Herpes infects more people worldwide than any other sexually transmitted infection—and it spreads through a simple equation: One partner has the virus. Another partner doesn't. Any sexual contact between the two can infect the uninfected.
Anal, vaginal, oral, fingering—it doesn't matter; you can still share the bug. "It all depends on what's coming into contact with what," says Aaron Glatt, an infectious disease specialist and spokesperson for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
The virus most easily enters the body through a break in the skin, Glatt says—say, an abrasion from rough sex, a cut in your mouth, or a sore from another condition. (Having any one STI increases your risk for acquiring a second.) However, herpes can also slip through the body's normal defenses, especially through mucus membranes in the mouth, eyes, genitals, or rectum.
There's no cure for herpes—and though your risk of spreading it tends to decrease over the years, it's still possible for you to infect a partner. Here's what you need to know to avoid sharing more than you bargained for.
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