HERPES

Contracted Herpes by Myself

Dear Dr. Rob:

I’m from South Africa and my boyfriend works in the UK. I went to visit him during December and I contracted herpes. I went to see a GP and she told me that it’s because my body is not use to the very cold conditions, therefore I should just take it as a cold infection kind of thing. The thing is, my boyfriend and I have been having sex for a while but I never got it. Does this mean that he didn’t give to me and I just contracted it by myself?

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Dr. Rob’s Response:

Dear Poster from South Africa:

It is just not a cold-like thing. The fact is, it was transmitted from your
boyfriend to you, and it is not possible to state whether it was done
during the last incident or if it occurred before. It is possible for you not
to have an outbreak even though you become infected. The fact that you
had an outbreak now, would strongly suggest that you be tested
for Herpes Type 1 and Herpes Type 2 using the Herpes Select Test.
Consider the possibility of protected sex and/or the use of Valcyclovir as
a way of suppressing the shedding of the virus, which occurs even
when you don’t have outbreaks.

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