Thank you for your question and concern. As you may know, herpes is a sexually transmitted disease spread by herpes simplex virus. It can only be avoided by abstaining from sex with infected people. It is a dangerous disease causing painful sores and is incurable. No medication has been found till date to eradicate the virus from body. Also, in some people the virus stay dormant in their body, making them potentially capable to infect others who have sex with them. This virus gets transmitted from one person to another through skin to skin contact. Mucous membranes of body are more prone to get affected than other parts. So, it makes it easy to transmit through oral sex, cunningulus etc. Even using a barrier method like condom cannot help. This is because, virus colonies need not be in the shaft of penis or inside vagina. But it is the only available protection method to prevent an infection through having a sexual intercourse. Risk of transmission will be at its least when you have sex while your partner is not suffering from an active outbreak. But even at this time, risk of infection will be there. Usage of dental dams and condoms are the best known ways to prevent getting infected. Hope my answer helps. Take care.