Oral sex transmission

[Medusa]

I have hsv 1& 2 genitally, just happened this past October. As far as I know, I don't have either orally. I plan on getting a blood test in Jan or Feb to check antibodies and whatnot. In the meantime, if I perform oral sex on another positive person, would I have a chance of getting it orally as well? 

[AlliKat12]

Hello,

So since you have HSV1 and HSV2, you already have the antibodies in your system which should help prevent any further infection to other parts of your body.  With that being said, anything is possible but would be a smaller chance of reinfection.  Since your body has only had this infection for a little over 2 months, I'm not quite sure how long it takes for antibodies to accumulate to protect other parts of your body.  

[Medusa]

38 minutes ago, AlliKat12 said:

Hello,

So since you have HSV1 and HSV2, you already have the antibodies in your system which should help prevent any further infection to other parts of your body.  With that being said, anything is possible but would be a smaller chance of reinfection.  Since your body has only had this infection for a little over 2 months, I'm not quite sure how long it takes for antibodies to accumulate to protect other parts of your body.  

Thank you. Thats what I've been operating on. But someone I was speaking to expressed concern which was completely understandable. 

[mr_hopp]

Great to hear you're staying informed and cautious, @Medusa. It's wise to consider potential risks, and it's true that while having antibodies may offer some protection against spreading the virus to other body parts, it's not a guarantee. The body's immune response can take some time to develop fully after an initial infection, sometimes up to a year after initial infection. It's different for everyone, but what we do know is the longer you have herpes, the less of a chance there is to auto-inoculate (spread it to other parts of your body). Something to consider specifically to your question about oral sex is that HSV-2 is very rarely found orally (only 1-2% of all oral herpes cases are HSV-2), so passing genital HSV-2 to the mouth when no outbreak signs or symptoms are evident is quite rare. Stay safe and keep the conversations going!