Sexual Health Buzz

I will let you know what I truly think about taking Acyclovir. I had read not too long ago on your web page that you had no recent response from other’s taken this medication.

I’ll let you know, I’m all new to this and I am in no way a doctor, but I am going to medical school right now. Hopefully I will learn more as I go. I will keep other’s updated.

Everybody has their own kinds of remedies for herpes. If it works, more power to you.

This is my story so here goes

I am covered right now by some very good insurance, so I’m very lucky in that department than most. God was looking over me at the time. You see, I had to go in for major surgery weeks back and my immune system at the time was shutting down. My husband had enrolled in time when it all started crashing in for me. “The news of my life” I had found out that I had contracted the herpes virus this year of 2009.

In my case and only talking from “MY” experience, my first outbreak was not that bad and I only one blister out of it. I still was not clearly, out of it yet. I was still recovering from the mental aspect of it. Who, why, where??

My doctor had told me since my first outbreak was not that bad, she really thought I really didn’t need to spend the money to be on suppressive medication everyday like most. I’m not a big pill fan before all of this, but I wanted to deal with it my own way. So I got on Acyclovir.

It kinda made me feel that I was in control of my own body and it had helped me mentally for my own reason’s. Like being responsible in controlling of my new husband’s well-being. So I thought, who knows? Hey it’s making me feel better taking it. To this day, he is still herpes free.

The doctor had told me it was a good choice to use that everyday over Valtrex. Acyclovir has been around for a very long time and people that had taken it for whatever reasons over twenty-something years had really no side effect’s from it. No liver damage!! That’s good enough for me.

Trials are still underway with Valtrex and little is known what it can do after a couple of years of taking it, but I’m sure we are still safe. We will know more in time. I’m not in any means saying that this is better than Valtrex. My first outbreak, I had Valtrex for my first blister and it did go away very fast. But that’s me! I’m just saying with cost and taking it every day, I would go with Acyclovir when you first start out.

If you have little or no outbreaks you might think it doesn’t work as fast as Valtrex to get into your system or does it? Hmmm… I think that is up to the person and with what kind of immune system they have at the end… Is all about how our bodies can fight it I say, eat well with the medication for starter’s. It’s up to you rather you want to take suppress medication or not. For me, this is what’s working for me to take control mentally.

Later in time I will stop it and see how my body can handle everyday situation’s…at least it doesn’t hurt taking it when you need to. It’s there and that’s why it’s there.

Good Luck,
CCC

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Herpes Help

I am a 49 year old male. I developed herpetic whitlow of the proximal phalanges of the left middle finger. There was no complications with bacterial super infection.

I had slightly pricked the side of my middle finger with a staple and the wound seemed to be healed over. A day or two later my partner and I had sexual relations during which I used my fingers for stimulation of my partner. She had developed a primary case of HSV2 in the perineum some 18 years ago. She had no current signs and has not developed any. Her last outbreak was almost 10 years ago.

The staple wound seemed to resolve, leaving behind only a tiny area of cellulitis. About 6 days later, the wound developed a larger area of redness, and I cleaned it with soap and water, applied some antibiotic cream, and covered it with a band aid. The following day when I changed the bandaid the redness had spread distally in a narrow band.

By that evening the typical vesicles began to develop. I was aware of herpetic whitlow and recognized the signs. I applied Abreva and changed it and the bandaid three times a day. I did not apply it more often due to the fragility of the vesicles.

After two days the infection covered the area on the phalanx from knuckle to knuckle and approximately 1/3 of the diameter of the finger, but did not seem to spreading beyond this point. I continued to apply Abreva and clean the area three times per day, carefully cleaning my hands after each dressing change. I also wore a cotton glove between dressing changes.

By the fourth day, the lesion was red and taut, but no longer particularly painful. There was an area of open skin about 15mm x 4mm. Primary drainage had ceased. Applications of hydrogen peroxide did not show any significant super infection. However, the area covered by the lesion and cellulitis had not changed.

