Herpes question

[blacknwhite143.livejournal.com]

I don't have herpes, but a few weeks ago, I slept in the same bed as a guy who was infected with the virus, not knowing at all of his condition. A friend of mine just told me today that he had herpes, and it really scared me. I did not have sex with him, but I remember borrowing a pair of his boxer shorts. This guy isn't too cleanly and I'm affraid his boxers may have been dirty. Is it possible that I can contract the virus from a pair of dirty boxer shorts, even while wearing a thong underneath? Please give feedback.

Comments

[laurenoid.livejournal.com]

I'm not 100% sure of this, but I think no--because herpes is transmitted by skin-to-skin contact, and dies quickly once it comes into contact with air (and no skin to keep it alive.) This may not be totally true, but it is what my campus sex health peer education program (with whom I volunteer) tells students during our presentations.

[frolicnaked.livejournal.com]

In this section (http://www.vaginapagina.com/index.php?title=Herpes_%28HSV-1/HSV-2%29#Who_is_at_risk_for_herpes.3F__How_do_you_get_it.3F) of the Vulvapedia, it mentions:

"HSV is transmitted through direct skin-to-skin contact via the exchange of saliva, semen, cervical fluid, or vesicle fluid from active lesions."

It seems unlikely that the virus would be able to survive on clothing for a significant period of time. The American Social Health Association (http://www.ashastd.org/herpes/herpes_learn_questions.cfm#3) supports this idea when it says:

"There are no documented cases of a person getting genital herpes from an inanimate object such as a toilet seat, bathtub, or towel. Herpes is a very fragile virus and does not live long on surfaces."

So unless you put the boxers on right after he took them off, it sounds like your risk for contracting the virus was extremely low.