After a herpes rash, how long should I wait before having sex?

Question

After a herpes test, how long should I wait before having sex? Is it normal that my partner had only 5 days of treatment for a first attack while I had 10-12 days? Can my partner and I contaminate each other or cause another attack?

Naji-tom Samaha · Accepted Answer

Hello, It is usually necessary to wait for the lesions to disappear. At that point, the risk of contagiousness is greatly reduced. Sincerely, Tom Samaha, pharmacist I can't comment on treatment times because it depends on the medication prescribed and the clinical experience of the doctor. That being said, if you have had a rash, you carry the virus for life, but there are different strains of the virus. You can indeed be infected with different strains. Also, it's basically a contact virus, so if you have contact when one of you has a rash, it can trigger a rash in the other person.