How do you catch genital herpes?

can you get it through kissing? or going down on a girl?

You get genital herpes through direct skin to skin contact and by having sex with someone who has the virus.

If you give a girl oral sex who has genital herpes you can get herpes in your mouth. These are cold sores (herpes simplex one). Genital herpes are herpes simplex 2. Even if she is showing no signs of the virus, she can be "shedding" the virus for up to 10 days after the sores have healed. This can cause you to get the virus.

You can get cold sores by kissing someone who has a sore on their lip. You can also get them by sharing chap stick or lip stick with some one who has the sores on their lips. Source(s): I have herpes.

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OVERVIEW
Genital herpes is an infection of the genitals, buttocks, or anal area caused by herpes simplex virus (HSV). There are two types of HSV.
HSV type 1 most commonly infects the mouth and lips, causing sores known as fever blisters or cold sores. It is also an important cause of sores to the genitals.
HSV type 2 is the usual cause of genital herpes, but it also can infect the mouth.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 out of 5 American teenagers and adults is infected with HSV-2. Women are more commonly infected than men. In the United States, 1 out of 4 women is infected with HSV-2.

Since the late 1970s, the number of people with genital herpes infection has increased 30 percent nationwide. The largest increase has been among teens and young adults.

TRANSMISSION
If you have genital herpes infection, you can easily pass or transmit the virus to an uninfected partner during sex.

Most people get genital herpes by having sex with someone who is shedding the herpes virus either during an outbreak or during a period with no symptoms. People who do not know they have herpes play an important role in transmission.

You can transmit herpes through close contact other than sexual intercourse, through oral sex or close skin-to-skin contact, for example.

The virus is spread rarely, if at all, by objects such as a toilet seat or hot tub.

Reduce your risk of spreading herpes

People with herpes should follow a few simple steps to avoid spreading the infection to other places on their body or other people.

Avoid touching the infected area during an outbreak, and wash your hands after contact with the area.
Do not have sexual contact (vaginal, oral, or anal) from the time of first genital symptoms until symptoms are completely gone.
Read more here.

http://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/stdh...
If the person has it don't touch them!!!!!! You won't get it! And yes either way if they are having out breaks especially, and sometimes even if they show no symptoms at all, best to just stay away!!!!!!!!!!
Genital herpes is spread through contact with the sores or the fluid inside of the blisters at the time of an outbreak.

The disease is extremely widespread in the US, approximately 1 million people are infected with the herpes virus each year and is spread mainly through sexual contact.