Dr. Ken: I hooked up with this woman I met at a party. We had oral sex (when I say “we,” I mean I got some). She had a cold sore on her lip and, well, was still looking hot so I ignored it. Long story short, I’ve now got genital herpes. My sister is a nurse (at an elementary school) and she said that even though a cold sore is related to genital herpes it wouldn’t cause it. What’s the deal? — Jason G.
Dear Jason: Your sister’s explanation was not quite right, though probably she is not seeing a lot of cases of genital herpes among the Hannah Montana crowd. The form of herpes that tends to “prefer” the lip and mouth is type 1 (Herpes Simplex Virus-1). The type that tends to prefer the genitalia is more commonly Type 2, however, both types can and do readily take up residence below the equator.
See more of Dr. Ken’s answer after the jump.
The risk of infection is higher if the cold sore is visible but you can still become infected even if not visible. Whether HSV-1 or HSV-2 is serving as a pox upon your pecker won’t change the medical treatment and that’s all it is — a treatment, not a cure. Some day there will be a cure, but until then herpes is a gift that, unfortunately, keeps on giving.
Pardon me while I make a public service announcement: Use condoms, they’re a man’s best bet for staying disease-free.
Dr. Ken Spaeth is a physician and Research Fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health. He is also co-author of the “Bioterrorism Sourcebook.” You can e-mail him your questions at askdrken@aol.com.
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