Foreplay question between a herpes positive female and a negative male...

[otter]

Can you transmit HSV2 to a partner from “fingering” an HSV2+ partner?

 

What type of protection is needed, if any, when engaging in foreplay between a positive female and a negative male that is NOT oral, vaginal, anal sex?

 

-Otter

 

[otter]

This is of course assuming that the female is NOT going through an OB and is taking suppressive meds.

 

-Otter

[WCSDancer2010]

Technically, I guess you *could* even when on supressives and no OB ... there's always the chance that a small amount of virus could be being shed and you *could* pass it on by playing with the H+ person and then playing with the H- person, but the odds are pretty darned small.

 

I have to admit in all my 35 years with H I never worried about this as long as I was on the meds and paying attention to my body ... there gets to be a point where once everyone knows there's a small risk, you ACCEPT it and then live life. Just like you accept the risk of possible injury or death EVERY TIME you get in your car.

 

If you are concerned, you could have some anti-bacterial wipes or whatever (yes I know it's a virus, but odds are they would kill it as it's not very stable outside the body) and you could wipe your hands when you switch from the H+ to the H- person, but that would get pretty old for me pretty quick. The biggest thing is for the H+ person to be VERY honest about any possible OB's and to avoid any exchanging of play between the two genital areas (at least, not without washing between) until the OB is over ... OR you can use OB times as an excuse to find other (non-genital) ways to be intimate .... which can actually IMPROVE your sex life ;)

[lotussmoke]

I've actually wondered about this same issues even thou there's nobody else in my life. curiosity for ya :P uhh I have read somewhere that the virus dies when exposed to air.... or something like that so.. I imagine that if someone were fingering someone and when they're done the virus would die on the hand?? this probably sounds super idiotic but if there's anymore insight that'd be awesome

[WCSDancer2010]

Well, as someone made sure to point out to me on here (which I already knew), there *are* studies that showed the virus was able to live outside the body for up to a couple days, but my reply to that is it's in a lab and we don't know what the environment was, but I'm guessing warm and moist ... cool and dry is the enemy of the virus.

 

That's why I say it *might* be possible to pass it on and if you have any worries that you might be shedding (ie, feeling possible prodromes) or if you are OCD/Anxiety prone, keeping some wipes nearby to quickly wipe your hands off with might help to reduce any worries you may have ....

 

The BIGGEST cause of the spread of the virus is ignorance and mis-information. Yes, a few get unlucky even tho all the precautions were taken, but if everyone was tested and all H+ used the anti-virals and other precautions and COMMON SENSE by not risking anything if they were prodromal (which may happen more often in the first year or two), the spread of this virus would be drastically reduced. Most new H+ cases are with a partner who either didn't know they have H, or were told they couldn't spread it without an OB. Knowledge is DEFINITELY power in this case ;)