated-herpes-handbook/ Thanks for the additional comments tca254! All the best to you guys.

Hi JeffH, Thanks a lot for the extra information. Everything is much clearer now than things were before. Everything I've read subsequently confirms what you've said. One other question or concern my partner had was if having sex (especially if you've been celibate for a long time), can act as a trigger for an outbreak? I'd assume that outbreaks are random and more affected by the immune system possibly being low, or being sick at the time, and not affected by having sexual contact, but perhaps there is some kind of correlation? Thanks again for all the help Jeff and kca24.

Hi, Thanks very much for your reply. The information is very helpful and I appreciate the time you took to help answer my questions and it was very helpful. I especially appreciate your answer to question 4, I think that's something worth keeping in mind. Interesting point about the antivirals and GHSV-1 too. I've also done a bit of extra reading since initially posting this which confirms everything you've said. Especially from this forum: https://www.westoverheights.com/herpes-forum/page/1 I've also read that you shed asymptomatically about 50% of the time compared to symptomatic shedding, I know that's just an average, but that would imply that in 7 years I've only shed four times (twice asymptotically and twice symptomatically). Not sure if that statistic is at all correct, or how much it varies. All the best and good on you too for being proactive and finding out everything you should know. I feel better having some clearer idea of how things stand. Thanks again for all your help.

Hi guys, I contracted genital HSV-1 from an ex-girlfriend about 7 years ago. When I contracted it from her she was in the very initial stages of her outbreak and didn't realise she was having one. I also had a mild skin condition at the time (tinea) around my inner thighs which is probably contributed to me getting HSV-1 from her genitally. I also didn't know she had it, she hadn't disclosed. 7 years have passed, and besides my initial outbreak which lasted for several days I haven't had any noticeable outbreaks at all, except for a very mild outbreak towards the end of last year which presented as a mild itch (6 years after initial outbreak). I am currently seeing someone and I have disclosed my status to her. It's been hard for us because there is so much conflicting information out there. We're in a distance relationship and this does weigh on us. I don't want to alarm her, but I also don't want to underplay the risks, and obviously I want to avoid passing my HSV-1 infection onto her as best I can. I have the following questions: 1. My partner is still a virgin, but I understand that many people have HSV-1 orally and are unaware of it. I contacted Dr. Peter Leone with the list of questions I'm about to ask, and he simply said that if she has HSV-1 orally, that makes her immune from getting HSV-1 genitally from me. Is this correct? 2. If I have HSV-1 genitally, does that make me immune from getting it orally? The reverse in other words of question 1. 3. Because I have had genital HSV-1 for 7 years now, and have only had one noticeable outbreak which was very mild since at the end of last year, does that mean that the chances of me passing it onto her are very low (presuming she does not have HSV-1?). Obviously we would avoid sex when there is evidence of an outbreak, the last thing I want is to pass it on for her. I know that you shed HSV-1 asymptomatically and there is no way of knowing when you are or aren't, but I'm presuming that the chances of spreading the HSV-1 when symptoms are not present are much lower than when they are. I understand further that HSV-1 outbreaks in the genital area are also less common than with HSV-2. Taking into account that I have genital HSV-1 have had only 1 visible outbreak that I know of in 7 years following my initial outbreak when I contracted it, how great are the chances of me passing HSV-1 onto her genitally, provided we make use of the precautions of using protection and abstaining if an outbreak occurs. Does the chance decrease over time? I read somewhere that the transmission rates are highest in the first year. 4. Can I give her HSV-1 orally through oral sex from my genitals from asymptomatic shedding? Is the chance of her contrating HSV-1 orally from my genitals not higher than genital-genital transmission, seeing as HSV-1 prefers the area around the mouth? 5. Does taking acyclovir or other antivirals while being sexually active by myself reduce the risk of transmission to her. Are there side-effects if taken over a long period of time, does the virus develop resistance? 6. If she did get HSV-1 from me genitally, would her body react in a similar way to mine? Thankfully I've only had the one painful initial outbreak and one very mild one in seven years. I have read that different people react differently, but not sure if some strains of the virus are more aggressive than others. We both really care about each other and I have been very honest with her about my HSV-1 diagnosis and the risks and implications if she gets it. As much as we want to be intimate with each other, the last thing I want to do is pass on my genital HSV-1 infection to her obviously. We are both struggling with the idea of getting it from me, and a part of me is trying to decide whether being sexually intimate is worth that risk. We're trying to work out what the risks are of her contracting it from me, providing we avoid sex if I'm having an outbreak, taking into account it's HSV-1 and not 2 and that I have only had one very minor outbreak since my initial one seven years ago. If we do decide to be intimate with each other, I don't want her to have all these questions weighing on her or me and for us to know as best we can what the risks are. Thanks for you time guys.