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Hello! I've had herpes for about 2 and a half years now type 1 and I'm still confused on the whole outbreak situation. What is an outbreak supposed to look and feel like? Am I supposed to always have blisters or something visible? How do I work out whats an outbreak and whats not? I've got the difference between herpes and a thrush fissure down (yes I am one of those people!) but I feel like I might be paranoid that I'm having outbreaks a lot more than I actually am.. I don't actively know of anyone else who has it around me so I still don't really know whats supposed to go on.... any help appreciated!

@Alissa This is so so inspiring and so helpful to people like me who are still in the "who will ever want me now" stage. Your post has made me feel a bit more hopeful about the future!

hi, @bk2124 this is a really reassuring story. Would you say it's better to let someone get to know you for a while first before considering becoming romantically involved with them?

@WCSDancer2010 I was diagnosed by swab, it was direct contact with an up and coming cold sore (we didn't notice at the time) which I assume is why it managed to make its way there or am I just disgustingly unlucky? Thankyou for the links I'll read through them all, i've mostly just been leaving the outbreaks to themselves they've only been very mild since in initial one but I will try and attack it from the outside from now on! I am quite disappointed that I've had four outbreaks after reading that many people with hsv1 don't ever get an outbreak again, but again maybe i'm just unlucky. sigh. Thank you for your help!

Hi, i've had hsv1 for nearly a year now and I'm on my forth outbreak.. I'm starting to see a correlation between getting colds and the herpes coming up. Does any one have any tips on how I can control this a bit more? Also now i've had this nearly a year can I expect outbreaks to become less frequent at all? I remember when I first got hsv1 on my mouth that I had quite a few cold sores in the first couple of years before they completely died down. Will it be the same sort of thing for this?

I got it last year, had a really bad first outbreak and then two really minor ones since where I had about 2 sores each time. Hoping over time that it'll die down, so far i've seen mine come up when i've been run down physically or had a cold so make sure you're keeping yourself healthy!

I feel like I'm quite a rare case.. I already had HSV-1 for years before I managed to get it genitally, so I get quite paranoid that I could transfer it somewhere else seeing as having it before didn't help me last time.

@hippyherpy Apparently so.. "Herpes Zoster Oticus" hurray

@Irene I think so far the paranoia might be the worst thing about it!

1. How do people keep the area clean? 2. Whats the recovery time for an outbreak, more or less? 3. How do you handle an outbreak while on your period and using pads? Are infections likely? 4. Can you swim with open sores or should you wait? 5. If in the bath, can the water carry the herpes to infect anywhere else?

I think i'm just having a panic as I think i've found my third outbreak and have thought back to all the ways I could have spread it around because I didn't know it was there! I'm also worried now as this is the third outbreak (HSV-1 btw, 1st in june 15, 2nd jan 16 now third april 16!) but the symptoms seem to have become less and less with every outbreak, the first was horrendous and the second was liveable but I was still aware of its presence but this time I genuinely didn't know until today when I woke up and the sore must have burst as it hurt a little. It's a good thing obviously that the symptoms aren't severe but I thought I knew myself quite well and would always be aware when it came up..

Thank you for answering, What if you didn't know that the sore was there and you were washing yourself and then washed your face? Is that possible? I know i''m just being paranoid about nothing but its a scary thought!

Hi, maybe a silly question but my one genuine fear seems to be passing herpes into my eyes.. Has that ever actually happened to anyone? Would it come up straight away if you had passed it on?

@WantThisToWorkOut Hi, this is what happened with me and my boyfriend. He gave me HSV-1 through oral, he didn't realise he was about to get a cold sore and like you wasn't clued up on them. I was exactly like your girlfriend when I first found out and I would just like to say, Please just let her be angry for a while, if it has only been 2 weeks you have to let her process it emotionally. She is going to scream and shout, she is going to cry, she is going to say she hates you but in the end she is still with you. Yes she has said she doesn't know if it will work out but she's upset right now just let it all calm down. Don't offer her advice on it, she'll throw it back at you with a "you have no idea how it feels" and to be honest ..you don't. All you can do is apologise and stick with her and let her know you love her. If you were a strong couple before you will get through this. Give her time, possibly show her this site and what you've written. I'll happily chat with her about it all, I'd love to talk to a girl in the same situation! Hope it all goes well for the both of you!

This helps a lot, it's nice to hear that people can be nice! Of course you will definitely be ok, you've got this! Herpes will never stop the show!!