At that time I visited my primary care physician. He confirmed the diagnosis and prescribed topical acyclovir. He also pointed out that Abreva is useful only against HSV1 infections and this was almost certainly HSV2, therefore it would have been advisable to seek medical attention earlier. The area began to scab over about a week later, but remained red and taut for another week.

After about 3.5 weeks the scab had detached and the lesion was smooth, although still quite red for a radius about about double the size of the lesion proper. After 5 weeks the redness has faded considerably, though not completely. I continue to cover it with a bandaid and will probably continue to do so until the skin returns to a normal color. I intend to avoid contact with any mucous membrane or my genitalia for at least two to three weeks subsequent to complete visual resolution.

I experienced some malaise, fatigue, and nausea the day previous to emergence of the lesion, and for two days thereafter. The lesion was not extremely painful, probably due to the location on the proximal phalanx, instead of the common location at the distal phalanx, where it can irritate the pulp underlying the fingernail.

The primary difficulties of management were the regular and somewhat risky dressing changes, and the concern about when I could resume free use of the digit with near-zero risk.

I would recommend that anyone developing identifiable symptoms seek medical treatment immediately so as to acquire topical acyclovir as soon as possible.

Read more true stories here

Jessica Dickerson says:
April 3, 2009 at 12:37 pm (Edit)

Folks, Angela is all over the web promoting her insane idea that all people with herpes should be on antivirals. She is probably a drug rep fighting to keep people ignorant to natural approaches to health. Don’t give such people your energy.

Posted On: Lemons to Control the Herpes Virus

I have never said anywhere that ALL people should be on antivirals. I have always said that everybody is different and that the only thing that’s been clinically proven to do anything for the herpes virus is Valtrex, Famvir, and Acyclovir.

I have never been nor will I ever be a drug rep. I think you are just ticked off that I know what I’m talking about.

If you think rubbing Lemons all over your herpes outbreaks is going to help you, then by all means GO FOR IT!

In the meantime, I think it’s important to be clear here that Pregnant Women with Herpes need to have a way to keep the virus in check so that they can protect their unborn babies and have vaginal deliveries.

There are also people out there that are trying to protect their uninfected partners from contracting herpes. Since daily suppressive therapy with a clinically proven herpes antiviral reduces asymptomatic shedding by about 95% and the frequency and intensity of outbreaks all together, no.. I’m not going to tell people they should be rubbing their private parts with lemons.

Are you THAT ignorant or just plain stupid?

Giving people the facts about herpes and what is clinically proven to actually do something for OR about herpes does NOT mean I work for the pharmaceutical industry OR that I’m not open to holistic approaches.

I’m only speaking the truth and sharing the FACTS as to what I know about this virus, so I can understand why die-hard naturalists are ticked off by that. It sorta puts a damper on their business surrounding natural and alternative therapies. It sorta makes it difficult for you guys to make money now, eh? (As if their industry was not a billion dollar industry in and of itself!)

For those out there that are interested in checking out Alternative Therapies for whatever reason you think you need to be sure and do so through this resource: NCCAM

Always check with your doctor too because not everything is OK to take whether you can grow it in your backyard, mix it up in your kitchen OR obtain a prescription for it through a licensed healthcare professional.

As for Jessica Dickerson — you can just BUZZ OFF for all I care.

I’ve had HSV for about 6 months or so. I caught it from a new partner who says she had no idea she was infected. I was so annoyed and hurt that I ended the relationship but we have recently become friends again. She is still adamant that she has no outbreaks and I now believe her. Just goes to show how easy it is to pick up this bloody virus!

My initial episode was pretty bad and my Dr gave me Valtrex for it. I was then o/b free for about 5 weeks but a sexual encounter kicked it off again. My Dr then gave me Acyclovir which also worked. This cycle continued for a few months and I noticed that the medication seemed to work on the initial o/b BUT that it also seemed to merely postpone a more severe o/b until the medication had finished. At this point the o/b came back worse than ever so I decided to stop with the medication and look for another solution.

