Oral herpes and transmission rates

[Liyah3456]

Hello!

I’ve had ghsv-2 since i was 21, i’m currently 27 and i have a question and didn’t want to drive myself crazy by going on google 

1. how likely is it for a female who’s HSV-2 to pass it on orally to a negative male partner with no protection but on suppressive meds 

2. transmission rate for positive female to negative male on suppressive meds 

Any help would be appreciated 

Thank you!

[Flowerteacher55]

Hi! 🙂 

Great questions, and it is so awesome that you came here for support and information instead of going down the dreaded google rabbit hole! 

To answer your questions ...

1. Although I am unsure specifically about the transmission rates from genital to oral from female to male, the general transmission rates from an H+ female to an H- male is 4% (no protection from suppressive/daily antivirals or condoms) 2% (with the use of condoms OR the suppressive/daily antivirals) and 1% (with the use of BOTH condoms and suppressive/daily antivirals). Since they are talking about condoms here, I would assume these statistics are about genital to genital transmission and not genital to oral transmission, however I am unsure! @mr_hopp do you know if these statistics are for genital to genital or the stats include both/all transmission routes? 

2. I believe that it would be 2% chance of transmission, as explained above and on the fact sheet sent to your email when you signed up for this site! 🙂 

I hope this helps! 

Blessings! ❤️ 

grace

[Liyah3456]

Thank you for your help!

[Liyah3456]

hello 

sorry another question,

1. can you pass on genital herpes (hsv-2) orally 

2.how common is it 

3.does it make any difference when taking suppression medicine 

[Liyah3456]

oh and how can you tell the difference between an outbreak and ingrown hair? 

i panic every time worrying that i’m having an outbreak 

[Flowerteacher55]

Hi!! 

Great questions!! 

1. Yes, HSV-2 can be passed from genital to mouth, although it is not very common. 

2. It's not very common. Those who are immunocompromised or are going through chemotherapy or are taking immunosuppressant medication are more at risk. I tried to find the exact percentages and statistics but I couldn't! If anyone could provide any helpful info it would be appreciated! 😊 

3. The medication typically cuts your risk of transmission in half. Although medicine works differently for everyone, it is hypothetically assumed the medication could reduce your risk of shedding (which would in turn reduce the risk of the person contracting it since there is less viral shedding occuring). 

4. Great question!! ...

Ingrown Hairs: typically appear as a pimple or bump with a dark brown line or dot in the center (the hair). They may be painful, especially if they get infected. Usually, they appear alone as a single bump (not in a cluster).

HSV Sores: usually occur after experiencing prodrome symptoms. They may itch or burn or tingle. Sores can appear in clusters or alone. They usually heal in stages: red bump, fluid filled bump, bump oozes, bump scabs, scab falls off. Not everyone goes through all these stages, but these are the 'classic' stages. 

I hope this helps!!! 😊🌻🌼☀️💕

Blessings!!! 

[Liyah3456]

Thanks for your help!

[mr_hopp]

On 6/19/2022 at 10:09 PM, Flowerteacher55 said:

1. Although I am unsure specifically about the transmission rates from genital to oral from female to male, the general transmission rates from an H+ female to an H- male is 4% (no protection from suppressive/daily antivirals or condoms) 2% (with the use of condoms OR the suppressive/daily antivirals) and 1% (with the use of BOTH condoms and suppressive/daily antivirals). Since they are talking about condoms here, I would assume these statistics are about genital to genital transmission and not genital to oral transmission, however I am unsure! @mr_hopp do you know if these statistics are for genital to genital or the stats include both/all transmission routes? 

These statistics are for genital-to-genital transmission. And here's where it gets interesting: Let's say we're talking about genital HSV1-to-oral transmission ... then since genital HSV-1 only sheds 3-5% of the time and oral HSV-1 sheds 9-18% of the time (see the free handouts for the stats breakdown), there is actually more risk of passing HSV-1 orally from kissing someone with a history of oral HSV-1 outbreaks than going down on someone who has a history of genital HSV-1 outbreaks. 

[Liyah3456]

@mr_hopp okay so i’m a little confused now what about hsv-2

[mr_hopp]

What specifically is your question about HSV-2? 

[Liyah3456]

The oral transmission rate hsv 2 positive female to negative male

because you was explaining hsv 1 my main questioned pertained to just hsv. 2

[mr_hopp]

Oh, what @Flowerteacher55 said is right on. Genital HSV-2 to oral via oral sex is rare. It does happen, but it's rare. Only 1-2% of all oral herpes cases are caused by HSV-2. 

[Liyah3456]

oh right thank you so much for your help

[Jessica88]

@newtothis22 thought you might find this thread helpful!