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Can Herpes Spread To Other Body Parts?

There are two different types of herpes – oral and genital. Herpes is very contagious and be spread very easily. It is important to be aware of this and prevent it from happening.

Herpes is very contagious and be spread very easily.  It is important to be aware of this and prevent it from happening

Herpes can be spread by any of the following real-life situations:

- Kissing someone if you have a cold sore can transfer the virus to any part of the body that you kiss them (including inside of the mouth and throat, or the genitals)

- The virus can be transmitted to your partner if you have active genital herpes and have vaginal or anal intercourse

- If you have a cold sore and put your mouth on your partner's genitals (oral sex), your partner can be infected with genital herpes. Consequently, oral sex should definitely be avoided if one partner has a facial herpes attack.

- People who experience an episode of herpes, either facial or genital, should consider themselves infectious from the first sign of an outbreak to the healing of the last ulcer.

- Occasionally, one partner in a long-term relationship may develop symptoms of herpes for the first time. Often this is due to one or both of the partners being asymptomatic carriers of HSV and not knowing it.

- A mother can pass the virus onto her baby during pregnancy or at birth.

- One kind of complication involves spreading the virus from the location of an outbreak to other places on the body by touching the sore(s). The fingers, eyes, and other body areas can accidentally become infected in this way. Preventing self-infection is simple. Do not touch the area during an outbreak. If you do, wash your hands as soon as possible with soap and warm water.

Herpes lesions can be passed to the cornea of the eyes.  This may cause a serious problem requiring immediate evaluation and treatment by an ophthalmologist, as seriously impaired vision can result.

It is also generally considered that the spreading of genital herpes through inanimate objects, such as soap, towels, clothing, bed sheets, toilet seats, and spa surfaces is highly unlikely because the herpes virus cannot live very long outside of the body.  However, it is still important to keep areas clean.  It is still recommended that you do not share towels or soap, especially during an outbreak. 

Finally, the best rule of thumb to remember is don’t touch the sores.  If you do, wash your hands well with soap and water to kill the virus.   Wash your hands after going to the bathroom and before touching your eyes or putting in contact lenses.

Tags: cleansing, cold sores, genital herpes, prevention, spreading, transmission, treatment, viral infections

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