A
female
age
30-35,
anonymous
writes:I suffer a lot from coldsores, and I've recently learned that coldsores are caused by a strain of the herpes virus.If I have sex, is there any chance of me passing herpes onto my partner?
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male
reader, DoubleM  +, writes (9 August 2011):
 Essentially, I think "idoneitagain" provided very good information here. Indeed, cold sores are one form of herpes (of several), but not the worst kind. Even the
painful affliction of "shingles" is one form of herpes, as I understand, that results from early childhood chicken pox and remains throughout life until situations might cause it to arise. When it does (as once on me), it is extreme. Anyway, I have found that prescription Nystatin applied upon cold sores promptly, when symptoms are first felt at the corners of the mouth, will usually make it go away, at least temporarily.
A
male
reader, idoneitagain  +, writes (9 August 2011):
This site is best used to get opinions rather than facts. If you punch your question in to google there are plenty of sites where you get factual information that is of a greater validitiy than the opinions of people you will get here. In summary though, here are a few relevant points:
Coldsores are a strain of herpes family, but they are a different disease from the herpes which is the sexually transmitted disease. An estimated 90% of the adult population have this virus in their system and about a third of those experience symptoms, ie cold sores.
Cold sores are transmitted to another person by contact with the affected area of an infected person. The mouth is the most common contact area, but other ares can be infected. For example, if you have cold sores and you give your partner oral sex, it is possible for them to catch this form of herpes in their genital area, though less likely than them catching it in their mouth area as you are likely to be kissing them often too. Once one area is infected, your body developes antibodies so the virus is generally not transmitted to any other part of the body, symptoms will generally only affect one area.
The virus is at the greatest risk of being transmitted just before, during, and just after symptoms appear. Often people get a tingly sensation before getting the actual cold sore, this is a highly infectious time as well as when the symptoms appear. However, the virus can technically be transmitted at other times too, even when symptoms are not present. With such a high percentage of people already having the virus, getting it doesn't mean you will have any symptoms.
What this means for you is that, 9/10 times your partner will already have the virus before you meet them, and there is a much higher possibility of them getting cold sores in their mouth area from kissing rather than anything else. They are unlikely to get infected through oral sex though technically possible and the risk of this is higher if you are contageous when you have oral sex. You won't pass it on through having regular sex.
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (9 August 2011): yes you can, it doesn't always happen, but it is actually a very common virius and easily transfered. do a bit of reading on the internet to see how serious your symptoms are and if you are at high risk of passing on the infection (i think it depends on where you are in the cycle (visible cold sores or if they are healing up)but is best to get all the information you need first.
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A
reader, anonymous, writes (8 August 2011): put simply, yes. A coldsore on your mouth can give your partner herpes. You're right - they're both the herpes virus.
If you suffer a lot from them, go see your GP and see if there may be underlying issues. perhaps you're lacking in certain vitamins/minerals.
I suggest staying away from genitals whilst a coldsore is present.
However, the only way you can pass that is through mouth-mouth/genital contact, so sex (penetrative, not using mouths) is perfectly safe!
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