Hi there. I am a 30 year biological female. In 2012 I experienced an outbreak of painful sores on both my genitals and on my tongue at the same time. This occurred right after sexual activity  with my  female partner at the time who had no symptoms present. I went to the doctor and they performed a swab test which resulted in a positive HSV  1 result for my mouth and positive HSV 2 result on my genitals. ( They did not test for HSV 1 on the gentials).  2 months later the same doctor did blood test and I was positive for HSV 1 IGG and negative for HSV 2 IGG. My partner tested negative for HSV 2 and positive for HSV 1 but said she only got cold sores as a kid a couple times before. Since that initial outbreak, I have not experienced any other outbreak on my genitals in 12 years and only one outbreak on my mouth in 2016. I have gotten 2 HSV IGG blood tests since this time one in 2014 and the other in 2016 and both have shown positive for HSV 1 and negative for HSV2. I am very confused as to what this initial outbreak experience actually was and whether I have HSV 2 or not. I saw a doctor recently and she questioned me about why it matters which one I have. The reason I would like some clarification as to whether I have genital herpes or not is because I am not sure what I am supposed to disclose to future partners and it is causing a lot of anxiety.  I am not sure what the risk is of passing something to a future partner ( I only participate in oral sex and some genital to genital stimulation with female partners). I also would like to know what to expect in terms of if I will ever have another outbreak or not. I actually think the highest risk of transmission would be if I perform oral sex on someone and pass HSV 1 genitally even if I have no cold sores present, but is this something I need to disclose since it is my understanding most of the population is positive for HSV1? I appreciate any insight or recomendations you may have to help with this Herpes mystery of min

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Hi Terri, Just to clarify if Western Blot is negative for HSV 2 should I assume that it was HSV 1 genital outbreak. Is it possible to have oral and genital HSV 1 outbreak at the same time? What is the re-occurance rate for HSV 1 for both oral and genital ? Additionally, is it recommended to disclose my HSV 1 status even though a lot of people have had cold sores before and therefore carry the HSV 1 virus. I am wondering how transmissible the HSV 1 virus is given my sexual practices and my experience with getting it  as  at the time my partner did not have any symptoms. Is this a pretty rare occurance? I would hate to have someone go through what I went through but also I am not sure how to prevent if from happening if you can transmit the virus without any symptoms. I guess I am just trying to get a handle on what the risk factor is for giving oral sex to someone given my HSV 1 status and I think this will help me decide whether I need to disclose or not. 

Yes, if the blot is negative you should consider yourself infected only with HSV 1.  It is possible to have oral and genital HSV 1 at the same time, yes---

Thank you so much for this info. Since I have only gotten one outbreak genitally over 10 years ago and two oral outbreaks also a long time ago, I may not want to take daily medication. What is the re-occurance rate for HSV 1 for both oral and genital if I do not take medication? Also what is the transmission rate if I disclose and my partner wants to know the chances of her getting the virus genitally? Also, I am a little confused about the HSV 1 virus. Is it higher chance that I will transmit it orally through kissing rather than through oral sex to the genitals or is it the same chance? If so, shouldn't we in theory be disclosing this status to everyone we kiss in addition to those who we give oral sex to? Also, why do some people only get it genitally through oral sex  if they also have kissed someone but they do not develop sores in the mouth? In my case I guess I had both which I thought would be more common if HSV1 is passed frequently through oral sex but also presents orally as cold sores. I appreciate any more input you may be able to provide. Thank you!

The recurrence rate for genital HSV 1 is about one outbreak every other year and for genital HSV 2, about 4-6 per year, on average.  We don't have an exact average for HSV 1 orally.  We also don't have any data on transmission of HSV 1, either from the mouth or the genitals.  It would be exceedingly low from the genital and higher from the mouth.  My guidelines, and this is just mine, is to disclose that you have the cold sore virus prior to giving someone oral sex.  Orally, it would appear as a cold sore, correct.  I think it would be good for you to get a herpes western blot to find out if you do or don't have HSV 2 genitally.---