HA - STIs - HSV

[bcf_101386]

I've been suffering from the most severe fear of my life. I've had anxiety attacks and periods of on-going anxiety before, but never to this level. Never to the point I have been so paralyzed by fear that I'm afraid to stray from the routines and compulsions I now have created.

My biggest fear as of late is genital herpes. I've done sooooo much research on it from symptoms, to medications, to the stigma attached to it, how it's passed between partners, testing accuracy, etc.....

Now, I'm not a virgin and have had several partners over 12 years of being sexually active. No one has come to me saying they have any STI's and no one has ever complained to have gotten anything from me. But for whatever reason, the last time I had sex tripped my anxiety into going haywire and I cannot stop thinking about genital herpes and although both my partner and I have tested negative with the standard blood test, I can't quit worrying I may still have it. Neither he. Or I have exhibited symptoms but I know that test misses 5% of hsv-2 infections and that symptoms can appear months/years after acquiring it. I'm terrified I may be in that 5% range and will have a very painful outbreak someday.

I used to be just afraid of the stigma and how it would affect my dating life if I knew I had it. Now, I e scared myself to death about possibly having an outbreak and feeling that horrible pain. Who wants blisters/sores in their private parts?!??

[Fishmanpa]

I used to be just afraid of the stigma and how it would affect my dating life if I knew I had it. Now, I e scared myself to death about possibly having an outbreak and feeling that horrible pain. Who wants blisters/sores in their private parts?!??

You can be tested for it. Most of the population (conservatively 3/4) has it one form or another. Cold sores is HSV1 and it can be passed to the genitals via oral sex. HSV2 (genital) is rarely passed on orally.

Some people are exposed and carry the virus and never have an outbreak and some get hit with nasty outbreaks and flu like symptoms. Everyone is different and it's not the end of the world if you have it. Besides, I think by now you would know.

Good luck and as always

Positive thoughts

[bcf_101386]

Thanks for the reply, Fishmanpa. I have had the standard iGg blood test done and it came out negative. I've had some people say the same thing to me (that I'd probably know if I had it by now), but I read that a herpes outbreak can occur months or even years after infection has taken place. Plus, the iGg test is only 95% accurate for hsv-2 infections. It can miss someone's infection. And that's my fear in a nutshell: just forgetting about the possibility of having it and moving with my life and than, one day, BAM! outbreak of sores on my genitals.

I've been getting cold sores on my mouth since I was a toddler and it has never been a huge issue for me. My fear of this STI is not just the stigma, but the significant pain it can cause in some people and in such a sensitive spot of the body. I'm absolutely terrified!

[GlassPinata]

I've read that here in the US, 25% of the population has genital herpes.
If it's anything like HSV1 (the mouth kind), it's probably not that big a deal.
I've had HSV1 (causing herpes sores on my mouth, always in the same place- the left corner) since I was a teenager. I'm in my mid-40s now.
I've had.... maybe six outbreaks in my life, including the initial one.
When I was younger, I'd get them every few years; as I've gotten older, it's maybe every ten years. The last one was when i was pregnant with my youngest son, and he's four now.
I mean, the outbreaks are painful and unattractive, but it's just blisters. If you don't mess with them, they dry up in a few days, and within a week or ten days it's gone and you can't tell it was ever there.
When I was younger, i was more bothered by it. I was paranoid of outbreaks, and when I would get one I would hide in my house until it went away. I actually lost a job once, calling in sick because of a silly cold sore outbreak. I didn't want anyone to see me.
Now that I'm older, I don't care as much. i went to work last time I had one, and nobody was bothered by it. The few people who even commented were like, "Oh, that sucks. I get those too sometimes. i hate them."
When i was younger I used Zovirax ointment (a prescription antiviral) daily, trying to ward off an outbreak. I'm not sure if it helped or not. I haven't bothered with it in years.

My point is, if you had genital herpes, it would probably cause an outbreak every few years or more, and the outbreak would be like a little cluster of blisters. It would go away in a week, and stay gone for a few more years, or maybe ten or more, Who knows? Some people have only one outbreak in their lives, and never get another one.

I'm not sure it would be that life-altering.
Personally, I'd rather have the genital kind than the kind on your mouth. It would be easier to hide.

Best wishes.

[bcf_101386]

I hear what you are saying. I've had cold sores all my life. There were really only 3 times that my outbreaks were significant with several sores surrounding my mouth. The first time (when I was two) was the worst since that was my "primary" outbreak. I had classic symptoms of fever, flu-like symptoms, painful ulcers and general feeling ill from it.

My fear with genital herpes comes from the idea of how painful an outbreak in such a sensitive spot would be. I've read countless stories (bad idea, I know) of people's experiences and hear when they have significant outbreaks, it's excruciating and that pain lasts 2-4 weeks before their bodies have gotten used to the new virus present in their systems.

And although 25% of the population had genital herpes, 80-90% of those people aren't aware of their infection. I really fear I could be in the minority and I don't want to be in pain, nor do I want something that could alter my dating life. I am 30 years old and still single.

Although I have never had an outbreak, I've been tested, I fear the test is possibly wrong and someday I'll notice an outbreak. I don't know if I could handle it mentally, let alone physically.