Hi Elaine! :)

I agree with everything that Ar has told you so far! I would also like to
welcome you to the group!
Something you may want to keep in mind is that washing your face with soap
and water is not likely going to spread the virus around. Once your body has
developed antibodies that is VERY hard to do.  I would like to recommend
that you check out two web sites. One of them will have information about
transmission and the other will have some links you can look up when you
have more time to do the research on herpes.

http://www.westoverheights.com/freebooktext.html
http://www.westoverheights.com/freebooktext.html

~Angela
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PickingUpThePieces/

Yeah,  soap does kill the virus, so you should be okay.  Here's the crazy
thing I do:  I don't use wash cloths but instead do a lot of splashing.
Splash water on.  Sud up with my favorite gentle face wash (Purpose?).
Splash off.  It makes me feel like I'm in a commercial.

I originally developed my splashing technique when I got genipes (pronounced
jenna-peas for genital herpes).  Lots of warm baths helped, but I took to
heart the soap and water kills the virus thing a bit too much, which made
things worse (along with that crappy zovirax cream), and finally I quit the
cream and began splash cleaning.  The idea was that splash cleaning would
reduce further irritation and not stir things up so much and spread things
around.  Probably just a cowinkydink, but that was the turning point and
things started looking up.

I stopped using wash cloths as a college student because I didn't have easy,
regular access to a washer and dryer and they quickly become disgusting and
disgusting to store until they can be cleaned.  It was about this time that
shower poufs became so popular.  I thought they were ingenious because they
didn't leave a soap slime trail and air dried nicely in my shower kit.  Bar
soap and dorm showers--ick!

I have recently fallen victim to the 'wipe' craze that's sweeping the
nation: glass wipes, clorox wipes, floor wipes, armorall wipes, face wipes,
you name it, and there are some okey-dokey face wipes out there, for when I
don't really feel like doing the whole splish splash thing, though none are
as good.  The don't have to be washed and they never get funky.

Maybe too, for paranoia's sake (really, it's soap and water--it can't be
that bad) maybe start with the eyes so you're not spreading nothing to them,
then move on to parts that make you feel nervous.

all best,
mishaisacat