Just tested positive..

[Missmissy]

I’ve never had a cold sore or a genital outbreak, I just took the test out of curiosity. I had a feeling I would test positive because 80% of people have this but I’m still really upset and don’t know what to do with this info. 

what does this mean for kissing and oral sex? I don’t wanna pass it to anyone but im asymptomatic. 

my igg results were positive for hsv1 with a value of 22.2? What does the value mean? Is it possible to know if this is a new or old infection 

[mr_hopp]

Hi @Missmissy! You're pointing to one of the double-edged swords of being aware that you're a carrier. If you've never had an outbreak, then you don't know where on your body your original infection was (which gives you a sense of where your asymptomatic viral shedding is happening). I'm assuming that you tested positive for HSV-1? If so, then yes, it could either be oral or genital. Best way to handle this with integrity is to disclose in a matter-of-fact way and educate. (If there's any shame in your delivery, be sure to do that self-work necessary to get that out of the mix.) Sharing that most of the world are carriers of HSV-1 is helpful information to share: one, it helps to educate others about the ubiquity of herpes, and two, it helps to break down the stigma that this isn't just some disease that promiscuous people get. (An equal-opportunity virus!)

[Missmissy]

1 hour ago, mr_hopp said:

Hi @Missmissy! You're pointing to one of the double-edged swords of being aware that you're a carrier. If you've never had an outbreak, then you don't know where on your body your original infection was (which gives you a sense of where your asymptomatic viral shedding is happening). I'm assuming that you tested positive for HSV-1? If so, then yes, it could either be oral or genital. Best way to handle this with integrity is to disclose in a matter-of-fact way and educate. (If there's any shame in your delivery, be sure to do that self-work necessary to get that out of the mix.) Sharing that most of the world are carriers of HSV-1 is helpful information to share: one, it helps to educate others about the ubiquity of herpes, and two, it helps to break down the stigma that this isn't just some disease that promiscuous people get. (An equal-opportunity virus!)

Yeah, i have hsv1. I don’t know if it is oral or genital but I assume it’s oral herpes cuz I’ve kissed like 3x more people than I’ve had sex with. Also, my dad had coldsores when I was younger so I could’ve gotten it from him when I was little but I’ll never know. 
 

My main worry is kissing my 2 year old brother or giving oral to my bf. My dr didn’t seem worried about these things but I am. I wanna avoid passing this onto others but my dr thought antivirals were unnecessary.