Scared

[guppie01 0]

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I was married for 10 years to a woman who had herpes. I never contracted it myself. She told me in the very beginning of our relationship, and I truly didn't think much of it. It never really affected what we did (including our sex life). When there are outbreaks, one just has to be careful. But it is true that the stigma is insanely present (including on this site, where many male members consider a woman with herpes to be avoided at all cost). I would think that in this day and age, people would be better educated and have a much different stance towards this disease, but it is unfortunately not the case.
How a mostly skin viral disease can be seen as affecting someone's worth and character is beyond me...

Wise beyond years my friend!

g

"Let's do something romantic this Saturday... how bout we bust out the restraints?"
Raddest Ho this side of Jersey #1 - MISS YOU
OMG, is she okay?

[chaoskitty 0]

I dated a man for 2 years who had herpes. I did a lot of research on it, and a couple of things surprised me.
The type of herpes you have is determined by where you have it, and its all transferrable. So if you're with someone who has a mouth sore, they can infect you by having oral sex, and then you have Type 2, whether you like it or not. Type 2 can also be spread to the mouth as Type 1.
You can absolutely spread it even if youre not having an outbreak. Outbreaks are often stress-related.
Women who have it shouldn't deliver babies vaginally. C-sections are recommended to prevent infecting the baby.

The guy was right to give you a choice on this. You'll just have to make the choice that works for you.

[RonD1120 62]

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Remember STD's and unwanted pregnancies are the risks of promiscuity just like malfunctions are the risks of skydiving. If you are going to play the game you better consider the risks and deal with them in a mature manner. There is only one choice that is a 100% guarantee of safety in either activity.

Really...? A great many (I would venture to say most) people with STDs and/or unplanned pregnancies are not promiscuous.

Promiscuous (Webster's): "characterized by a lack of discrimination; specif., engaging in sexual intercourse indiscriminately or with many persons"

I assume the 100% guarantee you speak of is abstinence (I apologize if I'm wrong), but STDs can be passed on in a number of ways without intercourse.

Indiscriminate sex is sex without marriage. That can be one or 100. STD means Sexually Transmitted Disease. So were are not talking about polio or MS, et. al. Blood born pathogens do not require intercourse. Oral sex will work as well for the virus to find a host. Like I said, if you are going to play around that is your choice but, you better know and understand the risks. That is, if you want to play for a long time. Your personal life is your business.

I have just retired from social services. We have constant emphasis on training for staff and educating clients on HIV/AIDS. I have seen the results of infection and it is not pleasant. If you get it, it is for the rest of your life. To manage the disease requires a unique personal cocktail of Rx meds, maybe as many as 20 or so per day. They make you nauseous, listless, weak and generally take all the fun out of being alive.

If your sex partner does not offer to use a condom, he didn't offer with his last partner either. HIV can remain dormant for a long time but the carrier is still contagious.

You may be very careful. However, when alcohol and/or drugs are involved judgment is diminished, tremendously.

"It's almost dawn and the cops are gone. Let's all get Dixie fried." ~ Carl Perkins

Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

[rivetgeek 0]

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I dated a man for 2 years who had herpes. I did a lot of research on it, and a couple of things surprised me.
The type of herpes you have is determined by where you have it, and its all transferrable. So if you're with someone who has a mouth sore, they can infect you by having oral sex, and then you have Type 2, whether you like it or not. Type 2 can also be spread to the mouth as Type 1.
You can absolutely spread it even if youre not having an outbreak. Outbreaks are often stress-related.
Women who have it shouldn't deliver babies vaginally. C-sections are recommended to prevent infecting the baby.

The guy was right to give you a choice on this. You'll just have to make the choice that works for you.

This is just not true. HSV-1 and HSV-2 share only about 50% of the same DNA. They are different viruses regardless of location. HSV-1 tends to set up shop in the trigeminal ganglion (bundle of nerve near the ear) whereas HSV-2 "likes" to live in sacral ganglion at the base of the spine.

You CAN get HSV-1 genitally or HSV-2 orally, however the infections and viral loads tend to be much lower when the types are not in their "preferred" location. Most people with HSV-1 genitally only have one or two breakouts ever.

Unfortunately, there is no reliable blood test for either strain as they are not blood-borne but live in the nerve ganglions. Most diagnosis are made through clinical observation of symptoms and can be confirmed with skin biopsy of a lesion however this sort of confirmation is usually only used to confirm virus type.

Viral load in the skin is highly dependent on the overall health of the person and whether they are having an outbreak. Transmission is far more likely during an outbreak, however the virus can also be present during asymptomatic shedding, where the virus is present in the skin with weak or no symptoms.

~Bones Knit, blood clots, glory is forever, and chicks dig scars.~