They tell you to have safe sex and becaureful of std's but what they don't tell you is how herpes and warts can still be transmitted with the use of safe sex. Another thing is that they should go more in depth about contracting herpes cause i may have it, won't find out till friday, but after reading up on it, there are so many signs and symptoms that may go unnoticed that no teacher ever told me about in school im 22 right now things may have changed in then in the school system over the last ten years. but if they stressed the fact that getting herpes and warts can be real common maybe many of people would not have contracted such diseases. also reading some of these threads a lot of people never knew they could get it orally and a lot of my friends believe the same and their view is a lot like mine before i read up on herpes which was if no sores are present then your safe. allthough someone could be shedding and be contagious that VERY MOMENT!!!!!

There is definitely a lack of education. One problem is, the teachers know as little as the students about herpes. They have focussed their attention on AIDS for so long, they don't even teach the facts about herpes. A shame, when it would be so easy to inform people correctly.

Tell me about it!!! I contracted G. Herpes JUST from a boy touching me!!
All this blurb about using a condom and stuff doesn't mean anything. Kids in schools should definately be better educated about this stuff. I'm from the U.K. and can remember all I got educated on really about diseases was Chlamydia and AIDS - deadly diseases!
Terrible! :rolleyes:

Hey Upset!
Do you know for sure you contracted hsv just from a boy touching you? You didn´t have any sex, intercourse, oral, anything prior to that?

Just interested to know, the risks of such a "low risk" encounter.

Yup... its incredible I know! Just had oral sex and had this guy touch me. I think he touched himself a few minutes before he did me. He may have been having an outbreak?
Never had any sex either! Makes me really mad when I think of it. I know for sure its herpes because the doctors have told me. I suspect its type 2 - normal genital herpes, as it keeps recurring, but cannot be sure.
its VERY easy to catch. Anyone out there who hasn't already contracted it reading this board - be aware!

Well, surely everything is possible with hsv! But you should have your herpes typed, it is still possible that you caught it from the oral, hsv-1 reccurres less, but it just depends of the person, could reccurre a lot too, especially if you didn´t have hsv-1 already orally and hence some antibodies. The possibilities are many when catching hsv, damn virus :)

Hi Upset - just wanted to make a quick comment to your post - chlamydia isn't a fatal disease - it's quite curable and the worst thing (in my opinion) it can cause is infertility...but it isn't a fatal disease like AIDS.

And to the original poster I must agree with you 110%! It really makes me angry, because I am 22 as well and have had HSV-1 genitally for 2 1/2 years...and orally for about 1 year (I think)...but I NEVER KNEW you could catch an STD such as Herpes by using a condom! :( It makes me SO sad, and makes me wish I would have gotten informed better. I was always just worried about AIDS...

I've come to terms with it, it's really not an issue at all for me (thank God) - I have outbreaks once in a great blue moon (I think it has to do with the fact that I don't stress out *that* much...but when I do I have an outbreak). Valtrex makes it go away within a few days. It's not something that's on my mind all the time, and I surely don't put myself down or think I'm dirty. It's a virus that's just as common as coldsores on your lips. No big deal. I'm just thanking God that I don't have worse outbreaks, or reoccuring ones like others... And when I did contract it 2 1/2 years ago I went straight to the guy I had slept with 2 nights prior and told him that I had gotten it from him. It was SO obvious - I even had a bladder infection on top of it.

Woah. Got a little out of hand there...sorry 'bout that. ;) Anywho - yes, I agree that teachers need to teach kids about the STD's that you can contract even when you DO use a condom.

