[Question #4881] HSV 2 Contact
79 months ago
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Hi, went on a couple dates with a guy who came back positive for HSV 2. I kissed him with no tongue twice and the third time he stuck his tongue into my mouth and I pulled away (not a big fan of tongue kissing) but upon pulling away his teeth brushed against mine and I began to bleed.On another occasion he was sweating (not sure is hsv 2 is transmitted through sweat) and then he wiped his sweat with a napkin (not sure if some sweat got on his hand or not) and then he handed me a dollar. I touched the dollar but then went into my pants to remove a wedgie. immediately after I felt a slight tingle on my left butt cheek for a short period of time(no sores, just a small painless bump in the crack of my buttocks & two painless bumps on inner thigh near buttocks area that vaguely resemble skin tags).I sometimes I feel the tingle on my shoulders or knees on and off. I also feel a stinging sensation on my vagina every so often and I've seen whitish discharge. He and I have never had anal, vaginal, or oral sex( no genital contact) and he claims he has never had an outbreak. Do you think he could have transmitted HSV 2 to me?
79 months ago
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just to be clear, when I pulled away from him after he tried to tongue kiss me, his teeth brushed against my bottom lip, not my teeth...thanks
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Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner
79 months ago
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If he has HSV 2, that is almost certainly genital and is NOT transmitted via kissing. HSV 2 would stay in the group of nerves that supply the area of the body between waist and mid-thigh. It stays int that area and does not come up and out of the mouth.
Terri
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79 months ago
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Thanks Terri. Just as a follow up, when I went with him to his Doctor, his Doctor said that his positive level was very low (it was 1.25) and his HSV 2 is not transmittable at such a low level. Is that true?
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Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner
79 months ago
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The index value has absolutely nothing to do with infectivity. That is one of the weirdest things I have heard a clinician say to a patient.
In addition, his index value of 1.25 is consider a low positive result and very well may be a false positive. The CDC says that anyone who has an index value of 1.1 to 3.5 needs a confirmatory test such as the western blot. At an index value of 1.25, there is an 85% chance that this is a false positive result. I am very disappointed that his doctor did not order a confirmatory test for him or refer him to someone else to get one. I hope you will convey this information to this man.
Terri
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