my friend has genital herpes and she said that you can only get it when she has an outbreak but i told her?

Question

that you can still get it if you dont have one RIGHT? she now told her boyfriend and hes really mad at her he thinks he doesnt have it but i am sure he has it too cus they had unprotected sex soo many times and he also performed oral sex to her!!!! how can i let her know that you can also give herpes when your not having an outbreak

Answer 1

Provide your friend with some information so she can educate herself more about the virus because she is COMPLETELY wrong.

Genital herpes can be spread whether the person is having an outbreak or not. I personally contracted genital herpes (as well as HPV) from a guy who was not on an outbreak and was showing no signs or symptoms of the virus. I also passed the virus on to my fiance (boyfriend at the time) and I hadn't had an outbreak in almost a year at that time!

If she has had unprotected sex with her boyfriend (especially multiple times) then her boyfriend has a good chance of having the virus himself.

Here are some good links you can give to her:
http://www.cdc.gov/std/Herpes/STDFact-Herpes.htm
http://www.webmd.com/genital-herpes/default.htm
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/sexual-health/std/herpes.htm
http://www.ashastd.org/herpes/herpes_learn.cfm
http://health.yahoo.com/topic/sexualhealth/overview/article/healthwise/te3043;_ylt=Alwem.rIY72LbbTcEgHtvbobu7cF

Good luck!

Answer 2

It isn't guaranteed she will have transfered it to him through unprotected sex. Some people are together for many years with one partner having genital herpes, and the other not having it, just by avoiding outbreaks which are when the virus is most infectious.

I caught herpes when my boyfriend had no symptoms, but we had been together 6 years at the time and since his herpes is oral we had never used protection. Oral herpes is actually infectious for a slightly greater proportion of the time. So although there is always a small risk, if he has no symptoms then it is highly unlikely that he has caught it from her. I couldn't have missed my symptoms.

Condoms actually provide virtually no protection for a man having sex with an infected woman since the virus is transmitted skin to skin and in women symptoms normally appear on the external genitalia which are not covered by a condom.

If he gave her oral sex, all he could get would be oral cold sores. Depending on what type of herpes she has, if she has type 1 rather than 2 he could already have it on the mouth - 8 out of 10 people get oral herpes. You have already told her - it is her relationship to deal with not yours.

Answer 3

Here is how herpes transmission occurs:

- When you are first infected with genital herpes it travels down the nerves to the base of the nerve endings.

-When it is "reactivated" it can travel to anywhere the nerve endings go (which is anywhere in the boxer short area, not just the site of past outbreaks) and do one of two things..
1. travel up the nerve towards the skin and cause an outbreak
or
2. travel up the nerve towards the skin, not causing an outbreak and with no symptoms, but allowing for "asymptomatic (no symptoms) viral shedding" to occur

Some studies have found that 70% of herpes transmissions in couples have occured during the asymptomatic viral shedding periods. While you are considered MUCH more infectious when you are experiencing an outbreak (from the initial warning symptoms to the complete skin healing), many transmissions do occur when there is no symptoms.

How often does viral shedding occur? That obviously depends on the person, whether it is HSV-1 or HSV-2 causing the genital infection (yes HSV-1 can cause genital herpes!!!)

HSV-2 causes more viral shedding in women (similar difference may exist in men). And according to some studies this asymptomatic viral shedding (which can occur at ANY time and you won't know it) occurs an average of 2% of days and lasts for about 1.5 days. There is no way to know when this occurs!!!!!

Herpes transmission does not happen 100% of the time (no where near that, actually) so it is VERY possible for 1 person to have it and for their regular sex partner to not have it. Another factor in this is the uninfected person's immune system ---s/he may have acquired (in the past) an HSV-1 oral infection (cold sores) and the antibodies produced against that infection may help to prevent them from developing an HSV-2 genital infection.

There is also suppressive medication that can reduce asymptomatic viral shedding, recurrent lesions, and transmission -- it has been shown to reduce transmission to a susceptible heterosexual partner by 48%!

You can let her know by simply telling her, or ask that she speak with her healthcare practitioner about it. Is there an STI 1 800 phone number in your area where she can call to ask a question? That might be easiest.
But it is important that you do something to let her know.

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

you can spread HSV when there are no symptoms. It is less likely that women will pass it to man than vise versa - but condoms do help cut down the risk. Oral sex (if the agent is HSVII) is not likely. Have her read the herpes handbook over at the westerover heights clinic

Answer 5

You can spread the virus if you do not have an outbreak, this is called 'VIRAL SHEDDING'.

The only way to prevent the spread to others is through using valtrex ot acyclovir for suppressive therapy.

Answer 6

Tell her to watch a valtrex commercial...they say that you can spread the virus even when no symptoms are present right there on the commercial.

And she is incredibly irresponsible for not having protected sex when she has a disease that can not be cured.....

Answer 7

she is absolutely irresponsible 4 herself,how can they have unprotected sex? i think she shud be told some true experiences:one of my friends on positivesingles.com got herpes,coz the man carelessly tore the condom,so no matter he has it or not,the girl shud learn to protect herself,or she will certainly catch the virus.tell her seriously