Yeah it could be. But you can have it and not have a breakout for years too.

You may not have a outbreak for awhile could take up to a year or longer depending on your body. You need to get to the doctor though and get treatment.

According to the websites I have been looking at, the first breakout should occur within 2-10 days, after that however, they may not occur for years, but I think it's safe to say that if you do not have a breakout during that time you should be ok!

Could I get genital herpes without genital contact of any sort?

The best method is to get tested by a medical professional. Two reliable forms of testing are available: swab testing, and blood testing. For highest accuracy readings, swab testing requires an active herpes infection to be taking place, so your doctor has to see you the same day (very difficult). Blood testing is typically thought to be a more accurate method of testing for genital herpes, in part because an active herpes infection is not required to get an accurate result. It's recommended that a period of 12 to 16 weeks is allowed to pass before testing for genital herpes via a blood test.

Someone had a concern or question on if they can get genital herpes from a secondary object, like a toilet seat or a towel, or by shaking hands with someone, or not having sex?

Well, the herpes virus, hsv 1 or 2, dies very quickly outside of the body. People who have genital herpes got it by having sexual contact with an infected person. While it is physically possible for transmission to occur in other ways, this is extremely unlikely. For all intents and purposes, if you don't have sex with someone infected with genital herpes, you won't get genital herpes.

People in this forum debate and question how long after genital herpes infection does it take for symptoms to appear?

So read carefully! There is not a definitive time line for the appearance of genital herpes symptoms once infection has taken place: it can take several days after infection for symptoms to appear, or an infected person may never notice symptoms at all. It's worth noting that experts believe 80% of people infected with genital herpes are unaware of their status. This indicates that genital herpes is generally an asymptomatic condition. Do not rely on the appearance of symptoms, or lack thereof, as a means for diagnosing genital herpes! The best method for genital herpes diagnosis is a medical screening by a health care professional using either a swab or blood testing procedure.

So as it goes, remember this! People are suffering from far worse conditions. Please consider that we're talking about herpes (and be grateful), but remember to always have protected sex. It's not herpes that we should be worried about. Stay safe and I love you all!

if someone has a cold sore and gives you oral sex. You could get genital herpes from that.