All About Genital Herpes: Re-Entering the Dating Scene--STDRomance.com
Re-Entering the Dating Scene
Now that you know you have genital herpes, you're out of the dating game, right? Absolutely not. There's no reason to stop looking for love and fun.
Genital herpes doesn't detract from your many desirable qualities, which have drawn people to you in the past and will continue to make you a great catch.
Broaching the Topic of Genital Herpes
The first date after your diagnosis may seem a little strange, however. If you hope to be sexually intimate with your date at some point, you may feel like you're keeping a nasty secret. If you are one to be candid with people, you'll want to blurt it out. Don't. There are some things you should reveal about yourself right away -- for example, that you're married, or that you're just in town for the week -- but some things are better left for the appropriate moment.
It's up to you to decide the right time to tell your date that you have genital herpes. Follow two rules: First, don't wait until after having sex. Second, don't wait until you're just about to have sex -- in which case the attraction may be too strong for either of you to think rationally and act responsibly.
If in the past you tended to start a new relationship with sex, you now might want to change your approach. It might be better to break the news about your herpes to someone who has already grown attached to you. Kissing, cuddling, and fondling are safe, so you don't have to tell before you do that. But use your best judgment as to how physically intimate you want to get before telling. One thing could lead to another, and you might find yourself in an awkward situation.
Dealing With Rejection
Anyone who dates should be prepared for rejection. The person you're seeing may beat a hasty retreat when he or she finds out about your genital herpes. If you get the "I just want to be friends" talk after telling your sweetheart you have herpes, consider this: He or she may have already been looking for a way out, and herpes was as good an excuse as any. What's more, anyone who disdains you or humiliates you for having herpes was never worth your while.
Keep dating, and you will find someone who wants to be with you regardless of your herpes status. There are certainly some who wouldn't mind keeping the intimacy level just short of doing things that could transmit the virus. And of those people, it's likely that at least one will come around, and say, "Hey, I understand there's a risk, but I'm crazy about you, so I'm willing to take it."
Depending on your dating style, you might look for another person who knows he or she has herpes, if only to avoid having to discuss it. If you already use dating services or personal ads, you can also use any of those specifically for people with genital herpes. A search on the Internet for "herpes dating" will turn up several.
Tags : - Common, but on the decline
Nationwide, at least 45 million people ages 12 and older -- or one out of five adolescents and adults -- have had genital herpes, a sexually transmitted disease caused by the herpes simplex viruses type 1 or type 2. Over the past decade, the percentage of Americans with genital herpes has decreased, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. It's more common in women (about one out of four women) than men (almost one out of eight). - Symptoms
Most people who have genital herpes don't know it because they've never had any symptoms or don't recognize them. But often, when a person becomes infected for the first time, symptoms appear in two to 10 days. Early signs include a tingling feeling or itching in the genital area, or pain in the buttocks or down the leg. Blisters typically appear on or around the genitals or rectum. You can still infect a partner if sores aren't visible. - New research
Some clinical trials are testing drugs aimed at disrupting genes or enzymes that the virus needs to survive. Several vaccines are in various stages of development, as well as gels or creams that a woman could insert into the vagina before sex to prevent infection in herself and her partner. - Pregnancy
If a woman has her first episode of genital herpes while she's pregnant, she can pass the virus to her unborn child and may deliver a premature baby. Half of the babies infected with herpes either die or suffer nerve damage. If a pregnant woman has an outbreak and it is not the first one, her baby's risk of being infected during delivery is very low. - Donating blood
People with herpes can donate blood. According to the American Red Cross, individuals taking antiviral medication (acyclovir, valacyclovir, famciclovir) will need to wait 48 hours after their last dose before donating blood. The American Red Cross says those currently experiencing an outbreak of genital herpes should not donate blood.
Nicole
http://www.STDromance.com Is a STD dating site for people with herpes, HIV, HPV and other STDS.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Courtesy NLMAt least one in four teenage girls nationwide has a sexually transmitted disease, or more than 3 million teens. These results were prepared for release today at a CDC conference in Chicago on preventing sexually transmitted diseases.
The study by CDC researcher Dr. Sara Forhan is an analysis of nationally representative data on 838 girls who participated in a government health survey. The percentage of teens testing positive for each of the four infections tested
- human papillomavirus (HPV) - - 18%
- chlamydia - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 4%
- trichomoniasis - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2.5%
- herpes simplex virus - - - - - - - - - 2%
About half of the girls acknowledged ever having sex, where the rate was 40 percent . Dr. John Douglas, director of the CDC's division of STD prevention, said the data, from 2003-04, likely reflect current rates of infection.
Chlamydia and trichomoniasis can be treated with antibiotics. The CDC recommends annual chlamydia screening for all sexually active women under age 25. It also recommends the three-dose HPV vaccine for girls aged 11-12 years, and catch-up shots for females aged 13 to 26. CDC
I think STDs in teenage girls need to be talked about. Please comment
The Koala: "I do what I want!" (photo by ozipatul on flickr.com)After the failures of abstinence education, and the so-called “Wrap it up” campaign, Australian officials are turning to a new vaccine to stem the epidemic of chlamydia effecting the country’s koala community.
Despite the fact that chlamydia is a serious threat to nearly all koala populations, young koalas have refused to give up their hard-partying lifestyles. “Look, mate, we aren’t a bunch of root rats and slappers, we just want to have a good time,” defends one young koala. “Like, you’re out at Palmy, all the sheilas in their cozzies… so what if a bloke gets chla…clam… doover-whatsit? Mob of wowsers.” Medical authorities simply cannot understand this.
Scientists are hopeful about the vaccine, however. A six to twelve month trial period, to test the effectiveness of the drug and whether or not a booster shot will be required, will begin later this year.
Subscribe
I want to learn about
Science Buzz is supported by the National Science Foundation.Copyright © Science Museum of Minnesota, 2004-2010, except where noted.
Add a new comment