herpes - Herpes Message Board

tanisha99 · 12-08-2008, 08:42 PM

how long can a person have herpes before they are aware they have it

lostandbroken · 12-09-2008, 11:14 AM

They can have it their entire life and not know they have it. The smart thing is just to get tested 6 months after each relationship. Really, people should not be intimate with a new partner within 6 months of the last one anyway, so it shouldn't be too big of a deal!

dnd3d · 12-10-2008, 07:51 AM

Getting tested for STD's wont help. Most doctors don't test for herpes, and the best way to test for herpes is my swabbing the infected area when there is a possible break out. A person can go years without any signs. That same person can have no break out their entire life, or they can have them once a week. Depending on the person body chemistry and emmune system.

XmasTree · 12-11-2008, 03:03 AM

So if you have unprotected sex with a person who has herpes, but doesn't know they have it, can they still pass it onto you if they never have symptoms?

Truthseek · 12-11-2008, 05:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XmasTree

So if you have unprotected sex with a person who has herpes, but doesn't know they have it, can they still pass it onto you if they never have symptoms?

Yep. That is how most of us got it. The statistic is that 90% of people got it from someone who did not know they had it. It can spread through "asymptomatic shedding" which basically means "no symptoms-still contagious". Frustrating thing is that you don't know if you are shedding or not so there is an element of risk all the time.