Understood.I know people who have it, understand how it works.
If you knew how long it's been since I had sex, you understand how I can be soooo sure.

"Thing is....you can carry the virus without knowing for years. And you can not be tested unless there is a breakout. So it is possible for someone to carry it, unknowingly, for years until a breakout occurs. That's likely how it gets spread...the carrier didn't even know."




"You could have been carrying the virus for years and never known it! Do I make myself clear? There is no test for it, until after a person has an outbreak. That is the first and ONLY indicator that a person has the virus. Until that time, you don't know if you are carrying the virus or not. One in five adults have it. "

Wrong and wrong. If you go to your family doctor and ask for a complete STD panel, there is a blood test that will ACCURATELY show if you are carrying antibodies both HSV1 and HSV2. Antibodies only signal that you have been "exposed" to the virus...not necessarily that you have "contracted" the virus. The only way to diagnose DEFINITIVELY that you have contracted any form of herpes is with a swab of an outbreak...and outbreaks do not always happen. So, if you are carrying antibodies you should let anyone you might have sex with know.

BTW...for those of you that didn't already know this- Chicken Pox (You know...the things mom wouldn't let you itch as a kid) is a form of the Herpes virus.

In other words, you could've been carrying the virus for years without ever knowing it.

I think that's what I said. Yeah, I think I said that.

I'm pretty sure that's what Auburngirl said, too. Yeah, she said that.

Yeah, I'm relatively sure we both said that.

And a blood test will NOT show if you're carrying the virus.

From the CDC........

"HSV infections can be diagnosed between outbreaks by the use of a blood test. Blood tests, which detect antibodies to HSV-1 or HSV-2 infection, can be helpful, although the results are not always clear-cut."

From other gov. webpages I read that there are newer tests that can determine if you have the antibodies in your blood. And furthermore, that there is a high rate of false negatives.

...I'd say "C YA. BYE".

Tell them to get Valtrex, and a new girlfriend!

Not quite,closer to 25% and less check information at the Center for Disease Control.http://www.cdc.gov/std/herpes/STDFact-herpes.htm
Now to test positive for Herpes Zoster-chicken pox is quite common, but overall will be decreasing as children who received the Chicken Pox vaccine will become a higher percentage of the total population as the years go by.

That being said, it should be disclosed prior to intimate behaviors.

i guess that it would depend on the person that has to make that decision...there are alot of people that would run the other way, and then others that would try and work it out...you just have to look inside yourself and see if you want to worry about getting genital herpes yourself.....that is a bIG committment and not something to take lightly, because once you have it....you have it

by the way, here is a tidbit of information that a friend sent me about STDs....

Did you know that 80% of women at the age of 50 have contracted genital warts. It is the most common STD, and you can have it, spread it, and never even know it. It is especially serious to women, because the virus has been known to cause cervical cancer and other types of cancer as well. There is a vaccine that women can get from the ages of 12-26 that can keep them from getting the virus.

CDC-

Genital human papillomavirus (/pap pil LO ma VY rus/)(HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States. At least 50% of sexually active people will have genital HPV at some time in their lives.

yup...and that number includes men....

the part that got me was that condoms do not protect you from the virus...they only decrease the odds that you will get it

my question is this though...we have a vaccine that can make it so that women cannot contract the virus....if every girl were to take it, then we would essentially stop the spreading of america's most common STD.....why has this not been made a requirement??

Obviously I would not want to get genital herpes, but I would also be a little concerened about if we ever wanted childeren, would they get the virus? I don't know. It would make getting intimate a little difficult.

If the mother's herpes is active (sores) at the time of delivering a baby, the infection will spread to the baby when they go through the birth canal. The doctors do a C-section if that situation arises.

I would count my blessings that I hadn't been intimate before finding out about the STD. then I would say "don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya."

I think it's not a requirement yet because the vaccine is so new. Doctors are recommending it to their patients though.