HERPES

Dormant Shedding

Dear Dr. Rob:

I recently got diagnosed with Herpes Simplex 1. I haven’t had any sores on my mouth or anything so I was unaware of the problem like many people can be. My question is, how can I tell when the virus is dormant and when I am least likely to spread the disease. Since I haven’t experienced a visible outbreak I don’t know what to look for and I am not sure what the symptoms are. If you could answer my question that would be wonderful.
A LITTLE OVERWHELMED

---

Dr. Rob’s Response:

Dear a Little Overwhelmed:

I would love to be able to answer your question, definitively, but the answer is, there is no definitive answer. You cannot tell when you are likely to be a shedder, except to say, when you are under stress, have decreased sleep or infected with another kind of virus or under increase stress from any outside source, it is more likely for the herpes virus to become capable of infecting someone else. That is a general answer to a specific question. I apologize, but that is the state of our knowledge at the present time. 

---