Anyone Here Have HSV 2 in Their Mouth?

[hippyherpy]

It seems like almost impossible to get, and if I remember correctly, there aren't any recorded cases of it. Does anyone here have it?

[ihaveittoo]

It's rare but it happens. Only 1-2% of oral herpes is from hsv2. Seems like a couple people have passed through here that have had it. Might try running a search...may be able to find a post or two from someone who has it.

[Katidid]

Very, very rare. Chance of a sink hole swallowing you is greater!

[hippyherpy]

I'm thinking about oral sex and HSV 2 disclosure. Is it even necessary? For example, if a girl wants to give me a blow job, do I really have to mention that I have HSV2 genital?

 

The thinking is people kiss all the time and are much more likely to be passing HSV 1 orally, but they don't disclose. HSV2 is much harder to pass on to the mouth, and oral HSV2 is almost completely inactive compared to HSV1.

 

 

[Katidid]

In my opinion, no...not necessary at all.

[Bluebetty]

I think I saw a video interview with a doctor expert on here and he said that most of those cases where people were infected orally happened among gay men. I really don't think it's anything to worry about.

[hippyherpy]

Experts please weigh in on this theory I have:

 

HSV 2 is more difficult to catch in the mouth if HSV 1 is already there, and since HSV 1 is so common, HSV 2 is going to be very rare in the mouth.

 

Is that what accounts for the lack of transmission or is it just HSV2 doesn't like the mouth?

[Bluebetty]

No, HSV2 doesn't like the mouth. If infection does occur there, which is very rare, the symptoms will be mild. It definitely prefers the bottom of the spine.

[Lemmy]

My biggest fear (and one of my only fears) is sinkholes!! My friends this this is hilarious. I guess I have better reason to be afraid more than most if we're basing it on the odds. I have oral HSV2. I was exposed both genitally and orally at the same time. Four months after exposure I had my first genital outbreak. Two yrs later I had my first oral outbreak and that outbreak has been nonstop back to back outbreaks for the last 12 months. Needless to say I'm not coping with it very well. I don't think anyone does when you're reminded of being H positive every minute of every day for an entire year. Fortunately my oral outbreaks are all on the inside of mouth (cheeks, gums, soft/hard palate). So at least it's not noticeable to others. But it's killing my soul. The really crazy thing is that I have only had a few genital outbreaks (very mild).

[Lemmy]

Btw I'm a hetero-female. Not a gay man. It happens. I wouldn't put others at risk without telling them your status.

[hippyherpy]

Lemmy did you get tested for hsv1?

[hippyherpy]

Also was your giver on suppressive meds? It seems like a rare thing to pass to the mouth. Was he having an outbreak?

[Katidid]

@Lemmy wow! I'm so surprised....I've read numerous articles about hvs2 oral and read that it's extremely rare (1% of population) and that it did not reoccur. In other words, you get the initial ob and that's it. Hmmmm I've never passed it on either way.

[glacierdaisy]

I wanted to give my own perspective on this. I am married for nearly 20 years and only in the past 4 months discovered I have HSV2, you guessed it, due to cold sores on my lips and in my mouth (as well as my eyes, hand, legs, and genitals). My husband has never had any cold sores and does not have HSV1 or HSV2, and until this summer, I would have thought the same of myself. We have both had blood tests to confirm this. So, faithful wife has HSV2. I've been through 3 months of outbreaks on suppressive therapy and now I've got a 4th month about to start, breaking out on my hand again. I'm just waiting for next week for the eyes and mouth and everything else to join in.

 

If you have HSV2 and get oral, you can pass this on to a partner to his/her mouth. While I have not passed this to my husband in all of this time, I would not risk it if I had an open sore anywhere on my body. I believe I've had this virus for probably 25-30 years and this summer just happened to be the tipping point for my immune system.

 

It is frustrating to be the "rare" person who has HSV2 above and below the waist, but I doubt I'm really that unusual. This is something people assume, including doctors. I do everything possible to not expose my husband, children, and unsuspecting friends, family, and strangers to this virus. I wish someone had been been as vigilant as I am and not given it to me. :-/

 

[hippyherpy]

Most people are too ignorant to be vigil about it.

 

It's really not a big deal for the majority of people, symptoms wise.

