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Herpes V2 or Am I being a huge baby?

DrZoidberg

DrZoidberg

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So I've been chatting with a great girl on-line. Haven't met her yet. But she seems fucking smashing in every way. It smells like the potential for love. Date planned for tomorrow. Yesterday she tells me she has HSV-2. I looked it up and it is infectious even when there are no visible lesions. So basically, if I have sex with her regularly I will get it. There's like no way not to. I'm considering not dating her now.

So here's my question, am I being a huge baby?

I checked the numbers. 16% of the population has it already. I've been sexually active my entire adult life. Well... even as a child. But anyway. I'm now 40. I've always been attracted to slutty women. It just turns me on knowing a woman has been around a bit. And that's the kind of women I've slept with. All my relationships have been semi open. So we're talking big numbers of women here. But I've always been good with condoms and so far I've never had any STD, or rather symptoms of STDs. But condoms only lower the chances of HPV-2 by 30%. Apart from full rubber suits there's very little that gives protection against HPV-2.

So considering how high chances of exposure are and the fact that I've had a lot of sex with loose women, shouldn't I, statistically, already have it? But looking at the pictures of it doesn't give me comfort. Jesus those outbreaks look fucking horrible.

Does anybody here know anything about it? Advice? Should I not ask these sort of questions of the Internet?
 
Two thoughts...

Firstly - see how the date goes first. And try to keep your pants on for the first date.

Second - get yourself tested and talk to your doctor about ways of minimising the risk of catching it.

Good luck.
 
So I called up the CDC and got to talk to a scientist in the field. He specialised on STDs. So cool. I didn't know the government (Sweden) had this service. Apparently it's an EU thing. All countries in the EU has this service. I'm genuinely impressed. He was awesome. He said that statistically (considering my age and lifestyle) I should be fucked already as far as HPV-1 and -2. Lack of symptoms doesn't prove anything. He said there's a test I can take, ie test to see if i have HPV-2 antibodies in my bloodstream. So I'm going to take the test before I jump the gun. I'm going to insist on tests before the condom comes off anyway.

I must really like this girl because this news made me very happy. She's a keeper. A real darling.
 
DrZoidberg said:
So I called up the CDC and got to talk to a scientist in the field. He specialised on STDs. So cool. I didn't know the government (Sweden) had this service. Apparently it's an EU thing. All countries in the EU has this service. I'm genuinely impressed. He was awesome. He said that statistically (considering my age and lifestyle) I should be fucked already as far as HPV-1 and -2. Lack of symptoms doesn't prove anything. He said there's a test I can take, ie test to see if i have HPV-2 antibodies in my bloodstream. So I'm going to take the test before I jump the gun. I'm going to insist on tests before the condom comes off anyway.

I must really like this girl because this news made me very happy. She's a keeper. A real darling.
Click to expand...

Well done, exactly what you should do. Seek advice.


I hope things work out for you.
 
Also keep an eye out for a vaccine. As far as I can tell there is none at the moment. That could change.

Hope your date goes well. Second the motion that you keep your pants on for the first few dates.
 
DrZoidberg said:
So I called up the CDC and got to talk to a scientist in the field. He specialised on STDs. So cool. I didn't know the government (Sweden) had this service. Apparently it's an EU thing. All countries in the EU has this service. I'm genuinely impressed. He was awesome. He said that statistically (considering my age and lifestyle) I should be fucked already as far as HPV-1 and -2. Lack of symptoms doesn't prove anything. He said there's a test I can take, ie test to see if i have HPV-2 antibodies in my bloodstream. So I'm going to take the test before I jump the gun. I'm going to insist on tests before the condom comes off anyway.

I must really like this girl because this news made me very happy. She's a keeper. A real darling.
Click to expand...

It's not an 'EU' thing, although in the USA, a good doctor here would tell you the same information. So would Dear Abby, actually. I haven't checked but I strongly suspect that the CDC website could as well, but I get that it feels better coming from an actual human.

Please keep in mind if you will be open to a newly acquired infection through contact with this person, so would any of your other sexual contacts. If I remember correctly, you are in an open relationship with someone? Maybe I am mistaken. Only brought up because if you are, you are not the only person with a medical stake in this. The virus is most likely to cause problems in women during birth and might transmit the virus to the newborn so a cesarean is generally performed. I have no idea what your plans might include but this is something to consider.
 
Toni said:
DrZoidberg said:
So I called up the CDC and got to talk to a scientist in the field. He specialised on STDs. So cool. I didn't know the government (Sweden) had this service. Apparently it's an EU thing. All countries in the EU has this service. I'm genuinely impressed. He was awesome. He said that statistically (considering my age and lifestyle) I should be fucked already as far as HPV-1 and -2. Lack of symptoms doesn't prove anything. He said there's a test I can take, ie test to see if i have HPV-2 antibodies in my bloodstream. So I'm going to take the test before I jump the gun. I'm going to insist on tests before the condom comes off anyway.