*sigh* what it comes down to is this: Safe Sex = No Sex.

yea, I know I should really get my HSV typed, yet its really hard to as I don't get massive blisters, just cuts in the skin and itchyness within the vagina. To Punkrokchk2000 - you said you had Genital HSV - type 1? But you said you caught it through using a condom? So is it possible to still pass on type 1 if you have it genitally?
Its such a confusing virus :confused: I've had this for four months now and still no sign of letting up. Feel sure i'll have to go on Valtrex for a few months. I also find myself worrying about when the next outbreak will be. If this IS type 1 its as annoying as type 2! :eek:

I know this sounds terrible, but I wish it was chlamydia. At least you can treat that early! Surely.. if so many people have this virus there must be a cure being worked on. If there was, it would be a total medical break through. Yet all i've heard is ongoing vaccines for people HSV negative.

Hey both of you!
First of all Upset, if you´ve had ghsv for 4 months you can easily have it typed with a tyoe specific blood test. No culture needed. It is good to wait for 12-16 weeks after exposure for the antibodies to show, but you are already in that time span. Ask for a type specific Igg blood test, it will tell you if you have hsv-1 or hsv-2. Of course if you should be positive for just hsv-1 you can+t know for sure you don´t have it orally as well, hsv-2 on the other hand very rarely occurs in the mouth region.

To Punch: you caught hsv-1 while using a condom? No oral was involved at all, at this point or at and earlier encounter? It is of course possible to transmit hsv-1 from genital to genital contact (especially if the other part didn´t have hsv-1 antibodies at all before) but it is definitely harder (that transmitting hsv-2 genitally) and even harder if you used a condom. Hsv-1 is mostly transmitted to the genital region through oral, but like I said, genital to genital can happen too.

About Chlamydia, I have been thinking too that I´d rather take something you can cure with a pill or two. But something to think about: Chlamydia (and many other std´s) can go undetected in womne for a long time, it might not show any symptoms, but it can cause a lot of damage in the reproductive system for women, so I wouldn´t be too thrilled about that option. Hsv sucks, yes, but at least it is not known to cause any fore mentioned damage.

Just some food for thought :)

Just had oral sex

Thats how you got it.

Hi Youandme, :)
Yes, you are right in many ways about Chlamydia. Thats not a nice thing to have either. I do so want to have kids when I get married and it would be tragic if I couldn't. At least with herpes you can still conceive, its just the delivery options that are the problem. Yet I think they say that is only a problem if you have your first outbreak at that time? There are many many things could be worse than herpes. Cancer, AIDS... I think it helps if we keep reminding ourselves those things... :bouncing:

I would get my herpes type diagnosed yet the problem is where I live. I'm from the UK where herpes is not diagnosed by blood test but by swab test. really stupid!! I have like begged doctors for the blood test, but they won't let me. The problem is the lesions I get are not really blisters but cuts inside my vagina. Whenever I get to a clinic in time they have either started to clear up or it has past 24 hrs. I heard that they need to be fresh when they are swabbed for an accurate reading. annoying!

Which kind have you got, and how many outbreaks a year do you get? Has suppressives made any difference to your outbreaks? Want to get on suppressives but need to be diagnosed by test first before the docs will allow me to. Can't win! :p

Hey Upset!
I have to agree with internet, I do think you dod get it through oral sex. Correct me someone if I´m wrong, but I do think transmitting herpes from fingers to genitals is quite low risk. Perhaps not impossible, but I think you would have to have very obvious symptoms, be in the middle of an ob, get a load of the virus on you fingers and then directly rubb hard the other person´s genitals. The virus does not live long if it´s not in contact with a good growing surface and the skin on your fingers is thick and strong, so it would die pretty quickly there - unless you had a clear cut on your fingers, that could be a risk.

So if you had oral it´s very likely its hsv-1 you have.

As for not getting a blood test, I can´t no understand for the world why they wouldn´t give that in the UK! That´s awfull! What´s the reasoning behind that??? It makes a big difference to know your type, for ex. you can inform your partner and if he/she has the same you can make decicions accordingly. Tell your doctor that! Is it private or public health care? If it´s public they might not want to do it because of cost. If you can, go see a private doctor and ask for a type specific Igg blood test.

I don´t know my type yet either, I´ve had hsv for almost 3 months now, so I will soon take the test. I´m quite sure though that it´s hsv-2, due o symptoms, possible mode of transmission etc.. But I still want to make sure.

