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Could I Have Caught Herpes From Him?
Question:
I'm recently divorced and have been with no one except my husband in eight years. I just had sex for the first time with someone who has HSV-1 (fever blisters). We had brief unprotected sex before putting the condom on. Now I have a few small painful lesions on the inside of my labia that look like fever blisters. I have two questions: Is it possible I could have contracted HSV-2 from this guy although I didn't see any lesions on him? And how soon after exposure to HSV-2 would lesions show up? I'm pretty freaked out and don't know what to do.
Answer:
The person who has known cold sores is the person who is least likely to know that they have genital herpes, because the antibody to HSV-1 keeps the symptoms of HSV-2 so much under control that they are likely to be missed.
You need to have your lesions evaluated right away to see if they are herpes or not. Also, did he give you oral sex? It is possible to transmit virus from his mouth to your genitals through giving and receiving oral sex, even if no cold sore is present. When you get your sores tested, be certain to ask for typing of the virus - HSV-1 or 2, should the swab test be positive.
So a few things -- you need a swab test and possibly a type-specific blood test, and he needs a type specific blood test to see if he has HSV-2 and doesn't know it.
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