I was widowed several years ago and am slowly getting back into the dating pool.  I do not have HSV1 or HSV2; I've never had any outbreaks and have been tested annually for the past  3-43 years with negative results each time. I have also been clean for STDs, and really think I have limited opportunity to catch anything due to my overall lack of dating.

Yesterday I met a girl at a party and in the heat of the moment had a sexual session that culminated in my providing cunnilingus on her for about 1 minute. No kissing on the mouth, just my mouth mainly on or around her clitoris.

Later that evening I told her I was clean, she said she was as well, but who knows for sure.

I believe I have read here that providing cunnilingus is a fairly low-risk activity for me. Can you confirm, especially for HSV1 and HSV2.

Would you recommend extra testing? I've been getting a full test each year at my physical ( specifically ask my internist to add these tests and I see them on my panel with my other results), will this be adequate or should I do now?

Any thing to be concerned about here?

Thanks very much.

You are correct, this was a low risk experience.  I would NOT recommend testing as the IgG tests yield so many false positives and miss 30% of HSV 1 infections and 8% of HSV 2 infections.  The CDC now says do not do these tests are screening tests due to the VERY high rate of false positives.  I don't think there is any need for testing but do keep an eye on your mouth.  If you develop any sores that are unusual, get them swab tested for herpes.  Symptoms would normally show up within 2-10 days from the concerning encounter.

Terri

I'm trying to figure out how to manage this risk. 

I understand HSV isn't really a huge deal, people live with it just fine, but don't want to pick it up at this point in my life

I understand the use of condoms during penile / vaginal intercourse, so am really not concerned there - I know how to manage that. 

I want to be able to indulge in oral (both give and receive) but don't really understand how to evaluate the risk. It seems a carrier can be contagious both when a sore is present and with asymptomatic shedding which happens a few days each month. I understand if the person is a carrier there is always some risk, but is the risk from oral so small that it's a "1 in a million" chance of catching HSV? And is this risk low only because the sores / shedding doesn't happen that often?

Is there data regarding infection rates, both giving and receiving? For example, worst case, if the carrier has a sore / shedding and engages in oral where oral contact with the sore is directly made by the uninfected party, is there data on the transmission rate? Is it the same transmission rate with kissing a carrier who is shedding or has a sore?

Thanks again and sorry for the barrage of questions. 

Since this seems to be a continuing concern for you, and the IgG test misses 30% of HSV 1 infections as compared to the western blot and 8% of HSV 2 compared to the western blot, you might want to consider getting the blot at some point for the best answer to whether you have acquired HSV 1 or not. We don't have data on the risk of acquiring either HSV 1 or 2 from giving oral sex.  I'm sorry I can't give that to you.  I can only say that I think your risk is just incredibly low, given your experience.

Terri

Terri