It is almost criminal in my opinion how little doctors know about hsv, how unwillingly they test you and give antivirals for supressive therapy!

Hang in there!

To Internet and Youand me..
you could well be right about me getting it from oral sex. The reason I have to doubt that is I continually keep getting outbreaks, and also think the guy who I was with may have been having an outbreak at the time (he had some irritated skin on his penis, don't know if that was herpes). I think it is possible he could have rubbed his hand against it and then directly touched me. If so I have been REALLY unlucky. My outbreaks are not terribly painful, just unconfortable.

Its a real pain not being able to get the blood test. I feel that would definately confirm everything. The reason the doctors gave me is that the test would be "not accurate". Seems crazy. I thought blood told you everything about your body. All I can hope is the swab test will show up something, if I go at the right time during my outbreak.

Doctors are a nuisance sometimes. The medication is out there to make life easier for us, also the blood tests are out there.. but they just don't seem to realise the emotional impact it has on patients by not allowing them easy access to these things.
Thanks both for your help. :wave:

Okay Upset, now I´m getting upset, about the doctors, that is! You need to go and see another doctor!!! If a doctor is telling you that a blood test won´t be accurate then he/she obviously has no clue about hsv and testing!!!

One more time, feel free to repeat this to your doctor: a type specific Igg blood test will tell you exactly what kind of herpes you have. You need to have it done no sooner than 12 weeks past exposure or better yet, primary ob. Even better to wait 16 weeks to make sure your body has built antibodies. Very few people still don´t show antibodies at week 16, but this is rare. The doctors are right about the fact that if you would be only positive for hsv-1 then it can be hard to proove if you have it orally or genitally or both (only a swab would clear that). But if you do have clear symptoms, then a positive hsv-1 result could tell you you probably have it genitally too.

It makes me crzy angry that doctors are not willing to give someone a test when it´s a completely rutine one and well researched and proven to be highly reliable. The old tests, the Igm ones, were more unreliable, they could not distinguish type well, but the new ones have been around for quite a while already, every doctor should know that!

Also denying someone of supressive therapy is criminal in my book. It´s been prooven to be completely safe and help herpes patients tremendously with their symptoms, their mental health and keeping their partner safe.

What doctor were you seeing? A general? A gyn? Why not try an infectious disease doctor, they should have a bit more knowledge about herpes and testing.

Don´t give up, you have all the right to know! You are not asking for anything impossible here!

Upset, are you *sure* you have herpes? Did a doctor actually culture it, or did s/he just diagnose you on sight? The reason I ask is, there are other things that can cause cuts and the symptoms you describe... and if your doctor did culture it, they can type it from that. If it really is herpes, I bet lots of money it's HSV1. Although usually HSV1 genitally results in just one mild outbreak, in some people it's as bad as HSV2 can be for some people. The chances of you contracting herpes from his hand after touching his penis are astonishingly slim.

Yes.. I think I will go and see a new doctor. Maybe the only way to sort this out is to go and get the test done privately! It seems ridiculous they can't give it, as some people contract herpes and then don't show symptoms for a LONG time. How can you swab someone if you don't have any sores! :rolleyes: It has been very frustrating for me, but I have made up my mind that I will eventually sort this out and know my type. I think cost could actually be a big issue of why they're unwilling to give it me. Its a crazy system in the UK. A real chicken and egg situation. you have to test positive for herpes before they give you any suppressives. Very bad.

