3 ms·

I had shingles (a herpes zoster re-eruption) in 2000. Initially, I wasn't sure if it was shingles or a somehow widespread eruption of cold sores (herpes simple

I had shingles (a herpes zoster re-eruption) in 2000. Initially, I wasn't sure if it was shingles or a somehow widespread eruption of cold sores (herpes simplex), so I did some reading up on both. Neither is contagious except when they are presenting, ie when sores are present.

swolchok 17y ago
Your claim appears to be false -- genital HSV can be transmitted whenever the virus is being shed, which can happen in the absence of symptoms. Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herpes_simplex_virus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herpes_simplex_virus) disagrees at the end of the first paragraph, above the ToC. I'm at a major research university, so I was able to check their citation and confirm that it does in fact 1) appear to be a seminar/survey from a legitimate scientific journal (Lancet) and 2) say that viral shedding in the absence of sores is possible, citing what appear to be first-hand studies. I'll reproduce the citations here: 60 Lang A, Nikolich-Zugich J. Development and migration of protective CD8+ T cells into the nervous system following ocular herpes simplex virus-1 infection. J Immunol 2005; 174: 2919–25. 62 Wald A, Zeh J, Selke S, Ashley RL, Corey L. Virologic characteristics of subclinical and symptomatic genital herpes infections. N Engl J Med 1995; 333: 770–75. I was able to locate a (I think) public copy of the second study, by Wald et al.: http://depts.washington.edu/herpes/php_uploads/publications/Virologic%20characteristics.pdf http://depts.washington.edu/herpes/php_uploads/publications/... The abstract of the paper reports that "Among women with genital HSV-2 infection, subclinical shedding occurred on a mean of 2 percent of the days." Subclinical shedding is defined in the body of the paper, specifically under the "Statistical Analysis" heading on the first page, as "the isolation of HSV from the cervix, vulva, or rectum in the absence of genital or perianal lesions noted by the subjects or the clinicians." In summary, at least one study has proven that herpes shedding is possible without the presence of sores. I apologize for going to so much trouble to prove you wrong, but it's dangerous for people to be wrong about the possibility of transmission of STDs.
- TriinT 17y ago
  To be entirely precise, there's no such thing as genital HSV. There's HSV1 and HSV2. If I remember correctly, HSV1 is usually what is referred to as "lip herpes", while HSV2 is usually called "genital herpes". However, one can have sores in other parts of the body.

swolchok 17y ago

Your claim appears to be false -- genital HSV can be transmitted whenever the virus is being shed, which can happen in the absence of symptoms. Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herpes_simplex_virus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herpes_simplex_virus) disagrees at the end of the first paragraph, above the ToC. I'm at a major research university, so I was able to check their citation and confirm that it does in fact 1) appear to be a seminar/survey from a legitimate scientific journal (Lancet) and 2) say that viral shedding in the absence of sores is possible, citing what appear to be first-hand studies. I'll reproduce the citations here: 60 Lang A, Nikolich-Zugich J. Development and migration of protective CD8+ T cells into the nervous system following ocular herpes simplex virus-1 infection. J Immunol 2005; 174: 2919–25. 62 Wald A, Zeh J, Selke S, Ashley RL, Corey L. Virologic characteristics of subclinical and symptomatic genital herpes infections. N Engl J Med 1995; 333: 770–75. I was able to locate a (I think) public copy of the second study, by Wald et al.: http://depts.washington.edu/herpes/php_uploads/publications/Virologic%20characteristics.pdf http://depts.washington.edu/herpes/php_uploads/publications/... The abstract of the paper reports that "Among women with genital HSV-2 infection, subclinical shedding occurred on a mean of 2 percent of the days." Subclinical shedding is defined in the body of the paper, specifically under the "Statistical Analysis" heading on the first page, as "the isolation of HSV from the cervix, vulva, or rectum in the absence of genital or perianal lesions noted by the subjects or the clinicians." In summary, at least one study has proven that herpes shedding is possible without the presence of sores. I apologize for going to so much trouble to prove you wrong, but it's dangerous for people to be wrong about the possibility of transmission of STDs.

TriinT 17y ago
To be entirely precise, there's no such thing as genital HSV. There's HSV1 and HSV2. If I remember correctly, HSV1 is usually what is referred to as "lip herpes", while HSV2 is usually called "genital herpes". However, one can have sores in other parts of the body.