Hi, recently found out I have the Herpes HSV2 Virus. My first outbreak was very mild, and not painful, thank god. I wondered if I was to meet a partner who also already had HSV2, could it make my condition worse? If his already was? This may be a stupid question. But I wanted to check. Could regular contact (even the shedding stage) cause my own to get worse? Or not, because my immune system is strong (why my first was mild?) Thanks a lot.

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Home / Answered Questions / Hi, recently found out I have the Herpes HSV2 Virus. My first outbreak was very mild, and not painful, thank god. I wondered if I was to meet a partner who also already had HSV2, could it make my condition worse? If his already was? This may be a stupid question. But I wanted to check. Could regular contact (even the shedding stage) cause my own to get worse? Or not, because my immune system is strong (why my first was mild?) Thanks a lot.

Hi, recently found out I have the Herpes HSV2 Virus. My first outbreak was very mild, and not painful, thank god. I wondered if I was to meet a partner who also already had HSV2, could it make my condition worse? If his already was? This may be a stupid question. But I wanted to check. Could regular contact (even the shedding stage) cause my own to get worse? Or not, because my immune system is strong (why my first was mild?) Thanks a lot.

Hi.

Everyone will respond differently to the herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). Some people have frequent outbreaks, while other people don’t notice outbreaks at all.

Once you have HSV-2, exposure to the same virus from another person will not make it worse.

The exception may be the time between when you first get HSV-2 and you develop antibodies to HSV-2.This typically takes 3-4 months. During this time it is possible to spread HSV-2 to other parts of your body (autoinoculation). It is also easier to get HSV-2 in another part of the body from someone who has HSV-2.

The above situation also applies to people who have herpes simplex virus type 1. Having antibodies to one type of HSV may provide some protection against the other type of HSV.

Click here for more information on HSV.

Please leave a comment to let us know if this answers your question or if you need more info.

Health Nurse

This answer was posted on August 31, 2012.