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Genital Herpes From Oral Sex and Cold Sores
(05/04/2004) by Dr. Sandra Caron
Dr. Sandra Caron (see links to her page on our site and to her website below on the right) answers the following question: "Can you get genital herpes from someone with a cold sore giving you oral sex?"
Dr. Caron's Answer: Yes. Genital herpes infection is caused by exposure to the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) or herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) through sexual contact. HSV-1 initially was associated with oral infection (cold sores and fever blisters around the mouth) and HSV-2 with genital infection (blisters on the penis or vulva). Over the past 30 years, however, the increased popularity of oral sex has led to transferring HSV-1 from the mouth to genitals.
The two viruses are not different clinically, as both cause the same painful symptoms. A 2-12 day incubation period follows transmission of the virus. There is no cure, but there is treatment to speed the healing of the painful blisters. It should be noted that outbreaks of genital herpes caused by HSV-1 are usually less recurrent, produce less viral shedding, and in general are less of a problem for the person (and their partners). An estimated 50 million people are presently infected with genital herpes caused by HSV-2 in the U.S. - if you add in the percentage of those with genital herpes due to HSV-1, the percentage is even larger. You should know that the virus can be easily spread by even a quick, casual kiss and thus it should not be assumed that a person with oral herpes got it from performing oral sex.
By the way, not all mouth ulcers are caused by the herpes virus; they can also be caused by bacteria, allergic reactions, or autoimmune (canker sores) responses. However, “fever blisters” and most cold sores are herpes. This article appears in the following topics:
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