Genital herpes

Partner still negative after two years

Together two years, I have HSV-2, he tests negative every time. We use condoms most of the time but not always. Is he just lucky?

tin_roof 3 months ago

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

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northwindow 3 months ago

Partly luck and partly that the per act risk is lower than most people assume. Studies of couples where one partner has it and the other does not show transmission rates over a year that are much lower than people expect, and lower again with suppressive treatment and condoms.

Long stretches without transmission are common rather than remarkable.

spare_room 3 months ago

Worth checking which test he had and whether it was type specific. A test that does not distinguish HSV-1 from HSV-2 is not answering the question you think it is.

night_bus 3 months ago

If you both want the risk lower, daily suppressive treatment for you is the single biggest lever, and it is a reasonable thing to ask for on exactly this basis rather than on outbreak frequency.

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