I tried Herpeset which did nothing for me except lighten my wallet considerably. I then tried Dynamiclear and have found as follows:

The 1st time I used it it cleared up a very minor o/b overnight and I was initially very happy. The next o/b was a lot harsher and I used Dynamiclear again. It cleared the ulcers quickly but I noticed that another o/b developed immediately in a new location that I’ve never had an o/b on before (I usually get o/b in two places). I treated this o/b with Dynamiclear and another o/b broke out in a new area again! This one was treated and another o/b broke out in the original place BUT this o/b is so small that I almost didn’t notice it. It consists of 2 tiny scratches and no blisters or ulcers. I have just treated this latest o/b so will have to see how this one pans out. All this has taken just 5 days which is pretty quick to have 4 separate o/bs.

I have read other reviews stating that there can be an initial game of ‘chase the virus around the penis’ but that it settles down sooner or later. I hope it’s sooner in my case because I’m bored of the game now but it could all be worth it.

This product review was sent in by Al.

Dear Angela,

My story is about my herpes that I have genitally and on my right hand. I’m 50 now and contracted both when I was about 18. I suspect that I auto-inoculated my hand or received the hand herpes from the man I was seeing. I remember going to a community clinic and getting the diagnosis of genital herpes. I was shocked by its permanence. I believe it was soon after that that I had an outbreak on my hand.

Through my 20’s I had outbreaks about every few months – both genitally and on my hand. Each time I treated with Acyclovir, but did not use it suppressively. Frankly, I don’t know whether I have 1 or 2. If I actually had a test way back when, I do not remember the results.

From about my 30’s on, the outbreaks have been very rare, every few years or less often. During my 40’s I had only a few.

I managed a 20 year relationship with my now ex-husband without him developing any outbreaks. I think it was our care. Of course, I cannot be sure he didn’t have asymptomatic H, because he was never tested.

Also, I had 2 children. My son was born vaginally, my daughter by C section due to other problems. I realize that I’m very lucky there were no problems due to herpes because even though my providers knew my condition, there did not seem to be much concern about it.

Just last week I had a very bad outbreak on my hand and it brings back to me how disabling Herpes Whitlow is. It is very painful with all of the prodrome symptoms. There are 7 – 8 blisters on my palm near the “lifeline”, so that it becomes irritated every time I use my hand or thumb. I refrain from touching anyone, my kids, friends, or patients (I’m a healthcare provider). I wear a band aid to cover it because it is so unsightly and because I think it will prevent shedding on surfaces. I worry about this even though I read that the virus does not live long on surfaces.I worry about food preparation and use mostly my left hand. I worry, too, that the band aid itself traps moisture and warmth, prolonging the outbreak. I wash my hands often and keep the right hand away from my left hand, my face and actually any other body part. I don’t shake anyone’s hand but do not explain why. Next week I go to a big conference and will continue to refrain from contact – hand shaking – because I know the blisters will not be completely cleared by then.

I would really love to hear from others who deal with Herpes on more prominent body parts such as their hands. I would also love to read studies that have more information about herpes on the hand and any risks of spreading it via contact with surfaces. I’d also like to know how far away from the outbreak site the shedding can take place. For example, can shedding occur at other areas of the dermatome?

Thank you for your helpful site. Even though I have very rare outbreaks it is important for me to remember that I am a person with herpes and need to take great care in any relationships. Right now I am between relationships and since my 20’s have been honest about my condition. Each time it is still so difficult to tell, however I agree with all your writers that say it is the absolute right thing to do. All my best to you for your good work.

Sincerely,

Anonymous

It was really good to come across your site. I got hsv1 just three months ago both oral and genital. My boyfriend was having an oral outbreak that neither of us noticed and he spread it to me. For a week I had no idea what on earth was wrong with me. It hurt like omg awful.

No one connected his oral herpes to my genital and oral. About a week went by before visiting planned parenthood. The nurse practically finished my sentences. They gave my acyclovir and one receptionist told me tea tree oil would dry the blisters fast.

