Genital herpes

Can I give myself genital herpes from a cold sore?

I get cold sores. Someone told me I could transfer it to myself and now I am paranoid about touching my own face.

half_moon 3 weeks ago

NoteMember experience, not medical advice. Symptoms overlap between infections and only a test can tell them apart.

3 replies

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

almostfine 3 weeks ago

It is possible, it is called autoinoculation, and it is much less common than the worry suggests. It mostly happens around a first infection, when your body has not yet built a response.

If you have had cold sores for years, your immune system has already met this virus and moving it around your own body is unlikely.

far_field 3 weeks ago

Ordinary handwashing during an outbreak covers it. You do not need to change how you live.

greytide 3 weeks ago

The more useful thing to know is the direction that actually matters day to day: oral to genital transmission during oral sex is a real route, and it is how a lot of genital HSV-1 happens. Avoiding oral sex when you have an active cold sore does more than any amount of hand wringing about yourself.

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.