I see y’all are on here playing doctor again arguing about herpes so lemme set y’all dummies straight again.

There are two types of herpes. HSV-1 and HSV-2. HSV-1 generally causes cold sores, it’s said to lie dormant in just under 67% of people under the age of 49, most are asymptomatic. You can contract it usually by kissing, sharing eating and drinking utensils, oral sex, etc.

HSV-2 causes genital herpes. This manifests itself as genital or anal sores and rashes. HSV-2 is contracted by coming in direct contact with genital sores. HSV-1 is usually contracted by someone who is asymptomatic (no sores) which is why it’s so easy to pass.

Herpes is NOT however, an STD. It’s a skin condition. This is why it’s so easy to pass the virus to babies without knowing it. A woman can pass the virus to her child during birth, which is why they test you for herpes twice during pregnancy so that you can get on antivirals-

-If you do end up testing positive.
Another thing: YOU CAN STILL GET GENITAL HERPES FROM A PERSON WHO HAS HSV-1 via oral sex. And if you have HSV-1, it is still 100% possible that you can contract HSV-2 from someone.

Another thing. If you aren’t actively asking to be tested for herpes, you have not been tested. A lot of doctors don’t see the necessity in testing unless you’re presenting sores because it’s so common, a lot of them just assume you have it. If they aren’t testing sores they’re-

-Testing for antibodies in your blood. Lemme stress the fact that herpes screenings are NOT included in regular STD panels. So when you’re getting tested for the general STDs (HIV, gonorrhea, clamydia, etc.) do not assume herpes is included in that because it isn’t.

The takeaway is that herpes in itself is not that big of a deal if you have it. You can take antivirals to minimize your outbreaks (the 1st is usually the worst then they become milder and less frequent over time). Understand that it’s EXTREMELY common in the US, and-

MOST (not all, but most) of the time, if you aren’t presenting symptoms you’re usually not infectious. (Again not ALL the time). But if you’re out here shaming people for having herpes, chances are you’ve never actually been tested for it yourself