Can I get genital herpes by kissing?

Herpes Transmission   


Ask:

Can I get genital herpes(HSV-2) by kissing(mouth to mouth)?

Answer:

If you kiss someone who has genital herpes, you CANNOT get genital herpes this way. Genital herpes is just that - genital - it remains in the part of the body where it was caught and is not able to be caught through contact with any other part of the body - i.e., if someone has genital herpes, only contact with their genitals can transfer it to you, and you can only get genital herpes from them if your genitals were in contact with theirs. If you mouth was in contact with their genitals, then you could get oral hepres - aka cold sores, but these will stay on your mouth and you would have an oral herpes infection not a genital one.

It isn't true that genital herpes is type 2 - genital herpes can be caused by type 1 or type 2 - there is about a 50:50 split as to which virus is the cause these days. I have genital herpes type 1. Genital herpes type 1 is most often caught from receiving oral sex from a partner that gets cold sores on their mouth - that is how I caught it. Most cold sores are caused by type 1 - about 95% - but some are caused by type 2. Symptoms do not have to be present at the time for the virus to be passed oraly or genitally - herpes is occasionally infectious without symptoms.

There are only 2 ways you are going to get genital herpes, receiving oral sex from someone who has the herpes virus (cold sores) on their mouth - 8 out of 10 people do - or having intercourse, with or without a condom with, or rubbing genital to genital against, someone who has genital herpes.

Since herpes type 2 causes a small proportion of cold sores, technically you can transmit herpes type 2 by kissing someone who has it orally - but you would only catch it on your mouth and it would be oral herpes rather than genital, just oral herpes type 2.

Source:Yahoo answers