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Herpes mystery

by Dr Sarah Brewer

question
I've just started having sex, and I have only had one partner. After living together for a while, we were apart for four months and during that time I found out that I had herpes. My partner has never had it. I started getting the symptoms four days after going swimming. I heard that it is a STI, but can you catch it without having sex?

answer
The herpes virus is very common and many people have been exposed to the virus without producing symptoms. The virus can hide in the nerve root and this can be shed from time to time so that, even if you've had no symptoms of herpes, you can pass the virus on to someone else.

Someone who has had cold sores on the mouth can also pass on the virus through oral sex - even if they don't have symptoms of a cold sore at the time. This makes it very difficult to know exactly where the virus has come from. It has not come from swimming in a pool, however. It has to be passed on through close contact with someone else.
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