Dear Dr. Ken: I just got diagnosed with genital herpes on my inner thigh. But I don't know how I got it. The only person I've been with recently is a woman from my office, and she swears she's clean. I also wear condoms religiously. The only thing I can think of is that I used a few public bathrooms just before I got an outbreak. Could I have picked it up from toilet seat? -- Troy W.Troy: You would have to be doing a lot more than sitting on a toilet seat to pick up herpes in a public bathroom.
The herpes virus can't survive long outside the body.
Read the rest of Dr. Ken's answer after the jump.
It's great you wear condoms during sex (all men should), yet studies show they don't provide men with substantial protection against herpes if your partner is infected.
Next time you're at work, visit the woman's cubicle and tactfully suggest she reconsider the problem. She may be lying (often out of embarrassment) or she may be unaware.
It's not unheard of for genital herpes to go unnoticed in women. The rash (more correctly called "lesions") can occur inside the vagina. Though they're typically painful, when unseen, the pain can be misinterpreted as a urinary tract infection.
She may also be infected but never developed lesions.
Men, however, wear herpes on their sleeve (or thereabouts), so it's usually easy to see the outbreaks.
Realize, too, that once infected, a person is at risk for recurrent outbreaks. Even between outbreaks, when lesions are not visible, sexual partners can still become infected.
Make sure future partners know of your infection, and definitely continue to wear condoms.
Dr. Ken Spaeth is a physician and Research Fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health. He is also co-author of the Bioterrorism Sourcebook. You can e-mail him your questions at askdrken@aol.com.
