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Will I Get Genital Herpes After Touching A Cold Sore And Genital Area?

Posted on Wed, 5 Mar 2014

Question: So I'm freaking out. I was diagnosed 4 years ago with cold sores a.k.a oral herpes. Now if for whatever reason I touched my cold sore and accidentally touch my genital area will I automatically get genital herpes? I know once you have gotten the viruse then your body makes antibodies to protect the other area but I'm just wondering if it's,still possible to get genital herpes after touching my sore and then touching my genitals.

Answered by Dr. Saul Weinreb (2 hours later)

Brief Answer: Please see below. Detailed Answer: Hi, Thank you so using XXXXXXX I would love to help you It is highly unlikely that you will transmit the oral herpes to your own genitals, mostly because of what you already know. That is because like you said, you already have antibodies to HSV 1, so your body will fight the virus. If you touched a moist area such as inside the vagina, with hands that were moist from the cold sore, it would be more likely to transmit the virus, but I doubt you would have transmitted it by touching. Unfortunately, there will never be any way to know for sure, unless you have a genital outbreak in which you will know that is has been transmitted. However, I wouldn't worry too much about it at this point. I hope this answers your question. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance. Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D

Follow up: Dr. Saul Weinreb (33 minutes later)

Thanks for the response it was very helpful. I have not had any outbreaks of any kind. One more question. If a person had genital herpes outbreak...are you more likely to have symptoms then no symptoms is you were exposed to genital herpes or even getting herpes 1 in the genital area or are genital herpes a silence std that you May not even know you have it. I've probably did wrong by reading on the internet but it had said that the herpes viruses can be silence and you May not even know you have it. That's what scares me the most. Having an std any of any kind and not know it. Sorry for all the questions.

Answered by Dr. Saul Weinreb (6 minutes later)

Brief Answer: No problem, I am happy to help Detailed Answer: It is very true that many people who have Herpes don;t know it because they rarely, or maybe even never have outbreaks. Unless you do have a genital outbreak, I don't think it is worthwhile worrying about whether or not you have genital herpes. Both type one and type two herpes can be transmitted to the genitals. However, I think you can assume that you don't have genital herpes unless you have an outbreak. Please let me know if I can be of further help.

Note: Consult a Sexual Diseases Specialist online for further follow up- Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D