whitlow fingering question

[Bellapink]

Can you get whitlow from fingering a person with type 1 genital herpes and no active outbreak ? I was hooking up with this guy last night and I have herpes type 1 on my genitals have had it for 4 years and no active outbreak. Apparently he had a cut on his finger and is now worried about him getting herpetic whitlow from fingering me. What is the likelihood he is going to develop this? 

[mr_hopp]

Hey @Bellapink! Good question. It's unlikely since HSV really prefers either the mouth or genitals (mucous membrane, warm, moist). From what I've heard, most cases of herpes spreading to the finger (herpetic whitlow) are spread via an active outbreak since viral shedding doesn't produce enough virus to overwhelm the thicker skin.