My initial ob was cleared with acyclovir. I have had two more oral ob. This one right now is not going away with acyclovir. I went to walgeeens and bought tea tree oil.

I have been dabbing the oil on my lip with a q tip every 15 minutes or so. It’s been an hour and a half and that huge yellowish blister is now reduced to a round reddish spot. I am absolutely amazed and thought I should take the time to share this with you.

My name is Liz and I have genital herpes.  Four months ago, I would’ve never thought those words would escape my lips.  Even almost half a year after my diagnoses, I’m dealing with the pain, heartache, and anguish my condition has put on me and my family.

I was a happy 19 year-old basking in the excitement of almost finishing my freshman year of college.  I loved to go out on the weekends, drinking, smoking, dancing and flirting.  Just like my friends, I’d hooked up with a few guys, but I used protection usually every time.  The possibility of getting pregnant was the only thing in the back of my mind, let alone contracting an STD.

At the end of April, my school had a week-long break.  I expected it to be a relaxing time at home, so I asked a friend of mine, *Kate,  to spend the week with me.  On a Thursday night, we decided to spend the evening at my best friend, *Lisa, from high school’s college.  Long story short, we went to the bars downtown and I drank myself into oblivion while flirting with a guy I’d met a few times before, *Shaun.

I woke up the next morning completely confused.  I was laying in the top bunk in Lisa’s room, no pants on, next to Shaun. In my drunken stupor, I had supposedly broken my phone in half and then lost it. Kate had gone home with Shaun’s friend and didn’t return for an hour.  I didn’t even know until the next day that Shaun and I had sex.  Normally, I would’ve physically been able to tell but I was too hung over to notice, plus I had been on my period and couldn’t believe I would do that with a guy I barely knew.

Lisa’s parents arrived to help her move her stuff back home early that morning as I spent the next eight hours vomiting.  Surprisingly, not repulsed by my hangover, Shaun wanted to see me the next two nights.  I was a bit weirded out by the fact that I didn’t even remember kissing him, let alone having sex with him.  And I was very upset when Kate told me Shaun’s friend said Shaun didn’t use protection.

Nevertheless, I kept talking to Shaun as Kate and I moved back up to school that Sunday, phone-less and relying on e-mails to keep in touch with Shaun.  On Monday, I woke up with a funky, thick and smelly discharge.  Thinking it was one of my recurrent yeast infections, I called my mom (from Kate’s phone) and asked her what I should do.  She told me to go get Monistat and use that.  I shook it off as not a big deal and didn’t go get the over-the-counter medicine.

On Tuesday, the discharge was so prominent and the burning and itching was so painful, I decided to look through my medicine box, where I found a Monistat box I hadn’t used the fall before. Although it was expired, I used it anyway which only irritated my situation.

By Wednesday, I could barely walk and finally scheduled an appointment with the campus clinic for Thursday.  As my girlfriend went out that night to the bars, Kate and I stayed in.  I went to the restroom, to use some Vagisil anti-itch medicated wipes and to my horror, noticed at least a dozen tiny bumps.  I burst into our room and locked the door.  I immediately looked up pictures of STDs and in my desperation, I asked Kate to look at my bumps and look at the pictures.  We both confirmed they looked eerily similar.

She immediately called Shaun’s friend *Alex, who was at a party with Shaun.  She asked him if he was sure Shaun didn’t used protection.  He answered yes, and asked why.  “Shaun doesn’t have anything does he?” she asked.

“Are you kidding me?” he replied.  “No, he doesn’t have anything.  Why would you be worried about that?”

“We were just wondering,” Kate covered up. “I mean, she isn’t on birth control.  She could be pregnant.”

“Well, Shaun said she had her period, so she clearly can’t be pregnant.”

Pissed off, Kate hung up the phone and we tried to get to sleep.  I spent the whole night, doubled over in pain and thinking about going to the ER. Instead, I toughed it out and hobbled to my three hour class the next morning.  Finally, at 2:30 I had my appointment.

