Question:
Is it possible to be infected with genital herpes by engaging in only oral sex with someone who has the virus?

Answer:
You CAN get hsv2 (genital herpes) on the mouth if you perform oral on an infected person. Although hsv2 really doesn't like being anywhere but the genital region, it is STILL POSSIBLE TO TRANSMIT THE VIRUS TO YOUR MOUTH. Rare, but possible. And visa versa, if a person has coldsores, then goes down on you, it is also possible to have herpes simplex 1 in the genital region.

Answer:
I have HSV-2 (genital herpes) on my mouth. I do not any form of herpes on my genitals.

Saturday night I did what we all know shouldn't be done. I had unprotected sex, a one night stand with someone I hardly know. Monday, I felt the tingle on my lip and I knew right away that it was herpes by the way the tiny bumps grew in a matter of minutes.

I went to the Tex- Med Clinic that night hoping that I was wrong, but the doc said it was definitely herpes, though he wasn't sure what type. A sample was sent out to be cultured and typed.

On Wednesday, I still didn't have my results, but I wanted to see my gynocologist to have him check my genitals inside and out for any lesions. Thank goodness I had none. And because of that he said I'd probably contracted HSV-1 (cold sores) on my mouth because HSV-2 in that area is so rare.

Today is Saturday, and I got the call. I held my breath hoping the nurse would tell me it was HSV-1 (80% of the population has HSV-1 cold sores) but the news was bad.......I have HSV-2, genital herpes on my mouth.

I was distraught and felt horrible, but then I came across this very interesting article from a medical journal from the University of Washington Virology Research Clinic.

http://www.yoshi2me.com/research/oral-hsv2.pdf

If you have HSV-2 on your mouth you will find that there is very little information. Please print this article out and read it over and over and over very very slowly. It's first difficult to understand since it has a lot of medical terms, but once you understand it, you may feel a sense of relief.

In a nutshell:

Herpes, no matter what kind is extremely contageous no matter where it is located when you have an outbreak.

When you do not have any lesions or outbreaks you may still be somewhat contagious to others. This is called shedding.

It is true that HSV-1 flourishes on the mouth and HSV-2 flourishes on the genitals and that you may shed the virus even when you have no lesions.

This is the interesting part:

Shedding HSV-2 from the mouth is LESS FREQUENT than shedding HSV-1 from the mouth (when no lesions or outbreaks are present). And the chances of having recurring outbreaks of HSV-2 on the mouth are less frequent than someone having HSV-1 (cold sores) on the mouth!

The article states that this may be simply because HSV-2 may be present orally, but prefers the genitals, therefore will not flourish as well in the mouth.

HSV-1 on the mouth will thrive because it feels at home there and this will lead to more frequent outbreaks.

I hope this is somewhat helpful for others in my situation.