Question for a friend about herpes

[JadeStar]

Ok I just got a phone call from a friend of mine. She was crying. She told me she thought she had genital herpes. I asked her what her symptoms were. She told me she had small bumps down below and it burned when she went to the bathroom. I asked her when she noticed these syptoms. She said she had them for 2 years!! I was shocked because she had never mentioned it before. Her last b/f she had was from 2 years ago. She said after they broke up she went and was tested for several things. They told her she was fine, passed it off as a yeast infection.

 

She said she would take antibiotics for that and it would reoccur, so they would give her a stonger antibiotic, only for it it to later on return. I told her the only thing I knew for her to do was come Monday go to her doctor and tell them whats going on,and how she has had these bumps for 2 years. I read about herpes and its different for differnt people. Some people have more of an outbreak than others. I also read it can lay doramnt in your system for a long time before it actually surfaces as something visible. She did say that over the past 2 years there have been more bumps to appear. She hasn't been with anyone in 2 years since her break up, and thats how long she has had these symptoms.

 

She began crying and saying her life was over etc, I just told her go get checked, don't read to much into it before you know for sure. I told her I didn't know for sure because I wasn't a doctor. My question is, (and I know the best bet is for her to get tested) but does this sound like it might be herpes? Don't worry I want go back and tell her, I wouldn't feed something to her I haven't no fact on. Just wondering if others thought this is what it sounded like. Thanks.

 

 

 

 

Jade

[Blackfrost]

I have a few close friends who have herpes - and I've even seen one break out on a friend of mine a couple times, that looked pretty bad, and I told him he really needed to go to the doctor. Oral herpes, an infection caused by the herpes simplex virus, is estimated to be present in 50 to 80 percent of the American adult population. 20 percent, over 50 million people, are infected with genital herpes, also caused by the herpes simplex virus, and the majority of these cases may be unaware they even have it. Studies show that more than 500,000 Americans are diagnosed with genital herpes each year

 

Things to know about herpes:

 

If someone has a coldsore/herpe in their mouth (which is common in most people at given times) it can be passed to your sex partner, and they can contract Herpes Simplex 1. Which does involve the breakouts, and there is no cure for Simplex 1 or 2. And YES, you can be in a monogamous relationship for years and still catch it from your partner, if he or she has a mouth sore (of the herpe family), and it finds a way into your partners body parts.

 

Genital Herpes is commonly known as Herpes Simplex 2 and involves much more painful breakouts that can, in some people, produce flu like symptoms (achey legs, low grade fevers, very rundown feeling, burning urethra when peeing) 2-3 days before a breakout occurs. These breakouts (though more numerous then simplex 1) produce the same little fever blister bumps, that swell and then break. When they break, that's when the burning itching pain is very noticable.

 

A few of my friends have tried taking the perscription herpe medication pills, but have all had very little success with the medication doing anything, as you need to take it within a day or two before you get a break out.

 

The good news is: you can sometimes go for years without additional breakouts, if, you take good care of yourself, and avoid large levels of stress and worry - which seems to trigger breakouts in almost all my guy friends who have it.

 

Don't even ask me how I know so much about STDs, it's a long story, from a very wild few years of playing in hair metal bands on the strip in Hollywood in the late 80's Herpes may be - from what I've seen - one of the more milder STD's you can catch from unprotected sex.

 

 

Tell your friend she needs to go to the doctor, get a swab, and find out if that is actually what she has. There are other STDs that also have similar symptoms, and it's best to know what ails your Hoo Hoo, so you can begin addressing how to make it less painful and less frequent.

 

Her life is not over. Help her to understand that she is not a rarity for having this.

 

Hope this helps

 

Cheers

[shamen]

ABSOLUTELY she should go to the doctor and talk about what's going on and get tested; that's the only way to know for sure!

 

And no, one's life isn't over if one has herpes... far from it. Again, remember what Blackfrost said, 20% of the American population (I think it's American anyway, not worldwide) has herpes type II. Seriously. That's 1/5 people.

[JadeStar]

Hi thanks to you both for your replies. Just an update, my friend went to the doctor and she does have herpes. So its what she had expected. The doctor already has her on some meds to help with the outbreaks. The doctor also reasssured her that her life wasn't over and she can still get married and have kids if she wanted to at some point, as long as she continues to take her meds to help with the outbreaks etc. Thanks again.

 

 

 

Jade