[Bluebetty]

Medical study with some statistics on this: http://sti.bmj.com/content/80/4/272.full

[hippyherpy]

http://www.bustle.com/articles/181410-9-facts-about-genital-herpes-any-sexually-active-human-should-know

 

 

According to a study in the Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases Supplement back in 1990, almost 100 percent of HSV-2 occurs in the genitals. Part of the reason may be that many people also have HSV-1 from childhood; Dr. Peter Leone at the New York Times says that having HSV-1 "offers only partial immunity" to HSV-2. We're not entirely sure how much, but that might be enough to make oral transmission very rare. But here's the thing: a study in 2004 found that viral "reactivation" of HSV-2 in the mouth (reactivation means shedding) was very, very rare, showing up in about 0.08 percent of patients. So you may get HSV-2 in your mouth, but you're very unlikely to show symptoms or spread it anywhere else.

 

 

.08%

[Lemmy]

@hippyherpy... My partner was (supposedly) unaware he had it. I didn't notice an outbreak at the time. I tested negative for HSV 1 and positive for HSV 2. My oral outbreak occurred at the same time as my initial genital outbreak (3 yrs ago). The only symptom being my entire throat area was sore. After that I've had few genital outbreaks and they were always very mild. Fast forward 2 years, I started getting full-on oral outbreaks...gums, cheeks, roof of mouth, throat, tongue. I've been in a constant state of having an outbreak for 13 months now:( I've taken several antivirals, none have helped whatsoever. I usually have several sores in my mouth at once. To make matters worse, I kept this dirty little secret to myself and 6 mo ago, before I could stop him, my son grabbed my sport water bottle and drank after me. He is now having frequent outbreaks too. His are only on the inside of his cheeks. I am devistated to say the least. He's 12 yrs old so we had a long talk. He had already learned about herpes in school so that was helpful but I of course gave him a lot more info on the condition. He's not mad at me at all but I feel like killing myself. He hasn't even had his first kiss. I will never forgive myself. I only pray that his outbreaks don't become as painful as mine can be and that his will clear up unlike mine.

[hippyherpy]

Wow that's intense. It's possible that you might have gotten HSV2 genital and then somehow infected your mouth. Also, you and your son might have some predisposition to receiving HsV2 in the mouth because the stats say you are an extreme outlier.

[Lemmy]

We must be. I really doubt I infected myself later. I was very careful after being diagnosed. And the sore throat I had during initial breakout was pretty convincing. At the same time as that initial outbreak I also went about a wk with a very distinct metallic taste in my mouth. I found others online that experienced this too. And I also went several days in which I could not taste salt at all. No matter how much I put on my food...nothing...could not taste it at all. Something was definitely going on in my mouth. Then all that went away & I was very relieved. But then 2 yrs later... You know the rest.

 

We must be predisposed I guess. We both have great immune systems otherwise. We rarely ever get sick, physically fit, eat clean, etc. . I would have assumed I wouldn't be likely to get it. My best friend growing up used to get cold sores all the time and not knowing anything about them really, we used to foolishly share drinks and lipgloss all the time and I never got type 1 from her.

[optimist]

I recently read a really interesting post in Terri Warren's Q&A forum. It's a public forum, but I still feel kind of weird linking to the specific Q&A because it feels like a personal conversation. I can PM it to anyone who wants to read it though.

 

The gist of what Terri Warren said is that in her 33 years of practice, she hasn't seen HSV2 transmitted by an HSV2+ woman on medication receiving oral sex from an HSV2- man, but she does advise people that it is conceptually possible, there *is* a low risk (lower than the risk of intercourse), and it is probably best to disclose prior to oral sex because partners may react negatively if they're informed after the fact. It was unclear whether she believes the same is true male to female because she was responding specifically to a female poster who is on medication, but I believe I once saw a similar post in which she said she didn't recall seeing it happen M to F on meds either.

 

She also said she's had female HSV2- clients who purposely perform oral sex on their HSV2+ partners during outbreaks as a strategic attempt to contract HSV2 orally and therefore protect against contracting HSV2 genitally while pregnant (there's a high risk of neonatal herpes when GHSV1 or HSV2 are contracted in late pregnancy). She did not say whether these strategic attempts are ever successful but she described it as a reasonable strategy, so I think that implies there is indeed a fair risk of transmission during outbreaks, but maybe I'm reading too much into it.