(NSFW) Would you have relations with someone who has the herpes virus?
Genital herpes can be caused by two viruses, HSV-1 and HSV-2. Current estimates suggest that the prevalence of infection is about 58% and 16%, respectively.
There is no cure. Once infected, you cannot remove the herpes virus from your body.
Condoms reduce the risk of herpes transmission, but do not eliminate it. Risk of transmission is higher during an active outbreak, but it can be transmitted at any time.
Symptoms are unpleasant, but not dangerous or life-threatening.
Diagnosis without an active outbreak can be very difficult and unreliable.
Given all that information, would you be willing to have protected sex with someone who had been diagnosed with herpes? Consider the relatively high prevalence, and the fact that many people are asymptomatic—it is possible you have already done this.
Suppose you knew someone who suspected they had the virus, but was not having an outbreak, hadn’t in many years, and thus could not be diagnosed reliably. Would you be willing to consider having protected sex with this person?
And in case anyone is suspicious, I do not have herpes.
Also, please do not make this a soapbox to rail against casual sex, or to say how much you value your long-term committed monogamous relationship. I will flag these comments and ask them to be removed, but not before reminding you how common it is for people to cheat and never tell.
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