Giving your partner herpes

[banyangirl1832.livejournal.com]

Hi everyone! I'm a cis lady who's been diagnosed with HSV-1 for about four years. I have periodic flareups which I treat with antivirals. I've been with my partner for five years in a mostly monogamous relationship (all non-monogamy is consented to by both of us). When I do have a flareup, we try not to have any sexual contact at all for at least the first few days of treatment. This morning he went to urgent care to address a few issues, one of which was a patch of dry skin on his penis just below the head. The doctors said it looked like HSV-2 and gave him anti-virals. I'm obviously at fault here - really, it's been five years and I knew it was just a matter of time but I feel really guilty and awful about it. He seems pretty upset. Has anyone ever been through this or something similar? Did it cause major friction between you and your partner? Help?