Waiting nervously for the doctor, I flipped through a magazine, and of course the first ad I flipped to was a Valtrex advertisement.  I got it off my mind, and the nurse summoned me into an examination room.  I explained the symptoms.  The physician assistant came in and examined me.  With one look, she grasped my hand and said, “Honey, you have genital herpes.”
I lost it.  I immediately started sobbing uncontrollably as the PA went to get the nurse who rushed in to hold my hand and wipe my tears.  The PA informed me they didn’t have the materials to do a culture test, but to come back tomorrow.  After apologizing immensely, giving me a numbing ointment, a pamphlet, and my prescription of acyclovir, I left the clinic and walked, as fast as I could, back to my dorm where I was consoled by my friends.

Kate was infuriated and called Shaun who insisted he didn’t know he had it.  Ending the conversation with, “The next time you decide to take advantage of a drunk girl, freaking wear a condom!”

Kate and my friends tried to help me decide what to do. I had to call my mom.  She was my rock, my support, my best friend, and I needed her more than anything.  Trying my hardest not to start crying, I told her that I needed to tell her something and she wasn’t allowed to say anything until I finished. I told her about Shaun, how I didn’t even know we had sex, and what the PA had told me.  She immediately drove to get me in the middle of the night.  We stayed at a hotel in my college town so I could return for my culture test the next morning.

The next day, I couldn’t barely walk.  I went to the clinic to get my culture test taken.  The nurse had to hold my legs apart, I was in so much pain.  My dad is a doctor, so I declined the pain meds the PA offered to prescribe, and my mom and I made the 3 hour trip home.  I spent the next week at home, popping pain meds, sleeping, taking warm sitz baths, and acting as though I had mono so my brothers didn’t get suspicious.  I almost didn’t return to finish out my last three weeks of school.

Although I went back physically healed, my friends tried their best to heal me emotionally by carrying on as nothing was different.  It worked for awhile, but when I returned home for the summer, my life fell apart.  I was still talking to Shaun, who had to wait three months for a blood test, and on a couple occasions, I made the mistake of having sex with him, once even unprotected.

After he stopped talking to me, I felt horrible, like no one would ever want me again.  I contemplated suicide, and my mom still insists I need to see a therapist. A couple weeks ago, Shaun sent me a text telling me his insurance expired so he would have to wait until November to get tested, although he told me he’d been tested at the beginning of July.  I saw through him and told him that I already knew he must’ve given it to me.  The fact that he put himself at risk of contracting it (by having unprotected sex with me) gave it away that he knew he already had the virus.

Today, life is better.  I have only had one outbreak, and I try my best to stay healthy to prevent any more.  My mom always tells me that this isn’t the worse thing that could happen and perhaps, it was a warning sign from God that I needed to step back and examine my lifestyle before something worse happens.  My blood still boils when someone brings up Shaun or unknowingly makes a herpes joke, but I know that I am stronger than this virus.

All those months of my closest friends and parents telling me that genital herpes does not define me have not gone to waste.  Because I have now come to terms with the fact that I have a virus, a very popular one at that, but I still am who I am.  I am still smart.  I am still beautiful.  I am still confident.  I am still optimistic.  And most importantly, I am still me.

Share your courage with others!

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday they may have found a way to flush out herpes viruses from hiding — offering a potential way to cure pesky and painful conditions from cold sores to shingles.

They discovered that a mysterious gene carried by the herpes simplex-1 virus — the one that causes cold sores — allows the virus to lay low in the nerves it infects.

It does so via microRNAs, little pieces of genetic material that regulate the activity of many viruses, the researchers report in the journal Nature.

It may be possible to “wake up” the virus and then kill it with standard antiviral drugs such as acyclovir, said Jennifer Lin Umbach of Duke University in North Carolina, who worked on the study.

“We are trying to go into animal trials,” Umbach said in a telephone interview.

The Duke team is discussing a potential collaboration with Regulus Therapeutics LLC, a joint venture between Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc and Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc that specializes in microRNAs.

