Genital Herpes without sex?

Recently, I experienced a few bumps in the general area of my upper legs and a small itchy spot inside my labia. They're not really that bothersome at all, though I'm still somewhat concerned. I had a small sore on my lip (never experienced cold sores before and neither has my boyfriend), and possibly had oral sex during the time this sore was present. What is the likelihood that you could get genital herpes from an oral herpes infection on yourself?

Even WITHOUT direct sexual intercourse, the Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) can be transmitted via contact with infectious skin lesions or secretions (namely saliva or other body fluids). I would recommend that you get a lesion culture test AS SOON AS you notice the skin lesion(s) for test result accuracy, because of these 3 reasons:

1. When there is ANY disruption in the integrity of the body's surface barrier, such as skin or mucous membranes (in your case, it would be the skin lesion of the cold sore), there is a potential for pathogens to enter the body, gain access to susceptible tissues and causes disease. These "disruptions" include any accidental injury resulting in abrasions, burns, or penetrating wounds; medical procedures such as surgery or catheterization; a primary infectious process that produced surface lesions (such as cold sores, chicken pox, or impetigo); or direct inoculation from intravenous drug use or from animal or arthropod bites.

2. Herpesviruses are large, encapsulated viruses that have a double-stranded genome. There are 9 types of herpesviruses, categorized into 3 groups. But your case in question would be classified as:

NEUROTROPIC ALPHA-GROUP: Herpes Simplex Virus type 1 (abbreviated as HSV-1) that is associated with regular cold sores and type 2 (HSV-2) that is associated with genital herpes. Women, in general, have a greater mucosal surface area exposed in the genital area, that's the reason for the greater risk of acquiring such an infection than men. Neurotropic means that they grow in neurons and share the ability to maintain disease potential even in the absence of clinical signs and symptoms.

Both HSV-1 and HSV-2 have similar DNA structure, causing a similar set of primary and recurrent infections. BOTH TYPES of viruses can cause GENITAL LESIONS, not just the HSV-2. Both viruses replicate in the skin and mucous membranes at the site of infection, where they cause vesicular lesions of the epidermis and infect the neurons that innervate the area.

In Genital Herpes, the virus goes up through the peripheral nerves to the sacral dorsal root ganglia and can remain dormant and then reactivate. In the case of "reactivation," the virus are transported BACK down the nerve root to the skin, where they multiply and cause a lesion to develop. During the dormant period, the virus replicates in a DIFFERENT way so that the immune system or available drug treatments have NO EFFECT on it. That's why there is no cure for Genital Herpes. The prescription drugs can ONLY aim at interrupting its DNA replication DURING the breakout period(s), thereby decreasing the frequency of recurrences, shorten the duration of active lesions, reduce the number of new lesions formed, and decrease viral shedding with primary infections.

3. The diagnosis of Genital Herpes is based upon the symptoms, appearance of the lesions, and virus identification from cultures taken directly from those lesions. The STABILITY of the virus during transportation (to the lab) is good for 48-72 hours. The likelihood of obtaining a reliable, stable culture decreases with EACH day that has elapsed after a lesion develops. The chance of obtaining a stable culture from a lesion that is ALREADY CRUSTED is even lower. So patients suspected of having Genital Herpes should have the culture taken WITHIN 48 hours of NEW LESION developments in order to obtain a more accurate test result.

The presence of type-specific HSV-2 antibodies usually indicates anogenital infection, whereas the presence of HSV-1 antibodies cannot distinguish between anogenital or orolabial infections.

First of all, USALLY the herpes virus strand HSV I, that causes cold sores on the mouth, is different that the herpes virus strand HSV II that cuases genital herpes. It is possible tho, so get tested, but I think you're probably just being paranoid, so quit worrying. Testing always allows peace of mind tho =) Good lucK!

I don't pretend to know what your particular problem is but make no mistake, you can get STD's without having intercourse.

Oral sex is sex. Anal sex is sex. All put you at risk for sexually transmitted diseases because they involve swapping body fluids that carry various buggies and beasties. Even the ones that aren't blood borne involve some sort of contact with genitals of one or both people...for instance you can pass crabs from one person to another without having intercourse, just getting skin to skin where the lice are is enough. The only thing that doesn't apply to anal and oral sex activities is pregnancy.

Best bet if you have any concerns is to get a comprehensive STD screen with your gyno, or go to a sliding scale or free clinic if you can't afford to (or don't want to) see your own doctor. Then if you have anything, make sure you discuss this with anyone you have been intimate with, no matter what kind of intimacy it was.

Most definitely.

genital herpes can easily be passed to the oral cavity and vice versa. Go get checked.

Herpes is passed from one to another via Sex or Skin-to-Skin contact. The only 2 ways of transmission. It's not in the air! Your lip sore is HSV-1, Genital Herpes is HSV-2. Go to MD and get treated.