is it safe to have oral sex while having genital herpes?.

Thanks for your question. Herpes can be spread from the mouth to the genitals during oral sex. If this happens, it causes genital herpes - or herpes in the genital area. If a person HAS genital herpes due to HSV 1 , it can also be transmitted during sexual intercourse. HSV 2 is usually transmitted by vaginal or anal sex. Theoretically, HSV2 can pass from a person's genitals to a partner's mouth during receptive oral sex causing oral herpes, but that is not commonly seen. Experts aren't sure why.

For more information how Herpes is spread from partner to partner, check out Dr. Grayson's article Transmitting Herpes: How To Protect The Ones You Love. Your best course of action should be to inform yourself about the details of Herpes transmission through our Transmission page. Following that, you should consult your physician regarding the type of transmission risks your partner incurred and have your partner tested. Until then, try to practice the prevention techniques mentioned in the Tranmissions page. I hope this was of some help, please don't hesitate to post with any other questions or concerns you may have. Also, don't forget to consult your physician before adopting any new knowledge intro practice.