I’ve never gotten cold sore and I have a gf but a new girl I met has cold sores. Not sure how contagious they are and don’t want to get them myself and then spread to my main partner.
1 how contagious?
2 should I stay with new girl?
3 if I do stay preventative measures?
Thanks!
1 how contagious?
2 should I stay with new girl?
3 if I do stay preventative measures?
Thanks!
So HSV-1 (e.g. cold sores) which is just a version of herpes that is very common. Over 2/3 of the population have it. It's a lifelong disease once you get it. Here are some answers to your questions:
1. It is mainly transmitted by oral-to-oral contact to cause oral herpes infection, via contact with the virus in sores, saliva, and surfaces in or around the mouth. If she has an active cold sore it is very contagious and if you kiss her you will almost be guaranteed to have it, hence why 2/3 of the population have it. If she doesn't have an active cold sore it is still possible but less likely.
2. This is a very personal question. HSV-1 isn't something either of us would consider a deal breaker in a relationship, if so, you are eliminating 2/3's of your options. Seems to be there are a lot of other issues here. Is your current relationship a ENM situation?
3. Preventative measures are don't kiss if she has an active cold sore. Keep in mind it can be transmitted from oral or skin surfaces that appear normal and when there are no symptoms present.
1. It is mainly transmitted by oral-to-oral contact to cause oral herpes infection, via contact with the virus in sores, saliva, and surfaces in or around the mouth. If she has an active cold sore it is very contagious and if you kiss her you will almost be guaranteed to have it, hence why 2/3 of the population have it. If she doesn't have an active cold sore it is still possible but less likely.
2. This is a very personal question. HSV-1 isn't something either of us would consider a deal breaker in a relationship, if so, you are eliminating 2/3's of your options. Seems to be there are a lot of other issues here. Is your current relationship a ENM situation?
3. Preventative measures are don't kiss if she has an active cold sore. Keep in mind it can be transmitted from oral or skin surfaces that appear normal and when there are no symptoms present.
2-Yes current relationship is ENM and she doesn’t have it either, her kids though love to drink out of her cups though so it’s like if I get it and then pass to her then I just gave it to her kids!
3-yeah it seems really risky and don’t know if worth it because of my main partner
3-yeah it seems really risky and don’t know if worth it because of my main partner
Great advice & information utahldscouple. We’ve had couples show up for a play date & one had a cold sore & was very upfront - the one would not be doing any kissing, oral or otherwise. We very much appreciated it. However, since as you pointed out 2/3 of the population has it, it may or not be a show stopper. Totally up to the couples involved.
Nakkidfun. Great answer. Well put.
A similar one is HPV. Per the CDC 80% of sexually active people will be infected at some point in their life. Most people will never know they have the virus and can pass it along without knowing it.
Being upfront and disclosing any std information is of primary importance ... there are ways of working around many of them ~
Nakkidfun wrote:Separate topic but completely avoidable. Get the vaccine for it (for both males and females). Males cannot test for it so you don't know you have it. Women can test for it and it increases the chances for cancer.
A similar one is HPV. Per the CDC 80% of sexually active people will be infected at some point in their life. Most people will never know they have the virus and can pass it along without knowing it.
Utahldscouple wrote:
Separate topic but completely avoidable. Get the vaccine for it (for both males and females). Males cannot test for it so you don't know you have it. Women can test for it and it increases the chances for cancer.
But only in kids - not adults I believe.
Yep I got vaccinated/HPV cause I always feel like i should always try to protect the person I’m sleeping with however I can.
Thanks for the info peeps! Gonna have a talk with her.
Thanks for the info peeps! Gonna have a talk with her.
Experts estimate that anywhere between 50-80% of the adult population in the U.S. has HSV-1 (cold sores). And this particular virus is EXTREMELY contagious/easily contracted. Having said that, growing up, my mom had frequent cold sores from my earliest memories and when I married my wife, SHE got cold sores on a fairly regular basis as well. To date, I've never had a cold sore but I would be willing to bet anything that I would test positive for antibodies to the virus indicating at least some level of exposure.
Personally, I wouldn't play with/kiss someone who had an active cold sore. But I wouldn't be afraid of playing with someone who DOES get cold sores but isn't having a current outbreak. Btw, there isn't a huge difference between oral herpes and genital herpes and you can go down on someone and give them herpes that way, and vice versa. And there are very good drugs out nowadays that help manage both types of herpes.
Personally, I wouldn't play with/kiss someone who had an active cold sore. But I wouldn't be afraid of playing with someone who DOES get cold sores but isn't having a current outbreak. Btw, there isn't a huge difference between oral herpes and genital herpes and you can go down on someone and give them herpes that way, and vice versa. And there are very good drugs out nowadays that help manage both types of herpes.
And fwiw, Ms. Evil apparently cleared the virus (Yes, that's a thing and it's fairly common.) a long time ago and hasn't had a cold sore for over 20 years. Bottom line, exercise some caution but don't freak out about something like HSV...unless you're a complete germaphobe. LOL There are far worse things you can catch.¯\_(ツ)_/¯
High dosages of l-lysine like 1000mg a day for a few weeks treats and puts cold sores into remission. Taking l-lysine dailey for 6 months helped stop outbreaks in my family members who had cold sores. Just sharing information.