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The STD question


HighRoad

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I'm not talking about coldsores! I would never pass up a relationship with someone because of that...I get those too, more than half the population does. I'm talking about STD's - genital herpes, etc.

 

ALL cold sores are a Direct result of Herpes Simplex I!!!

 

And it IS classified as an STD!!

 

The number of people who have HSV-I is something like 4 in 5.

 

Congradulations, you have HSV-I. I'll tell you now, Valtrex/Acyclovair Is the best thing since sliced bread. I used to have to "deal" with a cold sore for two weeks or maybe three. Now I go get 8 pills, and within 72 hours the lip is nearly healed.

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3) Hope you get the same taste of your medicine after you end up with something. Your odds of getting HSV or HPV in your lifetime are almost better than your odds of walking out the door and seeing a white car.

 

A taste of my own medicine after I end up with something? are you f-ing kidding me? because I actually protect myself and ask someone to get tested before we sleep together? I guess that means I 'deserve' to get something because I'm careful. lol

 

Well, you are basically writing off relationships all on the basis of the presence of a common virus in their system, and no other reason asside from that. There are some diseases I don't want to go near, don't get me wrong; HIV and AIDS are both black balls for me at this point. When they find the cure for this virus, I will be far more comfortable.

 

Just because they have a disease doesn't mean you will get it. If you do get it, it does not mean you will suddenly be crippled for the rest of your life.

 

And seeing as how it turns out your have HSV-I...how does it feel?

 

I'll give you a suggestion, though; if you have a cold sore, don't kiss the other person. If you do, you can pass the disease to their lips. HSV hides in the mucus membranes such as those found around the lips and the genetalia. So furthermore, do not perform Oral while you have a cold sore on your lip, or you could pass it to your partner in that area. If they then have sex [it could be protected and STILL pass due to skin-skin contact - condoms do not cover the scrotum or the base where much of the contact is most prominent] while their body is expressing the disease, they could pass your HSV back to you in a more private region.

 

HPV is more difficult. However, I was reading somewhere that happily those strains that cause warts do not cause cancer in the female. What this means is that the versions that do cause cancer of the cervix are practically invisible. It is not as well known which versions do and do not cause cancer in males. There is further positive research being done in developing vaccines for HPV, so in time we might become free of HPV illness, though we might all be carriers of HPV.

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Yes, I know HSV-1 is herpes although I dont have it in the genital region. I've gotten one coldsore (last year) and before then it had been years since I had one, so it doesnt happen too often. I also know if you perform oral sex while you have a coldsore that you can give that person genital herpes, and they will inadvertently pass it on to you, etc. Believe me, I know all this stuff. It scares me how many people think STD's are no big deal, when they are. There are CURABLE ones that can make both men and women infertile if left untreated for too long. Some don't even have symptoms. Is it the end of the world to have an STD? No. Thats not what I'm trying to make it about. But its not wise to turn a blind eye to the risks and not take precautions to protect yourself, either. They say something like one in every 4 now carries some form of HSV whether its genital or oral. But, lets be honest, no one WANTS genital herpes. There is more of a stigma attached to that than oral herpes, even though its essentially the same thing just ina different area. And for as many people who are ok with their partner having that, there are just as many who aren't ok with it and dont want to take the risk.

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It's actually estimated that one in four (in the US) of people over the age of 12 have genital herpes.

 

80-90% of these estimated 1 in 4 people do not know they have genital herpes because they have never shown symptoms. This is why it is spreading so quickly. Because a lot of people just don't know. And when people go to the doctor to get a "full STD-screening" herpes tests are not usually included since they cost too much money.

 

Also, you can give someone HSV-I in the genital region even if you do not currently have a cold sore. It's still possible. That's why there has also been a rise in the number of HSV-I genital infections.

 

Unless you've had a blood test for HSV-II recently, for all you know, you could carry HSV-II and be asymptomatic, like the 80-90% of people with genital herpes are.

