Step1LoveYourself

I hope others were already aware of this, because I was not. When used properly, latex condoms reduce the risk of transmission of herpes. Long story short, the condoms I liked the most and used to use with a past partner were made with with lambskin and WITHOUT latex. Latex condoms provide an essential barrier to STD pathogens. Any condom that is made without latex puts your partner at an equivalent risk to that of using no protection! Make sure to do your homework before purchasing condoms without latex. By law, condom brands must state on their packaging if their product DOES or DOES NOT protect against STD transmission. Remember, the more knowledgeable we are, the better we will be at informing and protecting others. -Dan 🙂

Gracie gave you the same advice I would have, especially giving her third party resources. These will help her understand your situation and realize what you are telling her aligns with professional sources. I respect that you expressed how it did not matter about the number of people you were with. That piece of information is private and getting herpes is not a representation of the amount of people you have slept with... all it takes is one instance. I believe you deserve someone that is understanding of your situation and does not jump to conclusions as quickly as she has, hopefully with your continued honesty and thoughtfulness she will be more mature. Regardless, you should be proud of yourself as many other people would find your transparency appealing. This will help you love yourself as that is an important quality in order to be with healthy minded people and have a mutual love for each other. I hope this all helps for your future interactions with your girl and future people! -Dan

Yo Louis, be as honest and transparent as you are being on this forum page. You know as well as I do telling her as soon as possible is the best case scenario for both parties. It is also not a guarantee you or her have herpes. She may even appreciate your honesty more than you think since you were never given 100% confirmation that you do in fact have the condition. She will appreciate your transparency especially if the test comes back negative. As far as testing goes, the only real way to get a 100% accurate confirmation whether you are positive is by having the doctor take a swab sample of one of your blisters. If you currently are asymptomatic and are showing no signs of herpes, a blood test can come back as a false negative if your herpes is suppressed. It is most likely your girlfriend will test negative unless if she is currently having an outbreak, regardless if she has it or not. Most of the time, within 1-2 weeks after contracting herpes from someone, you will have an initial outbreak that is painful and much more significant than any following outbreak. If she never had that, its very probable she also never had herpes. For your sake, she will appreciate your honesty, courage, caution going forward in your relationship since blisters are a clear indication of herpes especially if it looks like the realistic pictures online. Be strong and use this opportunity as an up in your relationship by handling this as best as you can. You will be fine Louis! Best -Dan

Hi Bloomer, I appreciate the thoughtfulness in your posts spreading hope and light to others. A tool I have been using that really helps with cold sores and other scarring is a LED red light device called Luminance Red. It helped decrease the longevity of my outbreaks and healed exposed cold sores entirely. For awhile I was dating a person without an STD and it was pivotal in protecting her from my STD as well as reassuring her mentally. Hope you have a good day! -dan

Hi! I would monitor this blister as it seems like a continuation of you first outbreak. It was probably not fully healed yet and something triggered this cold sore (maybe it was late bloomer).

Yo Waters, Once I may have gotten a lesion (although it may have been just a simple rash) and from my experience and research they can take as long as 4 weeks to heal. Be wary if you believe COVID has impacted your immune system. If you are immunocompromized, it can take even months to heal. I am happy to hear that these occurances are very rare for yourself! I would recommend trying medicine and talking to your doctors about herpes supression as it may prevent another one of these instances later on in your life! Long story short, treat the healing process like a normal sore. Once it is completely healed, it is safe to resume sex! Yay sex! Enjoy the rest of your week and pray for more beautiful weather! -Dan

Almost every successful person has 2 beliefs: the future can be better than the present, and I have the power to make it so.

Hi Karla, HSV-1 is more common to cause oral herpes than HSV-2, although people are still susceptible to contracting oral HSV-2. That is good you have not gotten cold sores yet! IF you are concerned about getting them in the future and want medicine to prevent that, set up an appointment with a doctor and they normally will prescribe you medicine. Some people are asymptomatic, while others experience cold sores anywhere in the oral region. It is most common to get cold sores on your lips, but it is also possible to get them in your mouth and/or in your throat. It usually takes 2-3 weeks for them to disappear and can especially be tricky because consuming certain foods and drinks can irritate them. When you have an outbreak, try avoiding acidic foods and drinks (i.e. citrus fruits and sparkling beverages). Hot and spicy foods also are known to upset cold sores. I hope this helped! -Dan

Blood tests are not as accurate as swab tests. I have also tested negative plenty of times for herpes after having an initial outbreak.

Hi Mr. Northern! I hope all is well. I am so sorry to hear about your current situation with your spouse! It should not boggle you about not noticing an outbreak until now. People can have very strong immune systems to keep the contagiousness dormant and outbreaks minimized. According to my research, most genital herpes infections don’t have symptoms, also known as "asymptomatic herpes." The symptoms are unidentifiable enough that the person suffering from them will not correlate that with herpes. It is estimated 10 to 15 percent of people with herpes show symptoms. Your partner needs to be aware that she could have been asymptomatic this whole time, and you or your partner could have carried it without knowing, while both of you remain faithful. The person that I believe I contracted herpes from, claimed that she never even had herpes to begin with. She said she received her frist outbreak 24 hours after I received mine. If she never realized she had herpes, there was a chance that I did give it to her, and I was the one who was asymptomatic the whole time and never had a first outbreak. If she was lying, she never admitted to it. There's a possibility she was, since the same exact thing happened with chlamydia and gonnerhea after we rekindled our romance. The only evidence I had against the apparent asymptomatic clause is because my professional doctor told me that she 100% gave it to me because there is no such thing as not getting a first outbreak within 1-2 weeks of contracting herpes. I hope this helped and everything goes the way it should with your spouse! - dan

My fever was at its pique the night before I noticed an outbreak! If you have not noticed any symptoms for a day and are starting to feel better that is a good sign. If by another few days you do not notice any signs of blistering you should almost certainly discount the possibility.

Hi newt8, usually you only experience fevers from your first outbreak. Usually the initial outbreak fever only lasts until the outbreak! Remember to hydrate, sleep lots and eat lots vitamin and nutrient enriched food if you are experiencing symptoms! -Dan

You're a beautiful writer Gracie ❤️ Anyone reading this needs to accept the fact, if you haven't already, that you are all capable of love and happiness. Everyone's journey may be different, some mountains may be tougher to climb than others, but our goals of reaching the top are the same! Let's reach the top of that mountain together. ❤️ dan