 [ Symptoms ] i have had rapid breast growth want breast reduction surgery what age should i typically get this surgery [ Disease ] cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus specifically hsv 1 once you are infected with this virus you have it forever however that does not mean you will be broken out in cold sores all the time the virus can lie dormant for years and then cause sores to erupt unexpectedly as to who is the culprit between you and your girlfriend in terms of who shared the virus it is impossible to say you may have gotten the virus when you were a baby but never had an outbreak and then passed the virus to your girlfriend or she may have had the virus and has now passed it to you either way if the two of you have been kissing while one of you has a cold sore it is a safe bet you are both infected so what does this mean well in a certain way not much like i said a large number of people are infected with hsv 1 on the other hand you each must be careful never to kiss the other is genitals when you are experiencing an active cold sore this can actually cause the other person to get genital herpes hsv 2 which is an incurable sexually transmitted disease it is also annoying and can be embarrassing people with genital herpes must avoid having any sexual contact during an outbreak a condom is not necessarily adequate protection against hsv because it may not cover all the skin areas that can come in contact with a lesion hope this helps