 

And unless you make every future partner have a blood test for HSV-II, you cannot know for sure if this person has it, because he/she may be asymptomatic and have no clue. And if someone gets an HSV-I test, he/she has no way of knowing based on the blood work if it is just oral or if he/she actually has a genital infection. So...are your partners having the expensive blood-work done? Or just the "standard" STI-tests?

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And I say that as someone who deeply feels that HSV is pretty much harmless in this day and age and that you are more likely to get it form someone who doesn't know they have it them someone who does.

 

Totally agree. When people know they have it and take precautions to prevent spreading it, their partners are so much less likely to get it. If someone doesn't know they have genital herpes because he/she is asymptomatic, he/she might not take the same precautions that someone who knows about the infection would, and is more likely to spread it to a partner.

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yes, I've had the bloodwork done. My gynecologist's office offers the full panel STD testing (including blood work for HSV I and HSV II) I tested negative for HSV II. I get tested once a year, or once every two years depending who I'm with at the time. My insurance covers it. If I've asked someone else to get tested, they just go to their dr and get the same bloodwork. its covered by insurance. I dont know anyone whose had to pay out of pocket for it.

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It is so interesting to read all these comments here, I am glad I asked this question!

 

As for 'not me! I am NEVER going to sleep with/get involved with someone who has an STD,' well, then welcome to the real world.

 

Everyone has something, it could be this or something else. It could be a weird family or a history of depression or - ack! one day they could be fired form their job, etc. In other words, this is life. Stuff happens and it hapens to us ALL, not just to "other" people. So if you are wanting to start filter out people now based on superficial things then pretty soon you will have no one left. And, you might have to include yourself in the list to be excluded, too. But also, consider this. People who struggle honestly with things in life, often make the best friends/partners. People with imperfect lives, are often really neat. Why? because they have looked at stuff face on and are honestly doing their best with it. That can make a good person. So, 'bad' expereinces often create really 'good' people.

 

Are you really so willing to throw someone away because they have a virus they picked up likely by accident? Are you really so willing to just lose all the other cool stuff about them based just on that?

 

I have so many friends with herpes I just can't count them. They are married, involved, etc. Azyclovir is the best for healing ulcers, but I don't know the details of all that they do. I would not reject someone based on that alone, I would wait to get to know them and I would see where the relationship looked like it was heading. And, I would want someone to do the same for me. I am pretty sweet, and a potentially good partner to someone. To me, that is the most important thing. Sex is easy, relationships are the hard part I think.

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Firstly, a STD is not a superficial thing.

 

Secondly, its not about throwing away someone, its about being told right from the start that they have it and then making an informed decision whether to take that risk despite all their other 'cool stuff', if I had that choice presented to me I know that I chose not to even begin a relationship with someone with a STD.

 

Thirdly, maybe your friends have passed it back and fore between themselves I don't know but I personally don't know anyone who has an STD.

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Anyway, I usually make sure and use protection at first to avoid the awkwardness of a convo about it, and then ask later if things progress to the point where we might end up doing things without protection.

You do realize that condoms are not very effective against herpes or HPV, right?

And I say that as someone who deeply feels that HSV is pretty much harmless in this day and age and that you are more likely to get it form someone who doesn't know they have it them someone who does.

Agreed.

ALL cold sores are a Direct result of Herpes Simplex I!!!

A small percentage of people with cold sores have them b/c of HSV-2.

They say something like one in every 4 now carries some form of HSV whether its genital or oral.

I think you mean 1 in 4 for genital herpes. The figure for genital OR oral is way higher than that.

Thirdly, maybe your friends have passed it back and fore between themselves I don't know but I personally don't know anyone who has an STD.

Roughly 25% of women in the US have genital herpes. And at any particular time, roughly 25% of women in the US have HPV, and the lifetime exposure risk for HPV is very high, something like 80%.

 

Unless you are a hermit, it is quite certain that you DO know people than have STDs. Whether they know they have one and whether they are willing to discuss it with you are separate from the issue of whether any of your family, friends and associates have STDs.

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