April 22nd, 2008 | by admin |
- Any person who is sexually active can get genital herpes.
- Herpes is transmitted through direct skin-to-skin contact. This occurs when a contagious area comes into contact with a tiny break in the skin or mucous membrane tissue, primarily the mouth and genitals.
- Most skin on the body is too thick for the virus to go through.
- If a person with oral herpes (sometimes called cold sores or fever blisters) performs oral sex, it is possible for the partner to get genital herpes.
- If a person with genital herpes has sex, it is possible for his or her partner to get genital herpes.
- Genital herpes can be transmitted sexually both when symptoms are present and sometimes when symptoms are not present.
- There are several days throughout the year (called asymptomatic reactivation, asymptomatic shedding, or subclinical shedding) when the virus may be present on the surface of the skin, but there are no symptoms. Herpes can be passed through sexual contact during this time.
- There are no documented cases of a person getting genital herpes from an inanimate object such as a toilet seat, bathtub, or towel. Herpes is a very fragile virus and does not live long on surfaces.
