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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Had An Outbreak Of Herpes Simplex. Not Sexually Active. How Did I Get This? On Acyclovir

Hi, I ve recently had my second outbreak of Herpes Simplex 1. I m very curious and would like to know how I got this virus If I m not sexually active and have never kissed anyone. Everywhere I look to find information on the transmission of this virus, sites always say that it s spread through kissing and or sex. Will I have this virus forever and how can I minimize the chances of having these outbreaks. Right now my doctor has given me Acyclovir to help.
Fri, 31 Aug 2012
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Dermatologist,  's  Response
Hi there. Your questions are multifold & will require a detailed explanation but as this is a public forum will keep this brief & to the point. No you do not need to be kissed or be sexually active to have aquired the herpes virus especially type 1. Please do a serum IgM/IgG herpes type 1 test which will give you a clue as to recent or long standing infection. My guess is a childhood contact infection & when the immunity was down, it sprung up. Perhaps it is not much comfort to you but the prevalance of Herpes is extremely high in the general community & you are far from alone. I will need far more information to help you in detail as regds acyclovir dose, time of starting it (how many days after rash etc) & interval between last 2 episodes etc to provide you a detailed prognosis. Do feel free to use the premier 'ask-a-doctor' portal & get in touch with mois & can take the discussion further in detail. For the moment wish you a quick/speedy recovery & as long herpes free interval s possible. Cheers!
Dr Praveen Rodrigues MD
Vikram Hospital, Bangalore, India
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Had An Outbreak Of Herpes Simplex. Not Sexually Active. How Did I Get This? On Acyclovir

Hi there. Your questions are multifold & will require a detailed explanation but as this is a public forum will keep this brief & to the point. No you do not need to be kissed or be sexually active to have aquired the herpes virus especially type 1. Please do a serum IgM/IgG herpes type 1 test which will give you a clue as to recent or long standing infection. My guess is a childhood contact infection & when the immunity was down, it sprung up. Perhaps it is not much comfort to you but the prevalance of Herpes is extremely high in the general community & you are far from alone. I will need far more information to help you in detail as regds acyclovir dose, time of starting it (how many days after rash etc) & interval between last 2 episodes etc to provide you a detailed prognosis. Do feel free to use the premier ask-a-doctor portal & get in touch with mois & can take the discussion further in detail. For the moment wish you a quick/speedy recovery & as long herpes free interval s possible. Cheers! Dr Praveen Rodrigues MD Vikram Hospital, Bangalore, India