When I had my first outbreak I went to the doctors who gave me a visual examination and said "yes, its herpes". I was like sooo shocked I didn't even ask them to do a swab of it then and there. All I wanted to do was get home and have a good cry about it. I think from my reaction they also "forgot" to take a swab of it. It was only when I was researching on the internet that I found out about there being two types. I always thought herpes was the same thing. Now because of transmission factors it is essential for me to know my type. I also had no idea of the risks involved in oral sex, really. bad sex education at school. Scared me silly when I also read that HIV could be transmitted that way as well.. but i'm negative for that. Doctors only too willing to give me that test!
By the way... Do you both get jumpy sensations in your legs when U are having an outbreak? Been getting that quite bad.
Thanks both

Diagnosing herpes by sight is rarely accurate. If your doctor just said, "yep, looks like herpes", and won't test you, then see another doctor. I know that in the UK they will give you the HerpeSelect blood test at GUM clinics (I think that's what they're called).

But I bet you don't have herpes.

what is hsv negative? is it those regular cold sores that people get when they get a terrible cold sometimes? Is it curable?

This simply goes to show how little is being taught in schools. Herpes can be contracted with no outward signs of infection. Oral sex is NOT a safe alternative as the lips and mouth area can become infected as well, transmitting it to others by kissing. If you are unsure of someone's sexual history, do NOT have sexual contact with them in any form. You put yourself at great risk. Peer presure may be great, but use a condom with any intercourse, and aviod oral sex if you want to remain STD free.

What are the signs of herpes and other stds anyway?? I have been having discharge from my bum and I am not really sure why. I do not nor have I ever had anal sex. What could this discharge be??

Sex ed is BS!

I was always told, use condoms they will protect you- B.S., or don't have sex at all, yeah right, even virgins experiment, and you can get this disease just by touching skin to skin.

CONDOMS DON'T COVER EVERYTHING.

Condoms break!
Condoms slip!
Condoms suck against this virus.

Very Bitter!

theres so many posts i forgot who said something about the education in schools maybe changing by now but, im only seventeen and they still make it sound like your perfectly safe using a condom. And they still pretty much focus on AIDS, HIV, chlamydia and syphalis. i understand the aids and hiv because theyre fatal, but i aslo think herpes and other stds are very important to be educated on. The teacher did happen to mention herpes ONCE. She said that if you have it, you would get little bumps, kind of like pimples, on your genital area and they would go away within a week or so with antibiotics (or some kind of medication) and that to prevent spreading it JUST USE A CONDOM. She didnt happen to mention that its a virus and never goes away, or that cold sores are another form of herpes. The science teacher at another time in the year actually ARGUED with me about wether cold sores are herpes or not (her saying they arent!!).

Ive decided that people are DEFINETLY to ignorant on the subject, and what i wonder is, what other things are we not being taught? I know that i would have NEVER known what i know now about herpes if i hadnt contracted it. Even my doctor doesnt know very much about herpes and shes and obgyn. She was telling me things like it can spread through sharing clothes, and that using a condom will prevent spreading it and things like that... completely confident in what she was telling me.

Makes ya wonder...

I never knew that coldsores were the same as herpes either until I did research on it.... of course after I had already caught it. I thought coldsores were something you just picked up somewhere, from a cup, not washing your hands and touching your mouth or just having a cold. I also didn't know that they could show up aywhere, not just on your mouth.

It seems that they are still teaching the same thing they taught when I was in high school, and that was ten years ago. Except, we were told it appeared in the 70s and since then it seemed to disappear off of the radar. I don't think we were even told what it really was, or how it affected your body. We definately were not told that it was a permanent condition.

Disappeared? More like swept into the closet. ;)
There should be a herpes awareness month!

I went through highschool in the 80's and sex ed was all about pregnancy, your period, and we were told that you could catch std's if you didn't use a condom. Herpes was never even mentioned. They were more worried about preventing teenage pregnancies rather than focusing on stds.

I believe nothing has change as as the std television commercials they sometimes air on tv here still mention that safe sex = using a condom. They have come one tiny step forward by mentioning that herpes symptoms can be very similar to a yeast infection and urge people to get tested and they have put these signs up on the back of toilet doors in shopping centres etc, but they still refuse to state that condoms wont protect against herpes. This makes me so mad, especially as so many young teens are experimenting and catching this and don't have anybody to really explain the situation. At least these days there is the internet and message boards!!