I have a cold sore on my lips right now. Normally I would sleep on my own when that happens, but I’m going away for a while, so my girlfriend wanted to sleep together, even though she really doesn’t want to catch the herpes virus. Unfortunately she got too close to my pillow and it briefly touched her face. She panicked and had to get up, saying she can feel her skin tingle and dry up. I was really confused, because I’d been pretty sure that it takes much more time than that for any infection or immune reaction to develop that would have a perceivable effect, so I thought it was perhaps psychological, but she got cross with me, like I’m denying something obvious.
What happens when your body gets into contact with a virus? How does the infection start? Can you feel them on your skin?
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Yes, but not in that way. They’re far too small to feel individually.
Yes, people with HSV can feel a tingling feeling in the affected areas that accompanies a flare-up. No, you can’t feel that in an initial infection.
If you’re not on an antiviral, and you kiss at all, she probably has it already. Lots of people have oral herpes and don’t even know it, because they have few or no symptoms. Viral shedding peaks with sores, but it happens all the time.
If she has it already, would a renewed contact with a large quantity of the virus provoke an outbreak?
Good question. It looks like the answer is no, exposure through regular shedding won’t cause problems with someone who already has the virus, because they already have the antibodies to fight it. I wasn’t able to find a really good source, this was the best one https://goaskalice.columbia.edu/answered-questions/if-my-partner-and-i-both-have-hsv-1-and-hsv-2-will-having-sex-cause-more
if she never had the herpes simplex 1, yea she should not kiss you. most adults have hsv1 , like 80-90%. also herpes takes a while to infect another person too, its not instant. i think what you are looking for is, the SO is having a psychosmatic effect.
Absolutely not. Can you feel the bacteria? Well a virus is much much smaller than that. They are barely big enough to be “seen” with our current technology.
No, they are way too small. Most people can’t even feel small insects (ticks, mosquitoes) on their skin. You also can’t feel dust particles. Viruses are orders of magnitudes smaller than those.
Most viruses get into your body by getting in contact with mucus membranes (in your mouth, nose) or open wounds, then they start taking over cells and reproduce. But you will only notice them once your immune system reacts to them, which causes most initial symptoms of virus infections.
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I can sometimes feel the bacteria crawling over my skin. I then cut it of an boil it before sewing it back on. It itches but it’s better then before.