[Question #2586] Level of concern?

43 months ago

Let's say a man has genital herpes and his female partner does not.

Recently the man had an outbreak with one sore on his penis. After taking medicine, sore scabbed, dried, then scab fell off. After a few days, the no "bump" remained, just red skin where sore/scab was. But for the sake of this discussion, let's say sore was still "active".

During sex, the woman puts her hand on men's penis, then soon after she uses hand to masterbate herself. So, her hand went from infected area to her clitoris/vagina.

What are the chances she now has genital herpes?

If she does have herpes, when should she expect to have initial outbreak?

Very concerned.

Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner

43 months ago

We have yet to see a case of herpes transmitted via masturbation. Symptoms of herpes from new infection would likely show up within 2-10 days, but this exposure really isn't a risk that I'm concerned about at all. She might have herpes, but if she does, I would bet a lot of money that is has nothing to do with her contact with you at all.

Terri
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43 months ago

Thank you so much for your response. Follow up questions:

I've heard that if someone gets tested for genital herpes, it takes as much as four months to get the results. Is that true?

If there is no outbreak, no open sores, is it safe for someone to perform oral sex?

Thank you.

Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner

43 months ago

It can take as long as 12 weeks to produce antibody, extremely rarely longer than that. If you take antiviral therapy, you can take longer to develop antibody for sure. If there is no outbreak for open sores a person can still shed herpesvirus and infect another person.

Terri
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