I dated someone who had cold sores which is a form of HSV-1. I was sick a few years ago and my internal medicine doctor did an extensive blood work on me. They found that I do have herpes in my blood, but it is dormant. I have never had cold sores in my life. Since I have herpes, can it be transmitted to somebody else that I may have sexual intercourse with? And can the other person contract it by kissing only?
The majority of adults have HSV-1, and most of them have had it since their adolescence. Once you have it, you are immune to having new HSV-1 infections, although, you may still get outbreaks.
Herpes cannot migrate, so if you have it orally, that is the only location that it can be transmitted from. It is possible to transmit the virus through areas of previous infection through a process called transient asymptomatic viral shedding, in which the virus can come out where there are no symptoms present. The fact that you don’t have sores is a good thing because it shows that your immune system is restraining the virus. If you are not having outbreaks, that also limits the likelihood that you are undergoing asymptomatic viral shedding, but it does not guarantee that this is not happening.
There are some pieces missing from this story. You never told me whether or not you had genital herpes, but you did mention that you had HSV-1. Was original site of infection oral or genital? If it was HSV-1 in the genital region, as in that was the original site of infection, then you could pass it on to a partner through sexual intercourse, provided that they have never been exposed to HSV-1 in the past. This is unlikely. If you have the infection orally, then you could pass it on to a partner through kissing, again, provided that they have never been exposed to HSV-1.
