“Can oral sex can trigger cold sores?”
I'm 20 years old and I have Herpes Simplex type 1 and I've had 3 cold sores in the past 2 months, usually, I get them once a year or even rarely. Is it possible that oral sex could cause my cold sores? (my boyfriend is not infected).
Female | 20 years old
Medications: Acyclovir,Lysine
Conditions: Cold sore
2 Answers
Yes, you can give your boyfriend herpes by having oral sex.
"Cold sores" are caused by the Herpes simplex virus (HSV). Once an individual becomes infected with the virus, it stays in your body for life, living in the nerve region where the first outbreak appeared. Outbreaks can reoccur at any time -- often brought out by stress, sunburn, other illnesses, etc. You catch HSV by exposure of sensitive areas, called "mucosal surfaces," to the body fluids of another infected person. Mucosal surfaces are places like the inside of your mouth, nose, vagina, rectum. Oral or genital sex is the most common way that HSV, as well as other viruses, are spread. Oral sex very likely may have been the way in which you first acquired HSV, and you can transmit it to others through oral sex.
Shelley C. Springer, MD, MBA, MSc, JD, FAAP
Shelley C. Springer, MD, MBA, MSc, JD, FAAP
