Cold sores

[tall]

A girl I might hook up with who seems to have had double the amount of sexual partners than I have had despite being several years younger says that she sometimes suffers from cold soars.

Should I be concerned?

[Ducy]

Nah don't even worry. Its just a little bit of oral herpes.

[Brandye]

It is likely that she is one who is prone to cold sores. Certainly take the usual precautions of STD checking but genital herpes is a different animal.

[EvilEvilKitten]

To be precise - there are, at last count, 2 different types of Herpes viruses romping about. HSV-1 and HSV-2.

Cold Sores (HSV-1) are nothing to worry about.

[Brandye]

Some time ago I did a thread on the medical difference between the cousin creatures that cause cold sores and those that cause genital herpes. Do a search if you want the responses expanded upon.

[tall]

I read today that the two herpes variants are so close, they can exist round the mouth and genital areas and that oral sex after kissing is a problem.

[Brandye]

Try this:
Genital Herpes

A few items down the list addresses your question directly