Quote:
Originally Posted by DoctorTan
Possible but unlikely is absolutely right. HPV and HSV are both viruses spread by skin to *infected* skin contact. So if you rub your face on someone's warts or herpes blisters then very likely you will get HPV and Herpes on your face.
Similarly, if a person has raging herpes in his/her genitals and you shake his/her hand vigorously, you are NOT at risk of getting herpes. Contact with infected skin remember?
The problem is, infected skin does NOT mean symptomatic skin. In other words, the skin can look absolutely normal yet it is releasing virus that can infect you.
Specific to your question, it is possible for HPV and HSV to be found on the hand. However much more unlikely on the breast. So it is possible but unlikely to get infected.
Also, the Boss brought up a very good point of vector transmission. If she has raging herpes in her genitals, touches her herpes blisters and gets herpes fluid all over her hands and immediately uses the same hand to rub you vigorously, then of course the risk is higher.
This comes back to the same point doctors keep harping on. There is no such thing as safe sex. Only safer sex.
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hi doc, can I check with u.
u mentioned skin that looks absolutely normal yet it is releasing the virus.
are u referring also to skin on the arm, hands, buttocks or the "skin" on the penis head and vagina
my understanding is that the skin on ur hands, buttocks, back ,arm is too thick and has to have a lesion before it can spread the virus. whereas for the penis head or vagina, it can look normal but yet the virus is spreading.
secondly u mentioned that hpv and hsv are virus that spread from skin to skin contact. my understanding is that hsv and hpv is spread when the muscous membrane from an uninfected person comes into contact with the virus. and that normal skin is protected with keratin and too thick for the virus to enter, which means if I rub my hand against a infected lady vagina (and her genitals is shedding the virus at that point in time), I cant get the virus because the virus cannot penetrate the thick skin on my hand.
hope u can clear my doubts. cos it seems like lots of pple are saying hsv/hpv can be spread from just skin (ie skin on the arm,leg, buttocks) to skin contact. while the pple at medhelp seem to suggest that muscous membrane has to come into contact with the virus.