I must really like this girl because this news made me very happy. She's a keeper. A real darling.
Click to expand...

It's not an 'EU' thing, although in the USA, a good doctor here would tell you the same information.
Click to expand...

He probably meant the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control; the ECDC. Which is an EU agency.
 
Advice...get tested to see if you have the disease first.

If you don't, it's folly to risk an STD you can't get rid of for a relationship you aren't going to make permanent.

It also limits your future partners because you should ethically tell them as this girl did you, that you're infectious. Not many people are as willing as you to get an incurable STD.
 
DrZoidberg said:
Yesterday she tells me she has HSV-2. ... But condoms only lower the chances of HPV-2 by 30%. Apart from full rubber suits there's very little that gives protection against HPV-2.
...
So I called up the CDC and got to talk to a scientist in the field. He specialised on STDs. ... He said there's a test I can take, ie test to see if i have HPV-2 antibodies in my bloodstream. So I'm going to take the test before I jump the gun.
Click to expand...
The above was probably just typos, so this is probably unnecessary to say, but just in case...

HSV = Herpes Simplex Virus

HPV = Human Papilloma Virus

Make sure you're asking the CDC about the right STD and make sure you get tested for the right virus.
 
Some people consider HSV worse than HPV, but many venereal HPV strains can cause cancer (cervical, oro-pharyngeal, and penile). Although, HSV-1 is associated with Alzheimer's.

Given my life-style, I'm probably fucked either way.
 
bilby said:
J842P said:
Some people consider HSV worse than HPV, but many venereal HPV strains can cause cancer (cervical, oro-pharyngeal, and penile). Although, HSV-1 is associated with Alzheimer's.

Given my life-style, I'm probably fucked either way.
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There's no need to brag about it.
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It's not something that I'm proud of or that is particularly glamorous. Just lots of alcohol abuse and poor decisions.
 
dystopian said:
Toni said:
It's not an 'EU' thing, although in the USA, a good doctor here would tell you the same information.
Click to expand...

He probably meant the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control; the ECDC. Which is an EU agency.
Click to expand...

Yeah, sorry. European CDC. Here in Europe we just call it CDC and assume everybody understands we mean the European one. I am also aware USA has a CDC. These agencies (all of them internationally) do cooperate a lot since they're all aware that infections do not give a hoot about national borders. So in practice they're all basically the same agency.
 
DrZoidberg said:
dystopian said:
He probably meant the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control; the ECDC. Which is an EU agency.
Click to expand...

Yeah, sorry. European CDC. Here in Europe we just call it CDC and assume everybody understands we mean the European one. I am also aware USA has a CDC. These agencies (all of them internationally) do cooperate a lot since they're all aware that infections do not give a hoot about national borders. So in practice they're all basically the same agency.
Click to expand...

Don't share this with anyone on a political forum or you'll have people demanding constitutions be rewritten. That said. What's the name of the CDC in WHO. Yeah, I'm pretty lazy.
 
Update: me and the girl weren't really compatible. Physically, yes. A very pretty girl. Good sex to. But once we got past the purely physical bit and started talking we realized pretty fast that we had nothing in common. So we never got to the stage where taking off condoms was a thing. Anyhoo... a fun first and last date.

On the test. I tried getting tested. But it's complicated here. I couldn't find a lab just to do the test. It's not a legal thing. There's no legal limitations against people just walking in off the street paying for a test and just doing it. But no lab here allows that. They all require you have to go through a doctor. And I'm not going to waste a doctors time for this shit. Not to mention the money. Paying the doctor would double the price of the test. Still pretty cheap. But anyway. An annoying system. I can sympathise though. I can imagine how labs got tired of trying to explain a result to people who didn't have the qualifications to interpret the results. Which is a service that labs don't provide and aren't paid for. Only doctors are. So getting the test turns out not being worth it.

Sweden's socialist healthcare does not pay for this test since herpes is deemed harmless. Still a cheap test to take... if I can be bothered with making a doctors appointment. We have free STD clinics where anybody can walk in off the street and get tested. But they won't do the blood test, which I need. They told me that if I don't have symptoms then they're not going to help me.
 
I shake my head at how other countries do things...

When we decided to get serious, we both went to my GP, who organised blood and urine tests for both of us. He was then aware of what our medical status was, (clear of communicable diseases) and now treats us both for general health as well.

The tests cost us nothing, having been 'bulk billed' to Medicare. The Doctor visit was also bulk billed.
 
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