A
female
age
30-35,
anonymous
writes:Can a person have herpes if they have never had an outbreak at all? or is it a must for someone with herpes to have some kind of outbreak? how long does it take for them to appear?
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Fancy yourself as an agony aunt? Add your answer to this question! A
male
reader, extremityman +, writes (28 October 2008):
 As I've read, about half of the cases of herpes simplex are subclinical. This means there are no skin lesions, and the infected person has no way of knowing besides taking a blood test. Usually you'll notice symptoms in 2 to 12 days after exposure [http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/what_symptoms_of_herpes_simplex_virus_000052_2.htm].
There are two types of herpes simplex. Type 1 usually is oral and is spread through kissing. Type 2 is usually in the genital region as is passed through sexual contact. It is possible to have type 1 in the genitals, so don't have oral sex during a cold-sores breakout. It's possible to have type 2 in the oral region, so don't go down on somebody who has a rose garden between the legs.
Now I'll add something that I think is of practical importance.
If you already have type 1, it's harder to get type 2 than if you started out with neither. Likewise, if you have type 2, it's harder to get type 1 than if you didn't already have type 2. So if you're in a culture like America, where most people have cold sores (type 1) or have had them, and 1 in 5 have genital herpes (type 2), and you don't have either type, it would benefit you to get cold sores. I recommend purposefully kissing somebody with cold sores. Strange as it may sound, it's accepted as normal and it helps keep you from getting the other type that's not accepted. Plus, your breakouts start out lasting 3 weeks once a month and, in my case, 3 years later they're 3 days every few months, and they're just maybe a single tiny blister on the tongue. And if I run into a girl I really like and we get into it and the condom breaks, if she has subclinical type 2 herpes, I stand a greater chance at not contracting it and walking away healthy.
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