Navigating Intimacy with a Partner Who Has HSV: Essential Questions to Ask
If you’re being intimate with someone with HSV, it might be difficult to know what questions to ask, or how to ask them. There isn’t necessarily a less clinical way to talk about some of them, but I do offer language to address the potential awkwardness or othering that may arise.
Questions to ask your partner with HSV for safer intimacy:
•Are you someone who experiences frequent or recurring outbreaks?
•If you experience frequent or recurring outbreaks, are you aware of impending outbreaks (prodrome)?
•What are your comfort levels with partners around barriers and antivirals?
•Do you take antivirals as an episodic treatment, or are you on suppressive therapy?
•I know these questions might feel clinical. What can I do to make you feel more comfortable in our sexual experience?