Most often, the erupted blisters will be red. If you get infected, you'll see the symptoms pretty soon. Herpes can be passed pretty easily, depending on how good your health is. The easiest way to get it is by intimate skin contact between the affected partner's skin and your own bare skin. Any time there is direct skin contact with an open sore, there is a chance of infection.
Transmission can also occur by secondary contact .
This is pretty hard to do, though. Sometimes people with sores on their genitals can spread the disease with their hand to their eyes or mouth by autoinnoculation . Hand-washing is thus important if you have herpes. Finally, some people who have herpes can pass it on even if you can't see any sores . When it's found around the lips, it's called cold sores .