Can you get genital herpes from sharing a razor

No matter how old you are, it's hard not to feel responsible when your parents' announce their divorce.

Immediately, you start wondering if your birth is the thing that sent their marriage on a downward spiral.

But this Canadian woman doesn't have to do any of that soul-searching - she knows it's her fault.

After all, her parents are calling it quits because her dad has contracted herpes.

The catch? She’s pretty sure she gave it to him.

The entire story appeared on Reddit, in a post titled “TIFU [Today I F**ked Up] and gave my dad herpes," so grab a glass of wine and get reading...

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For some inexplicable reason, she decided to share the entire insane story online. Source: Reddit

The one-night stand that started it all

To truly understand the dilemma, we need a bit of background information on the distressed daughter. 

Her parents, who have been together since they were 18, are extremely religious and believe nobody should be having sex before marriage.

However, this lesson didn't stick for their daughter - who admits to being “somewhat promiscuous” by the time she arrived at university. 

"I had a one-night stand that turned into be me getting herpes," she wrote. 

"Awful, but the medication I take now really suppresses my symptoms and makes it very unlikely to pass it to others.

"Apparently not.”

RELATED: Mum’s warning as newborn dies of herpes at 8 days old

"I’m rushing and I cut myself a little"

Fast-forward to the holidays last year when she came home from university to visit her parents. 

While there, she was invited to a party with a boy she had always had a crush on. 

Before the party, just in case anything happened, she went to the bathroom for a quick trim.

“I realise I don’t have any razors at home so I use a disposable one of my father’s," she said. 

"F*** I’m rushing and I cut myself a little.

"I go to the party, we don’t hook up, no big deal.”

Then she realised that her parents' divorce was all her fault. Source: iStock

“It takes two full weeks to realise this could have been me"

She completely forgot about the entire thing until her mum called her in tears months later - announcing that her father has herpes.

"My parents are getting a divorce and I’m freaking out," she said. 

"I FaceTime my dad. He answers and his face is covered in a rash.

"He’s telling me he has herpes, but he never cheated and has no idea how this happened.

“We talk for a while and I’m confused, and mad, and don’t know what to believe.

“It takes me two full weeks to realise this could have been me. By this time my mum has actually flown home to stay with her sister.

“I start googling things and realise this is a possibility, and that the herpes could have been dormant so he didn’t have symptoms instantly.”

RELATED: How can genital herpes in pregnancy affect me and my baby?

"That is how I gave my dad herpes"

Bet you're desperate to find out how it all played out, right?

"My parents do not think I’m sexually active and it would be a big disappointment to admit this let alone say I have herpes," she said. 

"Maybe my dad did cheat I don’t know. 

"OK, he didn’t cheat. F**k, I have to tell them."

So she bites the bullet and reveals all to her mum and dad.

"My mum moves back in and I didn’t entirely ruin my family. It took a lot more work than this makes it seem-  but that is how I gave my dad herpes."

Can you catch herpes through sharing a razor?

Although rare, it is possible to catch herpes through sharing razor especially if you have open wounds, according to Dr Daniel Fenton, Clinical Director at London Doctors Clinic.

“When you clean shave you could leave the surrounding skin broken and irritated,” he told Yahoo.

“When broken skin and open wounds are exposed to other bodily fluids, there is a significantly higher chance of passing on or spreading STIs.

“Whilst it is a rare way to catch an STI, there is certainly a possibility of contracting herpes by using someone else dirty razor, particularly if they had active lesions at the time of shaving.”

Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease (STD). There's no cure for genital herpes, but medicines can help control the infection.

What Are STDs?

STDs (also called sexually transmitted infections or STIs) are infections that spread through sex (vaginal, oral, or anal) or close sexual contact.

What Are the Signs & Symptoms of Genital Herpes?

Most people with genital herpes don't have any symptoms. They may not even know they have it.

Some people with genital herpes can have "outbreaks" of sores in the genital and anal area. (Genitals are the sexual or reproductive organs that are on the outside of the body.) The sores heal within a few weeks. Outbreaks can be brought on by stress, illness, being overly tired, or being in sunlight. Women can have outbreaks when they get their periods.

The first outbreak often is the most severe. Outbreaks usually become less severe over time.

What Causes Genital Herpes?

Two cause genital herpes:

• herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1)
• herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2)

HSV-1 is the virus that causes cold sores around the mouth. It can cause genital herpes when it spreads through oral sex. But most of the time, genital herpes is caused by HSV-2.

How Do People Get Genital Herpes?

People can get infected with genital herpes when the virus comes into contact with a break in the skin in or around the mouth or genital area. This can happen when:

• They have vaginal or anal sex with someone with genital herpes (even if there are no sores).
• They receive oral sex from a partner who has oral herpes (cold sores).
• They touch a herpes sore and then touch their own genitals.
• Their genitals touch the skin in the genital area of someone who is infected (even if there are no sores).

Genital herpes can spread even if there are no sores because the virus is still in the body. The virus can be in the skin near the genitals and infect another person during sexual contact.

How Is Genital Herpes Diagnosed?

To find out if someone has genital herpes, health care providers do tests on:

• fluid from a sore
• blood (if no sores are present)

People with genital herpes need to tell recent, current, and future sex partners about their infection. Because someone may never have symptoms or may not have symptoms for months to years after infection, a current partner may not be the source of the infection.

How Is Genital Herpes Treated?

There is no cure for genital herpes. But health care providers can prescribe medicine to:

• stop outbreaks
• make outbreaks happen less often and be less severe if they do happen
• reduce the risk of spreading genital herpes to others

Can Genital Herpes Be Prevented?

The only way to prevent genital herpes and other STDs is to not have sex (oral, vaginal, or anal). If someone decides to have sex, using a latex condom every time can prevent most STDs.

But condoms can't always prevent the spread of genital herpes. This is because the virus may be in the skin near the genitals (and not covered by a condom).

People also can lower their risk of getting an STD by:

• getting tested with any new partners before having sex
• only having sex with one partner (who doesn’t have sex with other people)

Anyone who is sexually active should get tested for STDs every year (or more often if recommended by their health care provider). To find a testing site, visit the CDC's National HIV and STD Testing Resources.

What Else Should I Know?

Genital herpes is a lifelong condition, but there are ways to manage it. If your teen has genital herpes, you can help them learn to live with the infection. Talk to your teen about:

Can herpes be spread via razor?

Can Stds be transmitted through sharing a razor?

Can you get herpes from sharing things?

How easily transmitted is genital herpes?