How do you get herpes? Part I - HSV1

Both types of herpes spread by person-to-person contact. However, there are some peculiarities in cases of HSV1 and HSV2 types of infection. Today, we shall discuss herpes simplex type 1 (or the so called oral herpes) transmission.

When they speak of catching herpes, they sometimes say of skin-to-skin contact with a person who carries the virus. In a way, this wording is correct, but it may mislead you. When you hear of 'skin', you may not think of lips or fingers. However, kissing and touching are the major causes which favor transmission of the herper virus. And it does not matter who touches whom. If an infected person does nothing to you, but you will touch his or her cold sore, you are likely to be infected yourself.

Most people get HSV1 in childhood from their parents, grandparents, relatives and friends of the family. Simple pinching a baby's cheek by an infected adult can embed the virus into the baby's body where it will stay forever. Yes, forever, and there's is no cure for that. Most of the time, the virus will be dormant, and there will be no signs of its presence in the body (i.e., the notorious cold sores on the lips and around the mouth), but it will never leave the system. If someone infected with HSV1 does not have any sores or blisters, it only means that the virus goes on living in the person's nerve cells, waiting for its chance to have an outbreak during which it will rush into the skin cells and cause the sores.

Unfortunately, one does not have to have sores to transmit the herpes virus. Though outbreaks of herpes sores make transmission more likely, lots of people get HSV1 from infected persons who have no sores at all! Doctors call this "asymptomatic viral shedding", that is when there are no visible signs of the infection, no symptoms of the disease, but still, the infection takes place. Moreover, a direct contact between people is not necessary to spread herpes simplex. A person can get HSV1 even by sharing eating utensils or towels, etc with an infected person. Of course, it does not mean that everyone gets infected for sure if he or she has any sort of contact with an infected person, but it means that the risk always exists. Many people carry herpes without showing any signs of it and spread the virus unintentionally and without knowing of that, just because they live with it. That makes herpes a very common viral infection, and, to say the truth, we have very poor chance of avoiding it somehow.

The only consolation is the fact that in the overwhelming majority of cases, simple oral herpes is not a fatal disease. It is just unpleasant.