STD Question

Hai, hope. :lol:

First, calm down a little.

HSV-1 and HSV-2 are very common, and since your tests came back negative, you are susceptible to contracting both. However, you're not any more susceptible to contracting them than a person who is susceptible of contracting HSV-2 even though they have HSV-1.

HSV-1 is usually what people get on their lips, cold sores. It's very common, and usually the first outbreak is the worst one, then they get littler and littler as your body's immune system learns to suppress it. My mom rarely, if not ever, gets cold sores anymore. Same with my aunt, my brother, and my friends. I don't have it, but that's because I made sure never to drink after someone, people never kissed me if they had a cold sore, which is usually how people get them at such an early age. When they're babies, they get kissed by a relative or stranger who has a cold sore on their lips.

HSV-2 is usually what people have in their genitals. It causes flu-like symptoms, rashes and stuff like that. It's the one that people don't want. So, ways to be cautious are:

- Use a condom
- Get tested and your partners tested before sexual contact
- Do not have sex with someone who is having an outbreak (Usually, when there are no symptoms present, the risk of transmission is very low. You just have to know how much risk is too much. If you choose not to have sex with someone who has informed they have genital herpes, so be it.)
- Do not give or receive oral sex from someone who has a cold sore present. (That's usually how people get HSV-1 on their genitals.)

Kara should be able to give you more info on this. >_< I learned a lot of this from the internet and some from my doctor. Some of this might be misinformation, so don't take it to heart. Hope this helped and somewhat calmed you down. (*hug*)