[Question #6126] Oral Sex and HSV-2
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70 months ago
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I am an HSV-1 positive man who is dating an HSV-2 positive woman, who never knew she had it due to never having symptoms. We were involved sexually five years ago. We never had intercourse, but I performed oral sex on her dozens of times prior to knowing she was HSV-2 positive. We stopped our sexual contact. I never contracted HSV-2 after testing a year later. We want to now renew our sexual contact. The main question is: How risky is it for me to perform oral sex on her? Would my HSV-1 positive status help guard against contracting HSV-2 orally? I am aware of the risks associated with intercourse.
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Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner
70 months ago
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Your HSV 1 status will not protect you against HSV 2 but it will make the acquisition of HSV 2, should you acquire it, less likely to produce symptoms or to modulate your symptoms, should you have them. We have no data on transmission to the mouth of HSV 2 through oral sex but we do know that HSV 2 doesnt' "like" the oral area and so does not often show up there. Wish I had better statistics for you
Terri
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70 months ago
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Thank you for your response Terri. I have one final question that I forgot to ask before. In the period since we last had sexual contact, my girlfriend has had chemotherapy for breast cancer. She is doing fine now. Is there any evidence that chemotherapy will kill the HSV virus?
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Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner
70 months ago
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oh absolutely not, chemo does NOT kill HSV. Wouldn't that be a lovely side effect? But sadly, no
Terri
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