Can you be reinfected with herpes

The frequency of recurrences appeared to be established by the initial infection because reinfection did not alter the pattern of recurrent genital herpes. The present study suggest that asymptomatic reinfection may produce a reservoir of communicable virus and that initial infection with a less virulent mutant of HSV-2 may provide protection against subsequent reexposure to wild-type HSV Abstract The natural history of genital reinfection with herpes simplex virus type 2 HSV-2 three weeks to one year after initial infection was explored by using a guinea pig model.

When you both have the same type, it is highly unlikely that either of you will reinfect the other — anywhere on the body. If you have different types and either of you catches a second type, symptoms will probably be slight or non-existent.

This is because the antibodies for one type will have some immediate effect on the other type as well. So they could have sex when the virus is active. Mild symptoms can appear as a pimple, a little cut or an itchy bit of skin and yet these are very infectious.

When people with these mild symptoms learn to recognise them, then they can avoid sex at these times. Another possibility is that your partner does not have herpes simplex and you caught it from a previous partner.

No, you will not catch it off anything. The virus is caught from the skin, not from objects. It is a delicate virus and dies quickly when away from the skin where the sore is.

No — this will not happen. Parents do not need to worry about passing on their genital herpes to children because it is caught through direct skin contact with the affected place when symptoms are present and not from hands or objects. Even sharing a bath with small children is not a problem because herpes simplex virus is not transmitted in water.

See here for pregnancy and childbirth — which is a different issue. Parents do not pass on genital herpes to their children through the normal activities of family life. Do not allow a fear of transmission to get in the way of ordinary family touching, hugging, sharing, etc. Is herpes on my laundry? No — it dies too fast.

You can wash clothes together in the same machine, even when a person has a recurrence. Bathing or showering together will not transmit herpes simplex virus — the same is true for Jacuzzis and swimming pools.

Even if you have used the toilet or you have touched the genital area and forgotten to wash your hands, this is not a problem. This virus is fragile and dies when it leaves living cells. We thank the New Zealand Herpes Foundation for this last example!

Also, cold sores on the face may be caught from someone with genital herpes through oral sex. Only the face of a person with cold sores is infectious — so they can have sex, but should not kiss or do oral sex when they have a cold sore. See the description of the two types. You will find Herpes Simplex — the Guide booklet 16 pages, 6, words useful too.

Studies have shown that virus may sometimes be found on an infected area, even when there are no visible symptoms. This is called asymptomatic shedding. Permissions Icon Permissions. Abstract The natural history of genital reinfection with herpes simplex virus type 2 HSV-2 three weeks to one year after initial infection was explored by using a guinea pig model.

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