Herpes Outbreaks and Viral Shedding

I've been doing some reading on herpes outbreaks and viral shedding. I have HSV 1 on my anus and butt cheeks near it. It's been about 2 and half weeks, and my first outbreak is still not finished healing. At least, I don't think it is. I get the tingling and itch every now and then still, but the bumps have blistered and scabbed over. Does this mean my whole butt region is shedding the herpes virus?

I've read that it sheds in the boxer/underwear region despite where you have herpes cause it's in the same nerve group/route? Should I be worried about shedding/spreading the virus when having sex when I don't have any sores on my penis?

Hi LLL!

Great question! This is one of the most misunderstood ideas about how you can spread herpes. A lot of people end up getting herpes outbreaks only around the anal region, but you're right that viral shedding can still happen anywhere around that region. So yes, 3-5% of the time the herpes virus is shedding on or around that area and can still be passed via sex even though you don't get active outbreaks on your penis itself. Here's the handout with the specific numbers based on which strain of the virus and where it's located:

http://bit.ly/h-opp-disclosure-handout

... and here is a blog post on asymptomatic viral shedding specifically:

http://herpeslife.com/what-is-herpes-asymptomatic-viral-shedding/

I'm just worried that I won't know when my first ob is over? I don't see any spots per say but my lady bits are naturally rippled and bumpy especially with a magnifying mirror. Any advice on when exactly it's over? Should I just wait a month to be sure?