Is it safe to ever go swimming in any kind of swimming pool or any Jacuzzi, or even take a bath in your own bathtub, if you have been diagnosed with herpes simplex virus type II? Does it make a difference whether you have active lesions? I have always treated myself as though I was infectious at all times. I've been wanting to go swimming in our friends' new pool, but I've been afraid I'll infect someone else.

--Joy

Your concern for others is admirable. If you do not have any active lesions, then you can swim, Jacuzzi and bathe without worries. Even if you have an active lesion, you cannot transmit herpes through the water. The herpes virus does not survive outside the body for very long, and there is no chance of it being transmitted through water in a swimming pool. Intimate contact is necessary in order to contract herpes. Of course, if you are doing, shall we say, other things in the water, you could transmit herpes!

Enjoy yourself in your friends' new pool.