Scarleteen

Hi again!
I've entered a relationship recently (it's been about a month) with a really great guy. The only thing is that he has herpes, and we are both hesitant to do anything sexual because of it. Long story short, the girl he had sex with previously (we all three were dating) got herpes because of it, and now he's really worried about passing it on to me. I was wondering what methods there are to be as safe as possible when having sex when one person has herpes. I know it'll never be 100% safe, but I'd like to be as close to totally safe as possible.

Hi hazerl,
We do have some articles about herpes, and about how even safer sex precautions can't fully protect against herpes transmission, on our site; those will help you get an overview of the situation:
The STI Files: Herpes
HPV & Herpes: Why Safer Sex Isn't Always Safe Enough

It's definitely important to avoid sexual contact when he has visible sores or can feel an outbreak coming on; otherwise it's really up to you what you feel comfortable with. Using barriers for sexual contact will not protect entirely against herpes transmission but it certainly helps. There are some treatments that can make outbreaks happen less frequently; if your boyfriend hasn't talked to a doctor about that, it's something he could look into.