What Is Oral Herpes?

With the rise in oral sex, the risk of transmitting oral herpes has also risen

If you have oral herpes and you kiss an infant, it may not be considered the kiss of death --- but don"t do it!

Past research indicates that there is a rise in oral sex among adolescents, university students and adults in general. Other research has indicated greater acceptability of oral sex among adolescents in comparison to intercourse. In one NBC News/People Magazine (2005) study, 12% of the teen respondents indicated that they had engaged in oral sex.

One health fallout of this is the rising incidence of oral herpes in the at-risk group. Although only about 15 percent of all herpes cases are caused by herpes simplex virus Type I, this incidence is on the rise.

Notably, oral herpes, caused by Herpes simplex Type I is not a venereal disease . It"s extremely prevalent throughout the population. Blood tests to detect the presence of herpes-fighting antibodies show that most people have been infected with Type I virus by age 50, with some 30 million Americans suffering from the resulting cold sores, fever blisters, eye infections, or other symptoms.

The danger lies in transmission and the fact that there is no permanent cure from this disease. The virus tends to lodge itself in the patient"s body and recurs in sporadic episodes --- as cold sores around the moth etc --- whenever there is a stress factor present to trigger an episode.

However, if a person with HSV-1 oral herpes (cold sores) performs oral sex, it is possible for the partner to get HSV-1 genital herpes. In addition, HSV-2 can also infect the mouth through oral sex.

Testing woes

Most healthcare professionals find it difficult to distinguish between the two types of virus --- Herpes simplex Type I (that causes oral herpes) and Herpes simplex Type II (that causes genital herpes) but thankfully, there are now four tests, three of which are approved by the FDA are able to make this distinction between HSV-1 and HSV2, although access to these tests is not always simple.

Some laboratories run new blood tests called type-specific serologies (TSS), while others still use older tests that do not accurately make the distinction between the two types of virus.

Prevention

The best prevention lies in personal hygiene. The virus is highly contagious even in a non-symptomatic stage. So avoid all contact with partners, babies and pregnant women in particular.

by: mspaul

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