If my partner has a herpes sore and I have sex with him can it cause me to have a new outbreak? I already have the herpes virus.

Question about sex with herpes

From viewing your profile I see your currently living with genital HSV-2. Keep in mind there are two strains of herpes HSV-1 and HSV-2. HSV-1 is genital herpes about 5-10% of the time and oral herpes 90-95% of the time. On an average 5-10 genital herpes cases out of 100 are caused by genital HSV-1.

If your partner has genital HSV-2 (the more common type of genital herpes) one partner herpes outbreaks won't greatly affect the other partner. It is not possible for a person who has genital HSV-2 to catch genital HSV-2. Sometimes friction from sex causes a herpes outbreak.

If one partner has genital HSV-1 (less common type of genital herpes) and one partner has genital HSV-2 both strains of herpes could spread. In that situation a partner may come in contact with a strain of herpes he/she doesn't have. A person with genital HSV-2 is more likely to spread genital HSV-2 to a partner than to catch genital HSV-1. The human body helps fight herpes off. Getting a herpes outbreak depends on a person's immune system and lifestyle.