Did you know that of all the diseases and medical conditions that exist – herpes is the most widely searched for sexually transmitted disease on the internet? And after that, pictures of herpes receive thousands of internet search requests every day? You have to ask yourself why people are so curious to see pictures of genital and oral herpes…the answer is rather simple. As society makes advances in technology, specifically where the internet is concerned – people are playing Web medical doctor and diagnosing themselves and others based on pictures they’ve seen on the internet.

 

This is a HUGE mistake. Think about this for a second: If the majority of HSV outbreaks looked like the pictures on the net – do you REALLY think the disease would be as wide spread as it is now? Of course not!! While I understand the natural curiosity that people have aut the disease, those pictures demonstrate the worst case scenario, and only a very small fraction of the people who have herpes ever get outbreaks that are THAT bad. There are a few facts that you need to know about HSV 1 and HSV 2 before you go on playing WebMd.

 

1. Transmission: The virus is not a flood or fluid based disease like gonorrhea or HIV even. No – herpes is a surface level virus that is transmitted via skin to skin contact. Condoms do not protect against the virus. Herpes outbreaks can occur anywhere below the waist (for type 2) or on the face (for type 1). What this means is that in type 2, a person can and may experience outbreaks in places other than their direct genitals. If you are intimate with someone who has an outbreak on their thigh, and you come into contact with that – it can be passed along to you. Do not feel “safe” just because you are using protection. Herpes doesn’t care about protection.

 

2. Most people don’t know they have it: According to medical statistics, more than 60% of people with HSV 1 or 2 are unaware that they have it. Even if they experience outbreaks, some occurrences are so minimal – that they are often confused for common ailments like sunburn, razor bumps or allergic reactions.

 

3. Standard STD Tests Don’t Include Herpes Testing: Did you know that the standard STD test DOES NOT test for the herpes simplex virus? Yup! Unless you have specifically asked for a HSV test or were tested during a pregnancy – chances are, you have never been tested. Most adults are carriers of HSV as type 1 (oral herpes) is extremely common in child and teenagers. For this reason, the medical industry doesn’t pay as much attention to the virus as they should.

 

4. Oral herpes can be transmitted to genital herpes: HSV type 2 carries a much heavier stigma than type 1, but before you turn up your nose at people who get their outbreaks below the waist you should know that your oral herpes is just as “contagious” as genital herpes. If you perform oral sex on someone while your HSV 1 is active (you may not even know its active) they are just as much at risk of catching the virus on their genitals.

 

5. Most people with herpes have only “minor” outbreaks: At the end of the day I ask that you understand this one thing – most people with herpes have very minor outbreaks. So minor in fact, that to an unaware person – they would never suspect it. Outbreaks also lessen in time, meaning the longer an individual has herpes, the more infrequent the outbreaks become. While outbreaks may be infrequent, they still may experience viral shedding.

 

My intention in writing this article was not to scare you, rather to relay the point that looking at pictures of genital and oral herpes will not protect you from the virus. “Knowing” what the worst case scenario looks like, doesn’t equip you for the millions of people who never get it that bad. The only way to know for certain is by getting tested.

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