Herpes viruses cause permanent infections. They head straight to nerve cells, where they stay latent for the life of an animal or person, often causing periodic outbreaks.

Herpes simplex 1 or HSV-1 causes cold sores, HSV-2 causes genital herpes, while varicella causes chicken pox and returns in middle or old age as herpes zoster to cause shingles.

Acyclovir and related drugs can suppress symptoms but only when the virus is active.

IMPOSSIBLE TO KILL

“Inactive virus is completely untouchable by any treatment we have. Unless you activate the virus, you can’t kill it,” said Bryan Cullen, who oversaw the research.

Umbach said that for still unknown reasons, viruses infecting different neurons in the same body activate at different times, making it impossible to eradicate an infection.

Her team found that a gene called LAT controls microRNAs that turn off other genes in the virus.

“The presence of these active microRNAs keep the virus dormant,” Umbach said. “When the virus is activated by stress like UV (ultraviolet) light or a wound, production of (other) genes goes up.”

Then LAT is overwhelmed and unable to keep the virus in check. It wakes up and causes an outbreak.

A drug that would turn off the microRNAs could drive the virus out of hiding and allow all copies of the virus to be killed with acyclovir, she said.

“You would have one cold sore but you would get rid of it,” she said. Curing something more painful, such as shingles, might be a little trickier, she added.

One class of drug called an antagomir might work, Umbach said. These chemically engineered oligonucleotides are short segments of RNA that can be made into mirror images of a targeted bit of genetic material — such as the herpes microRNAs. They would attach and “silence” the microRNA.

The potential market is large. An estimated one in five Americans have genital herpes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while 100 million have the HSV-1 virus that causes cold sores.

The CDC estimates there are a million cases of shingles every year in the United States alone.

Read the entire article here

Awareness & Advocacy Discussion

This article is used strictly for educational purposes. It’s not often that I repost them so when I do it just means that I think they are worth checking into.

This story was sent to me so that I could repost it to share with you on my herpes stories pages… I thought it would be nice to switch things up a bit and post a few true stories on my herpes blog so my readers could find them this way too. If you would like me to post your story please send them to me as I would be more than happy to. You are more than welcome to share a photo and if you prefer to remain anonymous that is fine too… we can just go by your first name only. Ok, this next story now begins…

I have had the herpes simplex virus type 1 cold sore since 2002. Being that type 2 is genital herpes I thought that was the only type of herpes that could be contracted from sex including oral..I was wrong. My ex boyfriend had cold sores on his mouth and without knowing he had them at the time, we had oral sex and that is how I got the disease. I didn’t know it at first. It was a few years ago so I can’t remember all of the symptoms. I just remember a burning and itching feeling down there as well as very bad chills and a fever. I went in to see the gyno and she diagnosed me with herpes type 1, vaginally.

I was devastated and depressed but I got over it quickly because I realized just how common this virus is! Then a year later I met my now husband and we got engaged a year after meeting. We planned our wedding for exactly a year from when he proposed. We then got pregnant and I was ecstatic. This was our first little bundle of joy and we were sooo happy!

Well being the worry wart that I am, that led me to think about neonatal herpes. I was aware of it from doing research on the Internet. I told my gyno. at every visit how worried I was and expressed my concerns. They blew off my concerns with “Oh don’t worry, neonatal herpes is very rare” and that was that. Even though I stated time and time again I wanted a C-section because I heard the baby would have a very very low chance of acquiring the disease if I had the baby via cesarean.

Well about a month before I delivered, the gyno prescribed Valtrex. I thought she prescribed Acyclovir which is a more mild form of the anti-viral med. So I went back a couple weeks later and she gave me an Acyclovir prescription. I took that medicine for 12 days up until the baby was born. I delivered vaginally per doctor’s advice, going against my gut instinct. Well I had NO SYMPTOMS of any herpes outbreak coming on. Truthfully, I even forgot about my whole worrying about the baby getting herpes when I was in labor. I remember the doctor telling me she was putting a fetal scalp monitor in me to monitor the baby’s heart rate I believe. But later on I read that if you have herpes DO NOT let the doctor use a fetal scalp monitor, because that punctures a little skin of the baby and the herpes virus could seep in.

