Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) is highly contagious but not air-borne like cold or flu viruses. You could be in a room full of people with herpes and walk right through without a hitch.
Herpes typically spreads through physical contact (by kissing, touching, or being sexually intimate) with someone who has an active case of HSV-1 (cold sores) or HSV-2 (genital herpes). It's contracted by coming into contact with the fluids from open sores. For example, someone touches a cold sore and then touches you with the fluid still on their fingers. This method can also re-infect another part of your body, so it's essential to maintain hygiene, especially during an outbreak.
You can also contract the herpes virus from an infected sex partner who does not have a visible sore or may not realize they are contagious during viral shedding.
It may interest you to know that 50% of genital herpes cases are caused by contamination from cold sores through oral sex, and, most of the time, it is a lack of knowledge that causes the disease to spread.
Can Herpes Spread to Other Parts of My Body?
Herpes tends to reappear in the exact location or proximity where you were first infected but not always. Sometimes, herpes can relocate from one area of the body to another, which is not typical but can happen.
Having contracted genital herpes implies an infection of the nerve roots along the base of your spine (nerve roots L-4, L-5, and S-1) that manage the rectal area, buttocks, and thigh. Because these infected nerves control these other areas, you can have an outbreak at any of them, even though they may not be the original transmission site. However, genital herpes usually remains below the waist.
Nerves impacted by cold sores (HSV-1) are in the neck area of the spine, specifically nerve root C-5. HSV-1 usually remains orally above the waist. However, HSV-1 can be transmitted to the genitals during oral sex. HSV-1 doesn't become HSV-2. It remains HSV-1, but now it's able to flare up genitally.
Although it only happens occasionally, HSV~1 and HSV-2 can occur elsewhere in or on your body, which tends to be more common when immunocompromised. While the virus may be transferred from one part of your body to another by reinfection, this could be a sign of a severe condition called Disseminated Herpes. Disseminated herpes is where the virus has traveled and settled in new nerve ganglia, creating unusual symptoms in other parts of the body, which is considered a complication of herpes.
Anytime you experience any unusual symptoms, please see your doctor.
Back to HSV Q & A.
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