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How common really is this?


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I've read a lot of helpful things telling me that hsv1 and 2 are pretty common. I have ghsv1 and would love to know how common that is as it seems there's a lack of info there? Ive also seen things online on reddit etc.. there was a comment from a lady who worked in a clinic who wanted to reiterate that genital herpes is not common..its just oral that is. She said young people keep coming in and talking about high rates of prevalence and that it's not the case? I've also seen people say before that it can't be that common as they've never hardly met anyone else with it and in years of dating never met anyone else who's got it or disclosed it. I want to know info but I also don't want to kid myself or be under false illusions ? Please help!

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My understanding is that HSV-1 is ridiculously common. People who get cold sores on their lips have HSV-1. And some have it genitally.

HSV-2 is less common, but still pretty common.

In NYC, 1 in 4 people have HSV2. 25% of the population in NYC alone. Otherwise, I think it's 1 in 6 in general.
HSV-1 I cannot recall. I paid more attention to the HSV-2 numbers as that is what I was diagnosed with.

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Are there any stats on ghs1? Saying its hsv1 feels easier (im from uk) as i tend to think of it as the oral cold sore virus but..downstairs. its just hard to learn facts as there seem to be clearer stats for oral hsv1 and genital hsv2..but hsv1 down there feels like a bit of a blurred line between the two? Is it okay to identify with the large hsv1 stat? Im guessing if 70% have hsv1 only a small proportion of that stat would be genital? But weirdly, having it genitally is safer than hsv1 orally due to lower shedding rates etc?

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You will read in many literatures that genital herpes is pretty common. A question would be how did they know it's that common since no one checks for it routinely and most people who have don't know they do? Couldn't find an answer to that. 

I have not find a solid literature to the contrary. I have my suspensions that this condition is not as common as it was said before. I would say that it's either rather uncommon altogether or that it's prevalent in certain subgroups of society especially in low education and low socio-economic status with a standard deviation of shedding/transmission rates of course. Having said that, I would like to read a convincing literature on how this condition is common. 

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I agree - its hard to believe any stats when checks aren't regularly happening and most people are apparently asymptomatic? I just find it all tough to navigate! In the uk they don't even give stats on hsv1 and 2. We're just told that by age 25 7 out of 10 people would test positive for hsv1 or 2 and by age 35 its over 8/10. They also don't do blood tests here. I guess im just desperately trying to work through the information and misinformation to make sense of it all!

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I also have the same question. All literature says 1 out of 6 in US are having hsv2. But then again they say 80% of the infected people are not aware that they are infected. If 80% of the infected people are not aware that they are infected then based on what this conclusion was made 1 out of 6 are infected! Also based on what data this conclusion was made that 80% of infected people are not aware that they are infected. 🤷‍♂️

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3 hours ago, hope27 said:

I also have the same question. All literature says 1 out of 6 in US are having hsv2. But then again they say 80% of the infected people are not aware that they are infected. If 80% of the infected people are not aware that they are infected then based on what this conclusion was made 1 out of 6 are infected! Also based on what data this conclusion was made that 80% of infected people are not aware that they are infected. 🤷‍♂️

If I had to wager a guess, I would think that perhaps they did a study and had a bunch of people come in for testing. Of the ones that tested positive for HSV, 80% of them did not know prior to the testing, and the results of the study were likely 1 in 6.

BUT, I don't know if a study like that was done...but that's how I would do it.

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5 hours ago, 100918 said:

If I had to wager a guess, I would think that perhaps they did a study and had a bunch of people come in for testing. Of the ones that tested positive for HSV, 80% of them did not know prior to the testing, and the results of the study were likely 1 in 6.

BUT, I don't know if a study like that was done...but that's how I would do it.

That sounds reasonable but again.. Where is that study? Was it ever done? And if so why there aren't more follow up studies? The CDC releases updated prevalence of herpes every few years but does not indicate how they came up with that number? For example the most recent number indicated less prevalence which contradict the current notion that more herpes cases are happening especially with more oral sex etc... I am not sure that herpes is as common as it is advertised. 

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59 minutes ago, benzgtx said:

That sounds reasonable but again.. Where is that study? Was it ever done? And if so why there aren't more follow up studies? The CDC releases updated prevalence of herpes every few years but does not indicate how they came up with that number? For example the most recent number indicated less prevalence which contradict the current notion that more herpes cases are happening especially with more oral sex etc... I am not sure that herpes is as common as it is advertised. 

Yeah. I also don't trust the CDC on just about anything...they like to pull a lot of stuff out of their arses and claim it's science. They most likely didn't do a study and are just guessing.

I wish I had something better to give you to help you. Sorry.

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