Well, a week after we had our beautiful baby home I noticed a red bump on his leg that later turned into a blister. I honestly still didn’t think anything of it and took him to the doctor for his normal check up and I pointed out the blister and the doctor mentioned to me that she thought it was herpes. My heart sank at that point. All of the worrying before I had the baby came flooding back. It was like an ocean of worry that I had built up all 9 months of my pregnancy flooding me and knocking me down, when I heard those words: “I think it’s herpes”.

Without even having the blood work or any of the testing done I knew in my heart my baby had contracted the cold sore virus from me. We took him to the hospital and they did spinal taps on him and hooked him up to an IV. It was a nightmare I was living. To see my beautiful baby in a hospital, potentially dying or severe brain damage because of a disgusting disease picked up during sex. The thought of that just made me so sick- I felt the world was coming to an end for me..

My husband stood by me the whole time and was there standing strong for both me and him. Luckily he knew I had the cold sore virus and he knew how I always went to my gyno during my pregnancy scared shit. So although we were both scared and horrified, it wasn’t a guessing game as to how he got it. We stayed with our baby for 2 days before we got the results. They came back that he had HSV 1 skin eye mouth disease. So far the spinal taps came back negative- Thank God, I thank God every day. But at the same time he is now almost 5 months old and doctors say he could STILL get encephalitis or the herpes virus can come out and attack his organs. I am very angry at the gynecologists for not listening to my concerns. She should have never used a fetal scalp monitor on me, knowing that I had herpes. She was very careless with my baby and my body- I truly hate this person. To walk around with hatred is no good, but I have to worry every day about my baby’s disease..that could have been prevented provided I had good doctors looking after me.

This is a warning to all women who have herpes and want to or are pregnant. I don’t want other babies out there getting this virus. Please make sure if you choose to have a vaginal birth that the doctors don’t use a device called a fetal scalp monitor. Make sure you request herpes cultures to be taken during your last month of pregnancy to make sure that there is no viral shedding. The virus could be present with no symptoms, known as asymptomatic shedding. I think that is what I had at the time of delivery. It scares me to know that you can have the virus present at the time of delivery and not know it. The doctor can’t do a culture test at the time of delivery because it takes a few days to get the results back.

They say it’s rare for a baby to acquire the disease but it DOES happen. It happened to my baby. If you personally feel it is worth having a C-Section, because that reduces the risk of giving your baby neonatal herpes (There is still a change the baby can get the virus while he/she is in the womb..that is called in utero , meaning they acquired it in the uterus) please get the c- section. I know I will with my next. Although it is a very rare disease, it does happen. 1 in 3000 doesn’t seem like a lot, but if you are the 1 like I am out of the 3000, that ain’t nothing but a damn number. I think because neonatal herpes is so rare, doctors take a pregnant women having herpes lightly… and the consequences to that child are deadly.

Note from Angela:

Obviously I don’t agree that women with herpes should be forced to have C-sections. C-sections are major surgery and should only be used (in my opinion) as a last resort. Furthermore, a baby can not contract herpes while inside of Mom. A mother who has had herpes prior to becoming pregnant shares her antibodies with her unborn child. For those who have yet to read my herpes pregnancy story you can do so here…

I’m sure Laura shared her story as best she could but I’m also suspecting that there might be parts of her story she doesn’t understand. Even so… I went ahead and decided to go ahead and post it because after all… it’s her story to share. If you have read this story and would like to share your opinion as well, feel free to leave a comment.

