Should I ask a potential partner to have type specific herpes testing?

[whoknew]

I have herpes. Type 1 for sure. Waiting on results of type specific testing to see if I might also have type 2.

 

I am considering a relationship with someone and have told him my status. I don't know yet at this point if he'll even be good with continuing towards anything....

 

On the chance that he's ok with it, I'm thinking of asking him whether he'd be willing to have type specific testing done himself. He may or may not already carry the virus. I'm thinking that I'd feel more comfortable knowing if he does or not - if he already carries the virus and ends up with an outbreak at some point in future, I would at least not have to worry about whether or not he got it from me to begin with.

 

Does my thinking on the above make sense to anyone but me?

 

Also - I'm assuming that, since type specific testing is checking for antibodies (absence or presence), it would be a valid test for anyone; regardless of whether they carry the virus or not. Does anyone know if I'm correct in this assumption?

 

Also - there is so much stuff on the internet about herpes and some of it is contradictory, so I find myself becoming easily confused. Based on my outbreak symptoms and in view of the fact they appeared 3 days after I had sex (including oral) with my (now ex) partner, I was led to believe by both my doctor and the sexual health clinic that it was a brand new infection. Some of what I've read on line tends to back that up. Other things I have read indicate that a first time outbreak can happen years after initial infection. What I wonder about though is ..... would my symptoms have been as strong as they were if it was a first occurrence years after initial infection? Can anyone shed some informed light on this for me?

 

 

 

[MMissouri]

It makes complete sense. If I start a new relationship, I've planned on doing the same. People need to know what they are dealing with, and that is not just HSV related. 1-8 people have HIV and don't know.

 

It is true that you could have had this for awhile and just didn't know. The first outbreak is usually the worst, but that doesn't mean you will have the first outbreak immediately after getting the virus. Does that make sense? Some people carry the virus for years and never have an outbreak.