Society is getting really dumb.

[Angelina]

I am a little concerned lately because of all the people who come to this site who only have hsv1 and they think that their life is over because some doctor told them that they have herpes (using the h word instead of saying cold sore). When I found out I had hsv2 I would have been glad to be re diagnosed as having hsv1 even if it is genital. If I had contracted hsv1 insead of hsv2 I wouldn't even consider my self as having herpes. I guess that was how it was 12 years ago or more. Most people have hsv1, I don't get it. I'm actually the only one in my family who doesn't have hsv1, isn't that ironic? >:(

 

I know that the two viruses are 50% identical and effect the skin in the same way. I get it, but if one virus is so common that 80% or more of the population has it than it can't be considered some freaky stigmatizing infection can it? That's just how I see it and I think most people once did until all the doctors started grouping the two as one without telling their patients that one is waaaaay more common than the other.

 

I think the CDC thinks it's some how more safe to the public to just say, "hey it's herpes" and that's it.

 

What's even more sad is how many stories I read on this site about some one losing their bf or gf because they found out that they have hsv1. They probably got it from sharing candy necklaces in grade school. Remember how we used to do that when we were kids?

 

It makes me mad that someone would leave someone over a cold sore when most likely they have it too, but society is not properly educated anymore. People are getting dumber and I feel like we are in the movie idiocracy. I would never leave someone over a cold sore and if I get hsv1 too I really don't care.

 

My grandma gets them.

 

So for the people who are reading this who feel bad about having herpes, just remember the world is going mad and getting dumber by the day. Just know in you're heart that you know the true knowledge and that you are awsome.

[WCSDancer2010]

@Angelina

 

I think there are several things at play here. First, the people who lose their BF/GF from HSV1 are because they have it GENITALLY .. so it's basically like your HSV2 as far as their partner is concerned (even tho the risk of passing it on is lower, it's the issue that it's genital). 50% of new genital cases are HSV1 from oral sex. I don't think I have ever heard of someone losing a partner over Oral HSV1.

 

I'm a bit concerned by this comment:

 

If I had contracted hsv1 insead of hsv2 I wouldn't even consider my self as having herpes.

 

Well, hate to tell you this, but HSV1 IS Herpes (even when it's oral), it's a POTENTIAL STD when you have it orally (which is why I wish everyone was tested because they could then be more careful about engaging in Oral Sex if there was any chance they has a sore). And once you get it genitally, it acts like HSV2, spreads like HSV2, and causes just as much stigma/pain (emotional and physical)/fear because it IS considered an STD. So you really, REALLY need to understand that Genital HSV1 IS an STD....and if you had contracted it and acted like you didn't have an STD you COULD have spread it to others because it can, and does, get spread through genital sex to others. Yes, it sheds less. Yes, many people have some immunity to it because they have Oral Herpes... but we have a number of people on here who have G-HSV1 who also have it orally.

 

Then there are the parents/adults who get Oral HSV1 and just don't want their children/relatives to get it and they just don't understand it. They hear the word Herpes and they instantly thing "STD" if they have not previously been educated about it. They often don't even know how they got it which is even scarier for them. I agree with you that the CDC could do a MUCH better job of educating people ... and I truly wish they would change their policies on testing so that everyone could know their status. But you can't blame the public for not understanding when our health-care system is not educating people or being real about the effects of their no-testing policy.

 

The final thing is that we are a judgement-free zone here. People come to us because they don't understand (for the reasons outline above) and they are scared and they need support. They are not "dumb". It's not their fault that the medical community has swept H under the carpet (because, in "their world", they have a lot more important things like HIV and Cancer and the like to deal with). It's not their fault there there is a LOT of mis-leading and down-right incorrect information on the internet... and to be honest, this is nothing new, and it's not just H that this applies to. It applies to pretty much everything. There's always conflicting information out there ... even within the scientific community sometimes ... and it takes a lot of work to find the closest thing you can to the truth much of the time.

 

Our policy here is empathy, even when someone is, in your opinion, "over-reacting" to their diagnosis.... you don't know everything that brought them here (you have to understand that much of the time, H is just "the last straw" in many people's lives). All we can do is help them to get some clarity around the facts, help them to see that those of us who are farther along have pretty normal lives and can find love and have families and just have to manage this virus (which often actually ends up with the person being healthier because they HAVE to have a better diet/lifestyle to manage the virus).

 

We are ALL awesome ... even when we are struggling. Even when we are scared. Even WITH Herpes ;)

[Angelina]

I know I'm three years late n responding, but then we all have herpes. Why is there still a stigma. The public is uneducated and most people who have it don't know it.

[optimist]

@Angelina HSV2 is also very common. Rates are as high as 79% depending on demographic. People begin contracting HSV1 as infants so it gets a couple decades head-start on HSV2. Once people become sexually active, HSV2 rates quickly climb, just like HSV1. One difference is that men are not as vulnerable to infection. In women, HSV2 rates track similarly to HSV1, just beginning a couple decades later. The stigma is not based on HSV2 being rare. IMHO, the stigma is based on it being a genital infection that is acquired sexually, just like genital HSV1.

 

I agree with you that oral HSV1 is more stigmatized when it is called "oral herpes" instead of cold sores. That's unfortunate and the differing language does add to the lack of understanding in the population. I once plugged different terms into google search to see if language would make a difference. I was not surprised to find that "cold sores" mostly brought up photos of one tiny cold sore on a person's lip, "oral herpes" brought up photos of small clusters of cold sores, and "genital herpes" brought up photos of what appeared to be severe primary outbreaks of genital herpes.

 

Most people with genital herpes don't know they have it due to the majority having no symptoms or mild symptoms, and due to current STI testing standards that typically exclude HSV testing. Also, most people who do know they have it don't talk about it openly. So there is a perception genital herpes is rare when it is actually very common.

 

I agree with you that education needs to be improved, but renewed education should not be focused on HSV1 being "normal" and HSV2 being problematic. There are differences, yes, and those differences should be stated, but it should be known that both types are common, both types most often go unnoticed by those infected, and those who wish to know their status must ask to be tested. Additionally, people could be made aware of the range of symptoms. People understand how cold sores behave because they are not hidden from view, but all they know about the symptoms of genital herpes is left to their imaginations and perhaps health class photos of severe primary outbreaks. And of course people should understand that condoms do not fully prevent risk of transmission and that oral herpes = cold sores and can be transmitted through kissing and oral sex.