Herp-de-Derp Herpes!



Herpes.  It sucks.

 It’s caused by either the herpes simplex virus type 1 or type 2 (HSV-1/HSV-2), but usually from type 2. Usually, people don’t even notice signs of it – they don’t know it, and they got disease.  :O If the symptoms do appear, they’re usually blisters on the genitals or rectum, that’ll take a few weeks to show up.  And those little blisters burst, leaving behind tender sores called ulcers, which sucks, and those sores don’t go away for weeks. Then in a few weeks or months, that process will be repeated, but lucky for the affected person, it won’t suck quite as much the second time! :D

Although incurable, people can still get treatment for this. Treatment consists of just taking medication daily, which prevents outbreaks, and shortens them if they do occur.  If a person goes without treatment, though, the infection will spread to other parts of the body, outbreaks will become more frequent and severe. And if you’re pregnant?  You’re risking the baby’s health. The effects of HSV on fetus’ include developmental effects, pre-term labor, risk of miscarriage, and possible death of the newborn baby.

But don’t worry – YOU can prevent this terrible disease, in one of 3 ways:  talking to your partner before sex about whether they carry the disease, using a condom, or just plain, simple abstinence, the single greatest discovery known to man-and-womankind.

And just so you know, herpes looks like this:



Center for Disease Control and Prevention, . "Genital Herpes - CDC Fact Sheet." Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs). (2010): n. page. Web. 19 Dec. 2011. <http://www.cdc.gov/std/herpes/STDFact-herpes.htm>.

Jacob Garver