Wednesday, January 30, 2008

What to Do When You BOTH Have Herpes???

Dear DWH,

I'm in a committed long-term heterosexual relationship where my boyfriend and I recently got tested for everything and found out that we both have only genital HSV-2 (but not the oral type 1) and no other STDs.

In other words we've both had our first gential herpes outbreaks, we've both tested positive to only HSV-2 and we are both on daily anti-viral therapy . Therefore we already know that we cannot "infect" each other with HSV-2, because we already have that genital herpes virus in both of our bodies.

However, beyond that, we would like to know the answers to these questions nobody seems to be able to answer clearly so far:

(1) Can one of us cause or provoke an outbreak in the other partner by unknowingly shedding the HSV-2 virus without symptoms?

(2) Or will we have no more gential or oral HSV-2 outbreaks than if we were single, if we practice unprotected genital or oral sex without condoms or dental dams from now on?

(3) Do the follow-up oral and genital outbreaks tend to get shorter and more painless/severe/visible than the initial outbreaks?

Ideally we'd like to get answers to these questions answered from (a) HSV-2 infected couples who know them from experience and (b) reputable articles that can scientifically explain the reason(s) for why this is. So personal testimonies and/or links to studies would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a lot!

The 2 of Us

Dear The 2 of You:

You should definitely consult an experienced physician or nurse practitioner with your questions, since they might have more current information. Terri Warren, RN, Owner of the Westover Heights Clinic in Portland, OR might be able to refer you to a doctor in your area who is known to be up-to-date about herpes infections. Most doctors are pretty ignorant - so get a referral!

Theoretically, if you both have already tested positive for antibodies for HSV-2, then you can't re-infect each other and you should not be at risk for having more outbreaks than if you only had protected sex with each other. However, what we know today might not be all there is to know. So again, check with the Westover Heights Clinic if you really want an expert opinion. They are very up to date.

Regarding your third question - the answer is YES. Herpes outbreaks generally get fewer and farther between as time goes on. Some people start out with symptoms every 2 months, and then 2 years later, they are down to one outbreak per year. Some people start out with 2 outbreaks per year, and then 2 years later, get absolutely no outbreaks (at least, nothing noticeable). It's different for everyone.

If you take Acyclovir or Valtrex or any of the other antiviral drugs, you can reduce the number and frequency of outbreaks, plus their length and severity. One person I knew had frequent outbreaks for 20 years, and Acyclovir and Famvir didn't help at all. Then he started taking Valtrex and after about 3 months, his symptoms went away entirely. After several months, he stopped taking Valtrex and his symptoms have not returned. Go figure. Everyone is different!

In terms of further reading and studies, I recommend that you go through our extensive list of HERPES LINKS because there are lots of articles there and results from recent herpes studies. There is also a link there for Terri Warren's Westover Height Clinic. For the Herpes Links, click here.

Good luck - you have each other!

DWH