This herpes virus is generally spread by skin-to-skin contact from active blisters to an open cut or even where the skin has been  roughened-up by an abrasion or by heavy sex. Some reports suggest that the virus may also be spread before the blister stage when the area is reddish and itchy.

CONDOMS AND GLOVES

Contact with an open blister should be scrupulously avoided because of the highly contagious nature of this virus If this is possible because the blister is somewhere else on the body, not directly at a sexual organ, or the blister is small an can be covered up then sex can be engaged in fairly safely

If this is not possible then a rubber condom and soft rubber surgical gloves should be used and disposed of, NOT down the toilet, but first into plastic bags and then ideally incinerated or at least double wrapped and put outside into the garbage bin,

It is promising to hear reports from couples, within which one partner has the virus and the other does not, that if you employ the right avoidance techniques it is possible to have sex and not spread the virus

If you choose to have a sexual relationship with a person who has herpes, you must accept the risk that you could get it, too. You will need to understand the basics of herpes prevention. In a new relationship, you may have concerns about risking infection for a relationship which may not last.

On the other hand, if you have been sexually active in the past, you may have been at risk for herpes, and you may actually have it yourself. Remember, most people with herpes don't know they have it. Because herpes can be spread in the absence of symptoms, it can be hard to know when a person became infected-and by whom. In fact, if you and your partner have had sex, it's even possible that your partner got herpes from you.

If you would like to find out whether you have herpes, a blood test can tell you whether you have HSV-2, the type of herpes that usually infects the genital area. (A blood test may also tell you whether you have HSV-1, but it cannot distinguish between genital and oral infection. In many cases, a positive result simply means you have oral herpes.)

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