Having herpes when you’re pregnant

Pregnant and worried about STDS

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I found out my childhood cold sore virus had moved to my eye after a couple of misdiagnoses in 2003 – I was 29 at the time. Extreme light sensitivity, etc. in the high altitude dessert turned my life completely around. With all windows blacked out, I slept during the day and worked from home at night with an eye patch over my affected eye, which made detailed computer work pretty difficult. Other symptoms included, redness, pain, scratchiness, itchiness, blurred vision, runny eyes, general run down feeling, horrible anxiety and depression and as it progressed – I eventually got several flu like symptoms too (in bed for days at a time, fever, congestion, etc.).

After several urgent care visits, I was finally diagnosed with eye herpes a month later by the hospital’s ophthamologist, he prescribed me viroptic and pred eye drops. I finally recovered after a couple months, but then I broke out again to the worst pain I’ve ever experienced. I cut my hair hoping that would stop the most severe headaches of my life. Doctor’s dismissed the feelings I had “in my head,” but eventually after a couple more doctors I got on oral anti-virals too (anti-virals have made an incredible difference!). It took many months to recover from that second outbreak, as I tried going off the drops and oral anti-virals, but I broke out again, and again. Finally we found some very knowledgeable and experienced doctors that got me off drops and on suppression therapy at UCLA’s Doris Stein’s Cornea Division. They have treated me like gold and I’ve gone there ever since.

Almost two years ago I moved a few hours outside of Chicago and I had only had a couple minor flare ups. We called my doctor in Cali and he said to take up to 2000mg of acyclovir if and when the virus acts up, and if it doesn’t clear right up to find a local ophthamologist. I had done very well up until very recently and I had a minor outbreak. Through a series of referrals I found another herpes specialist ophthamologist at the University of Illinois, Chicago. He confirmed my outbreak, switched me to Valtrex and I have another appointment with him in a couple weeks. I am grateful that when there is viral activity present, I now have control over it – I have become aware of what my body needs (usually an increase in anti-virals and a few days of rest/limited sun exposure), and I do well mostly on my own anymore.

I hadn’t done much of my own personal research since I first found out about my disease. I did a little online research, but mainly began therapy to get a better handle on my stress/anger issues. I was pretty frustrated there was limited information about ocular herpes, and with my first year of nothing but poor doctor advice, I didn’t want to further mislead myself with all the “miracle herpes cures” and whatnot out there. I recently did a great deal of research, though, and was pleased to find a little more info available, but I definitely had to dig past all the bogus hooey. Some of which I found was posts on herpes boards from frightened individuals – claims about brain herpes being a HUGE killer that we should all be afraid of it – that frightened me away from learning more about the very rare, extreme cases of my disease. I’ve since studied up on HSV-1 a great deal and I feel more confident that my life will go on even if I lose more vision and/or the virus keeps spreading. Actually when I read that many encephalitis (brain herpes) cases go undetected, because it is so difficult to detect, I wonder if I didn’t already have it when the headaches were so intense. All the other symptoms were there, and I was desperate enough to cut my long hair that I’d been growing out for over 10 years. I have lossed vision and at least two straight years of my life, living in a cave – herpes is not something to be taken lightly, but it’s also not something to be scared and run away from either. It is what it is, a pain in the…;) I think the best thing to do is find the best care for your body and don’t give up no matter what.

I find that generally people are scared to talk about herpes – but the majority of us have one type or another. People don’t know the dangers because they’re scared to get past the stigma or whatever; well I’ve been doing a lot of talking… Some of my family and friends seem scared of me right now for their own personal reasons, but that’s ok, my eye herpes brought about big changes, and that takes time to adapt to for people that don’t understand. (And, well, there are times when I don’t relate to them either…;) Because it’s difficult to go it alone and there aren’t always perfect support groups out there for rarer individual viral strains of herpes – I learned to seek out whatever support that’s available. I now have the best friends a gal could ever ask for and I’m always looking for more. I am so very grateful for those that have really been there for me. I look forward to being there for them too, ’cause I know I’m going to be just fine and it feels so wonderful to help those that have helped you. This is such a wonderfully informative site. Thank you Angela for your amazing contribution – I sure hope many others follow this shining example of getting the word out.

Much love and support,

Heather

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