Dancers and Herpes

[glasgowgirl]

I was diagnosed with HSV two months ago and have had constant outbreaks since then (only had one week free, so that's a positive!). Was wondering if there are any dancers on here and how they deal with outbreaks? I recently went a week without an outbreak, but had prodome symptoms. Then last Monday I had two dance classes back to back (and of course I'm wearing tight clothing), so after the dance classes, I had another outbreak and it's still going on because I have had more dance classes throughout the week. Just wondering if any other dancers have advice on how to prevent outbreaks?? I eat healthy, and take lysine, acyclovir 400mg x2, and other vitamins everyday. So, I'm assuming that my outbreaks are due to friction, which kind of sucks because the program that I am taking requires me to dance 4 days a week and I have to wear tight clothes. Oh the joys of herpes, am I right? hahah 

[ash128083]

Hi there. I was on acyclovir 400mg 2x a day for almost 8yrs when it suddenly stopped working. I switched to 1g of valacyclovir in January and have had much better results. Sometimes one medication works better than the other for some people. 

[glasgowgirl]

On 4/22/2019 at 7:00 PM, ash128083 said:

Hi there. I was on acyclovir 400mg 2x a day for almost 8yrs when it suddenly stopped working. I switched to 1g of valacyclovir in January and have had much better results. Sometimes one medication works better than the other for some people. 

Thanks for replying.. I'm still using acyclovir and have found it's not working very well.. May go to the doctor and ask to switch to valacyclovir! 

[ash128083]

Hey! Did you ever end up going to the doctors to change your meds? How are things going?

[glasgowgirl]

10 minutes ago, ash128083 said:

Hey! Did you ever end up going to the doctors to change your meds? How are things going?

Yes I did! My doctor wouldn't switch me to valacycolvir, so she upped my meds to 400mg x3 per day of acyclovir. Since then, things have been a bit better (had 2 full weeks of no outbreaks in May!!!).. However, this month I recently went off of birth control to see if it helped and due to that I got a yeast infection. That cleared up and now I think I am on the brink of an outbreak, so I'm trying to prevent it... so all in all, I think it's getting a bit better with time, just not great yet. 

Thanks for asking - hope you're well xx

[lovelybones123]

hey i was diagnosed with herpes yesterday and i am in terrible shock and i don't know how to act right now... please tell me my life is not over since i love dancing so much... and everytime i have classes my genital part hurt because of herpes 😢 ..... i am so sad 😞 if you have any messages for me to stop me fro. overthinking please tell me 😢

[glasgowgirl]

On 11/29/2019 at 10:36 AM, lovelybones123 said:

hey i was diagnosed with herpes yesterday and i am in terrible shock and i don't know how to act right now... please tell me my life is not over since i love dancing so much... and everytime i have classes my genital part hurt because of herpes 😢 ..... i am so sad 😞 if you have any messages for me to stop me fro. overthinking please tell me 😢

Hey, sorry for the long reply. Haven't bene on here in a while and that's because things are getting better! Don't worry love. For dance classes, I use coconut oil right before to help avoid friction. after class, do a good wash of the area then put on cotton underwear and loose pants. I found that this has helped me. All will be well X  

[Djdj3]

Hey I'm worried that I might pass it on as a dancer because of shedding. I feel like I can't do partner dancing

[Blue1982]

@glasgowgirl I saw you mentioned in your post that you tried coming off birth control to see if that helped with HSV at all....wondering if that helped at all with the tingling and outbreaks? 

[glasgowgirl]

15 hours ago, Blue1982 said:

@glasgowgirl I saw you mentioned in your post that you tried coming off birth control to see if that helped with HSV at all....wondering if that helped at all with the tingling and outbreaks? 

Hi! I didn't notice a correlation between the two to be honest. I've went off birth control and recently have come back on and it has affected my outbreaks, etc. I've found that since i've started to eat really healthy (ie. no sugar or the absolute minimum, gluten free, dairy free), drink lots of water, and exercise 4-6 times a week, my outbreaks and prodome symptoms have pretty much gone away. My last outbreak was end of January (that was due to high stress) and I get itchy/tingling now and again. Also, it's been over a year since my diagnosis, so my body is probably getting used to the virus. Hope this helps! 

[glasgowgirl]

On 4/26/2020 at 11:55 AM, Djdj3 said:

Hey I'm worried that I might pass it on as a dancer because of shedding. I feel like I can't do partner dancing

Oh please do not worry about passing it on during partner dancing! The only way you can pass on HSV2 is through sexual intercourse and unless you are having sex with your dance partner, then there is not a problem. From my understanding, the virus cannot be transmitted through clothing, so you have nothing to worry about! Trust yourself and keep on dancing! 🙂