My friend has herpes how easy can i get it?!
Question: My friend got herpes wrestling he has it on his face! He takes valtrex so he never really has outbreaks. But hes my good friend and he still wants to wrestle with me! We also box together as well. How easily is herpes spread should i be worried when we box together! I told him i wont wrestle with him but we have still been boxing together. What can i do to avoid getting this ( if anything ) Is boxing ok? I no wrestling is a no no but any information on this topic would be great!
Answers: My friend got herpes wrestling he has it on his face! He takes valtrex so he never really has outbreaks. But hes my good friend and he still wants to wrestle with me! We also box together as well. How easily is herpes spread should i be worried when we box together! I told him i wont wrestle with him but we have still been boxing together. What can i do to avoid getting this ( if anything ) Is boxing ok? I no wrestling is a no no but any information on this topic would be great!
Your friend has herpes gladiatorum/mat herpes - basically herpes of some part of the body caught by coming into contact with someone else's herpes while wrestling. It is not genital herpes and not related, since herpes is a localised infection. i.e., only your friend's face could ever be infectious.
Since he has it on his face, and didn't catch it coming into contact with anyone's genitals, it is extremely likely he has herpes type 1. Herpes gladiatorum is generally caused by type 1.
Herpes type 1 is the virus that causes cold sores on the mouth, and 8 out of 10 of the guys you wrestle will have it on their mouths - this is how common it is, so he isn't alone.
And if he has it facially, you could only catch it by coming into skin contact with his face, just like you could catch it from coming into contact with the face/mouth area of every one of those 8 out of 10 guys that you wrestle who have the cold sore virus.
Cold sores themselves - oral herpes - is usually passed by kissing and enters through the mucous membrane of the mouth, which is why a herpes infection is likely to be oral in most people.
You don't normally get it in areas of the body with thicker skin, such as the rest of the arm, simply because the skin is too thick for the virus to enter. The exception is wrestlers, because they may get cuts or abrasions in the course of wrestling that allow the virus to enter through the skin. In the case of your friend, it could well have been that an abrasion on his face came into contact with the mouth of a wrestler that was getting or had a cold sore.
Like I said, because 8 out of 10 of us have oral herpes (cold sores) by our teenage years, it it very likely that others you wrestle will also have the same virus.
Your chances of catching it are very low - if he has type hsv-1, then there is a good chance you have had it since childhood too, like most people, and if so you can't catch it from him at all anywhere. Even if you haven't, he will only be infectious for a small fraction of the time when he doesn't have symptoms - because he takes meds, probably less than 5% of the time as an absolute maximum.
And if he did have an outbreak, it would have to come into contact with a suitable abrasion on your skin to enter the body. At the worst, like him, you would have herpes on your mouth or arm or something, and not genital herpes.
Herpes is VERY catchy. The major problem is that your friend will be contagious without showing any signs of the disease. Just because he is taking some meds, doesn't mean he's cured. It only decreases the number of outbreaks. Wrestle someone else.
As easy as your can snap your fingers, no wrestle, no box...go find girl to make love to and use Condom!
I would not do it. By law people with a contagious disease like herpes can not be a wrestler, boxer or any other kind of contact sports just for the reason for spreading the disease. I would find someone else to play with.
JED
Ok, there are two kind of herpes "type a" which is also knew as a cold scour, most likely on his face by his lip, which if he has this type then yes it can spread but it can on really spade if you have contacted with it. don't kiss him or put your face up to him.
" type B" is private area this can also spread. If have sex with someone with herpes put a condom on then wash your self. With this type of herpes you can NOT TOUCH it because once you touch it transfers to you hand and so on....
If you a very careful you will be fine.
I sure you can box with your buddy....have fun....
oh BTW if his taking valtrex that is cool but herpes can still spread with out an out break....
8 out of 10 people in America has herpes...
Hm. This is tough to say exactly. I'd have to say first off that it really depends on the type of herpes your friend has. Is it type 1 (mainly coldsores on lips, mouth area) or type 2 (groin, possible legs, other areas). I'm guessing 2. The most important factor are the outbreaks and frequency. If he gets them frequently, the higher the risk of spreading, but there is a slight possibility of spreading it inbetween outbreaks due to the virus hiding out on the skin's surface without actually causing sores.
As far as boxing is concerned, I'm not sure. I would take care if these boxing matches include excessive bleeding from the mouth.
One of the best precautions to protect yourself would be to take a hot shower and thoroughly wash with an antibacterial soap soon after boxing and wipe your gloves down with an antibacterial spray of some kind.
For the most part, so long as you are not directly touching a sore or the area where he gets outbreaks with your own skin, the danger is not extreme. To pass it, you really have to have physical contact with the sores/area itself and in addition, not wash that area on yourself with soap and water soon after coming into contact.
Hope this helps!