Can you get herpes from a toilet seat, towel or shared drink?

Can you get herpes from a toilet seat?

No, you will not get genital herpes from a toilet seat, from bedding, or from a swimming pool. The American Sexual Health Association says There are no documented cases of a person getting genital herpes from an inanimate object such as a toilet seat, bathtub, or towel.

The CDC also says You also will not get it from touching objects, such as silverware, soap, or towels.

Can you get herpes from a towel, bedding or a hot tub?

You will not get genital herpes from bedding, a towel, or a swimming pool, and a 1983 study of hot tub (spa) water could not isolate HSV from the spa water specimens and found that spa water immediately inactivated laboratory stock virus. For a cold sore, the American Academy of Dermatology says A child can also get the virus by eating from the same fork or spoon as someone who has a cold sore or sharing a towel with a person who has a cold sore.

To keep from infecting other people, stop sharing towels and razors until the cold sores form scabs. You can catch oral herpes if you touch an open herpes sore or something that has been in contact with the herpes virus, such as infected razors, towels, dishes, and other shared items. Wash items such as towels and linens in boiling hot water after each use, and if you have genital herpes, do not share your towels, toothbrush, or lipstick. ASHA says it is a good idea not to share towels and sex toys that make direct contact with anal and genital skin where sores are present, even though that would be an unlikely way to pass the virus.

To approximate plastic-coated benches and seats in spa facilities, the spa study placed HSV on plastic surfaces in a humid atmosphere at 37 to 40 degrees C. The virus was found to survive up to 4.5 hours under these conditions. Survival of HSV from human lesions may be different because of the presence of tissue secretions and proteins, and transmission may require rubbing of skin or penetration through abrasions. The survival of HSV appeared to be related to the free halogen content of the water.

Can you get herpes from sharing a drink or utensils?

For genital herpes, the CDC says you will not get it from touching objects such as silverware. For oral herpes, MedlinePlus says most people get it by the time they're young adults, usually from non-sexual contact with saliva from a person with an HSV-1 infection.

That may happen if you share forks, cups, or towels. If someone has oral herpes, MedlinePlus says not to share utensils, straws, glasses, or other items. If you have genital herpes, MedlinePlus tells you to make sure dishes and utensils you use are washed well with detergent before others use them.

The WHO says People with symptoms of oral herpes should avoid oral contact with others (including oral sex) and sharing objects that touched saliva. Transmission through objects like a utensil or a razor is highly unlikely, ASHA says, but it may be best not to share lipsticks or glosses. The American Academy of Dermatology tells parents of a child with eczema to teach the child not to share things that touch another person's mouth. The child can catch the virus by eating from another person's fork, sharing lip balm or lipstick, drinking from the same glass, or getting a kiss from someone who has a cold sore on the mouth.

The virus that causes cold sores is very contagious, so many people get cold sores, and getting kissed by someone who has a cold sore is often how a child catches it. ASHA says most people contract oral herpes when they are children, by a kiss from a friend or relative. Parents may spread the virus to their children during regular daily activities. The guide to herpes and kissing covers that contact.

Can you get herpes from sharing a vape?

For genital herpes, the CDC says you will not get it from touching objects such as silverware, soap, or towels. If you have symptoms of oral herpes, the WHO says to avoid sharing objects that touched saliva.

How long does herpes live outside the body?

ASHA says herpes is a very fragile virus and does not live long on surfaces. A 1982 paper on oral lesions found: Herpesviruses isolated from patients with oral lesions were found to survive for as long as two hours on skin, three hours on cloth, and four hours on plastic.

A 1993 study investigated HSV-1 in saliva on plastic doorknobs and chrome-plated tap handles at room temperature (21-24 degrees C). Between 30 and 60 minutes there was a 2-log drop in titer, and infectious virus could still be recovered after 2 hours, the longest period tested. The marked drop in titer coincided with drying of the saliva. There was no decline in titer of infectious HSV-1 in a humid atmosphere in which the saliva remained liquid.

In the 1983 spa study, HSV survived four hours in tap water and 24 hours in distilled water. A 2023 study tested HSV-1 for up to 7 days at -20°C, 4°C, 20°C, or 37°C on stainless steel, aluminum, glass, and polypropylene (the surfaces), on cheddar cheese, sliced almond, and apple skin (the foods), and in cola soft drink, orange juice, coffee, and milk. Based on the plaque assay on Vero cells, HSV-1 persisted at least 24 h on all surfaces and at least 1 h on food matrices but was inactivated quickly in cola soft drink. Their data on how long HSV-1 stayed on food-related surfaces suggest that some risk may be associated with sharing foods with infected carriers.

How does herpes actually spread?

Herpes primarily spreads by skin-to-skin contact. The WHO says Both HSV-1 and HSV-2 are most contagious when sores are present but can also be transmitted when no symptoms are felt or visible.

HSV-1 mostly spreads by oral contact and causes oral herpes or cold sores. It is mainly transmitted by contact with the virus in sores, saliva, or skin surfaces in or around the mouth, and oral herpes can be passed on through kissing or oral sex. You can get genital herpes by having vaginal, anal, or oral sex with someone who has the infection. You can get herpes if you have contact with saliva from a partner with an oral herpes infection.

It is also possible to get genital herpes if you receive oral sex from a partner with oral herpes, and the WHO says HSV-1 can, less commonly, be transmitted to the genital area through oral-genital contact. The WHO says HSV-2 spreads by sexual contact and can be transmitted even if the skin looks normal. The skin can release the virus from areas that do not have a visible herpes sore.

Most people with HSV-2 have not been diagnosed, and many of them have mild or unrecognized infections but shed virus intermittently in the anogenital area. Consequently, most genital herpes infections are transmitted by persons unaware that they have the infection or who are asymptomatic when transmission occurs. Do not kiss or have oral sex when you have a sore on the lips or inside the mouth, and do not have oral sex if you have oral herpes, especially if you have blisters, because you can spread the virus to the genitals. The HSV-1 and HSV-2 guide separates the two types, the guide to spread without symptoms covers shedding, and the transmission guide covers the studies of sex with a partner.