I have a cold sore on my lips right now. Normally I would sleep on my own when that happens, but I’m going away for a while, so my girlfriend wanted to sleep together, even though she really doesn’t want to catch the herpes virus. Unfortunately she got too close to my pillow and it briefly touched her face. She panicked and had to get up, saying she can feel her skin tingle and dry up. I was really confused, because I’d been pretty sure that it takes much more time than that for any infection or immune reaction to develop that would have a perceivable effect, so I thought it was perhaps psychological, but she got cross with me, like I’m denying something obvious.
What happens when your body gets into contact with a virus? How does the infection start? Can you feel them on your skin?
Yes, but not in that way. They’re far too small to feel individually.
Yes, people with HSV can feel a tingling feeling in the affected areas that accompanies a flare-up. No, you can’t feel that in an initial infection.
If you’re not on an antiviral, and you kiss at all, she probably has it already. Lots of people have oral herpes and don’t even know it, because they have few or no symptoms. Viral shedding peaks with sores, but it happens all the time.
If she has it already, would a renewed contact with a large quantity of the virus provoke an outbreak?
Good question. It looks like the answer is no, exposure through regular shedding won’t cause problems with someone who already has the virus, because they already have the antibodies to fight it. I wasn’t able to find a really good source, this was the best one https://goaskalice.columbia.edu/answered-questions/if-my-partner-and-i-both-have-hsv-1-and-hsv-2-will-having-sex-cause-more