Sexual Health Buzz

These are the most popular topics on the herpes message board for the month of October!

• Newbie
• Time Frames
• $$$ and Valtrex…yikes
• Conflicting Info
• How long have you had herpes?
• Differing Advice
• OB during period

Here is the Question

Can the HSV2 carrier spread the virus on his/her own body? Touching a spot that doesn’t appear to have blisters then touching another part of the body. Basically can you reinfect, spreading to other parts of the body.

Here is my Answer

Once you develop antibodies to herpes simplex virus then it’s not likely that you will infect other parts of your body. That’s really not how it works.

That’s not to say that you shouldn’t wash your hands after you go to the bathroom. People should be careful to wash their hands after going to the bathroom anyway. It’s just a good habit to have even if you don’t have herpes.

Here’s more information about Autoinoculation and how it works

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a grant worth more than $850,000 to immunologists at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center to study the genetics of a critical protein in herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2) infection.

<snip>

Preliminary research showed chemokines to be responsible for coordinating the body’s immune response to the herpes virus.

Scientists plan to take what they learn from the chemokine research and use the information to develop a potential vaccine or gene transfer therapy that would reduce the incidence of infection and diminish the chance of reactivation once infected.

<snip>

Grant awarded for research

There are people that do care about what the herpes virus is doing. There is research going on. It’s good to see people writing about it and letting the world know what scientists are doing to try and find a herpes cure OR a herpes vaccine.

I actually met her online several years ago in a round-about-way. She’s somewhere in Kentucky and happily newly married to the love of her life.

I think the thing that really impresses me about Angela is her ability to see a person for who they are and really treasure that person and any flaws that they may have. (Believe me I am flaw-filled)

Little Darling’s Opinion Nation is her blog

Can you believe it’s a blogger blog? It doesn’t even look like it because of the template that she is using. I don’t know what it is about that picture but it reminds me of how we have to deal with the world sometimes.

I put the wrong post on the wrong blog.

I do this all the time because on the program that I use to put up my blog posts I have my Checkup Today blog listed on top of my Sexual Health Buzz blog.

Normally I would go through and take it down and then just repost it to the correct blog. Today I decided to just leave it how it is. I’m thinking that the big guy upstairs wanted it to happen that way so that somebody out there looking for help would find it in a not-so-obvious place.

Here’s the Question

Can two carriers of HSV 2 have unprotected sex? This is of course after getting tested for all STDS. If they do have sex can the virus be shed other places on the body? Face, lips, etc?

Here is my Answer

If two people are positive for HSV 2 and they have unprotected sex together, they are not going to pass it back and forth. That’s not how it works because once you contract herpes you keep herpes.

It is a good idea to have routine STD testing done so that both parties will know what they are getting themselves into. It’s always a good idea to know your status before beginning a brand new sexual relationship.

When you go in to your doctor’s office OR clinic be sure and ask them what they are testing you for exactly because not all STDS are included in the routine STD testing process. You’d be surprised to know that most people assume they are being tested for everything when in reality they are not.

Depending on which type of HSV you have and where it’s located will have a lot to say about where you can asymptomatically shed the virus. People with herpes tend to shed before, during, and after an outbreak. People that don’t get outbreaks that they can see OR feel tend to shed less often.

If you have genital herpes then outbreaks can occur anywhere below the belt line and usually in the boxer shorts area. If you have oral herpes then outbreaks can occur anywhere above the neck but usually occur in the oral facial area around the mouth. (ie: cold sores and/or fever blisters)

This is a great question and one that lots of people ask me all the time. It’s such a popular question that at the time we were dating my husband agreed to write up answers to a series of questions that would be published in a quarterly newsletter about herpes published by ASHA.

You can find that story here

For the most part my husband does understand why it’s so important for me to reach out and help people. You see, I believe that have herpes for a reason and even though the circumstances surrounding how I contracted this STD are not all that favorable I believe that my part in what I’m doing with my diagnosis of 13 years ago is the good that is supposed to come of something that wasn’t so good.

