Can a person with genital herpes give themselves oral herpes?

Hi, I’ve had genital herpes for over a decade now. My question is this. About 6 months ago or so I started getting very painful cankers in my mouth, on the roof of my mouth and sides (cheeks). I read about oral herpes. Can a person with genital herpes give themselves oral herpes? I have a really bad habit of biting the skin on my fingers so I constantly have my fingers in my mouth. I’m afraid I maybe had a lesion on my thigh at 1 point and rubbed it or scratched my thigh not knowing I had a lesion there & right after I put my fingers in my mouth. As crazy as it may sound, I can see this happening to me. I was hoping you could answer this and maybe get me off doubt. I will greatly appreciate it. It’s a really nice feeling to know there are positive people out there dealing with this thing I am now learning to adjust with. Take care! - Anonymous

Just to be clear, canker sores are Not the herpes virus. In fact, canker sores and herpes simplex virus are two completely different things that have absolutely nothing to do with each other. Canker sores is not even a sexually transmitted infection. I just wanted to clear that up.

As for somebody with genital herpes giving themselves oral herpes, I would say that it’s highly unlikely. Especially since your body already  has antibodies and you are passed the initial infection. I think you are probably just being a bit paranoid and that’s understandable since you are still learning about this virus, ya know? - Angela