subject: The facts Behind the Misconceptions in STDs [print this page] It's hard to believe that there are still millions of people who are naive enough to think that they are immune to sexually transmitted diseases, or at the very least think that they have enough smarts to skirt around the issue. Regrettably, there are tons of myths that are out there to entice people to continue to practice unsafe sex, because they believe they are not at risk. So, let's take a look at one of these myths.
Many people believe that they can't catch an infection if they can't see it or feel it. In the case of the STD, Herpes, some people take the attitude that "I can't get herpes if my partner isn't having an outbreak." Nevertheless, the reality is that many people who have herpes, or many other STDs for that matter, don't show symptoms and have no idea they have the sickness.
An absence of symptoms does not mean that a person with herpes isn't contagious. People can transmit the herpes virus or pass it along to others, even if no lesions can be found, thus the name sexually TRANSMITTED disease. Viral shedding occurs when the herpes virus becomes active and surfaces to the skin.
Most people assume they get painful genital ulcers if they have herpes. Nevertheless, genital ulcers are typical of herpes, but other symptoms may also signal the condition. So once again, just because you can't see them or feel them, does not mean that you are safe from being infected. It should be common enough knowledge that once you get Herpes, you have it for life. It is one of the incurable sexually transmitted diseases that are out there, and is ALWAYS contagious.
Luckily, if only one of the partners has herpes and the other doesn't, the infected partner can take suppressive drugs to reduce the chance of transmission and reduce the number of outbreaks. It is proven to help reduce the number of outbreaks. However, you must still take precautions and talk to a medical professional concerning the risks you still might face while having sex.
Sexually transmitted diseases have been studied for a long time, with millions of confirmed cases and billions of dollars spent on research. It is ridiculous to think that some people still believe that they aren't capable of becoming infected when there is so much evidence to prove that everyone, no matter who you are, is prone to infection.
STD Truths- unfortunately some people still believe they are not capable of getting an STD, here is one myth that's busted.