I hope that makes sense.

QIAGEN N.V., a Netherlands holding company, is the leading provider of innovative sample and assay technologies and products. QIAGEN’s products are considered standards in areas such as pre-analytical sample preparation and assay solutions for life sciences, applied testing and molecular diagnostics. QIAGEN has developed a comprehensive portfolio of more than 500 proprietary, consumable products and automated solutions. The company’s products are sold to academic research markets, leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, applied testing customers (such as in forensics, veterinary, biodefense and industrial applications) and molecular diagnostics laboratories. QIAGEN products are sold through a dedicated sales force and a global network of distributors in more than 40 countries; the company employs more than
2,600 people worldwide. Further information about QIAGEN can be found at www.qiagen.com. Further information about HPV DNA testing can be
found at www.theHPVtest.com.

(1) The hc2 High Risk HPV test has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the follow-up evaluation of women with ASC-US

(inconclusive) cytology and for use as an adjunctive test combined with the Pap to screen women age 30 years and older.

(2) This information is provided as a summary of several clinical studies. The use of the Hybrid Capture(R) High-Risk HPV DNA Test as a stand-alone screen for cervical cancer has not been approved by the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration.

SOURCE QIAGEN N.V.

10/18/2007

CONTACT: Pam Rasmussen, Vice President, Communications, Digene, A QIAGEN Company, +1-240-506-0766, Pamela.Rasmussen@digene.com; or Jennifer Garratt, Burson-Marsteller UK, +44-7979-603236, jennifer.garratt@bm.com

Web site: www.qiagen.com

www.theHPVtest.com

(QGEN)

NEJM Report Finds HPV Test More Effective Than Pap in Determining Cervical Cancer Risk

About HPV and cervical cancer

Talk about HPV

The summer of 2008 will make 13 years that I have had genital herpes. I honestly don’t remember when it was that I had my last outbreak because I just don’t get them like I did when I contracted herpes for the first time.

I am one of those that found out exactly two weeks after contracting it via my primary outbreak. I know this for a fact because of the circumstances surrounding my own personal struggles and triumphs with the herpes virus.

I can tell you that in the beginning I probably got herpes outbreaks every couple of weeks or so. It was frustrating at first because I didn’t know what my prodromes were and didn’t really know what an outbreak was supposed to look or feel like until of course it was already too late.

Tracking my outbreaks and when I took my medicine on a calendar for about a year really helped me to realize the signals that my body was leaving me. I began to understand that my prodromes were slight tingling in that sensitive area almost like a little feather of a tickle. Slight fever and flu-like symptoms was also a sign for me that I was about to get an outbreak.

What helped me get my outbreaks under control finally was suppressive therapy and I did that for two years. Believe me when I say that not having any outbreaks really makes life easier when you find out that you have herpes.

Today I am no longer on suppression and my outbreaks are not all that major like they once were. Every now and then if I’m feeling kind of strange down there I don’t want to find out if it’s an outbreak or not. I just go ahead and take my medicine and then go on with my life.

If you have more questions about me and my outbreaks don’t be afraid to leave a comment. I don’t mind answering your questions as long as I can share my response via my blog se we can help more people that might be reading and lurking afraid to reach out.

You can check out my herpes biography here

Worldwide, cervical cancer affects more than 400,000 women annually and, after breast cancer, is the second-most-common malignancy found in women. Cervical cancer is caused by “high-risk” types of the human papillomavirus (HPV), which are sexually transmitted. It’s estimated that 80 percent of women will get an HPV infection at some point in their lives. However, in most cases, the infection goes away or is suppressed by the body without causing problems. It is only infections that persist that can cause abnormal cells to form that may develop into cervical cancer if not detected and treated early.

NEJM Report Finds HPV Test More Effective Than Pap in Determining Cervical Cancer Risk

About QIAGEN

Talk about HPV