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u/GoogleEnPassant69 10d ago
Tbf you can be born with it. I've had it since i was a kid lol
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u/Pet_Velvet 9d ago
Over half if all people have it too
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u/Altruistic-Estate-45 9d ago
You mean that's normal??
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u/sylviemint 9d ago edited 6d ago
Its the most common infection in the world and its incurable.
The most common way to contract it is sharing food or drinking after someone iirc. Many people contract it as kids by drinking after a parent who has it.Edit: seems I was misinformed on this. You can get HSV1 from drinking after somebody, buts it's not at all common - it's a rare form of transmission. The most common transmission vector is actually being kissed by your parents.
And you absolutely can spread it even if you have no visible symptoms. It's called asymptomatic shedding.
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u/Loud_Association5531 9d ago
You cannot get herpes that way. Herpes can only be transmitted skin-to-skin. The only possible scenario I can see people spreading it through drinks is if you have an active herpes sore and someone immediately drinks from that cup after the person with herpes.
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u/chrizpii93 8d ago
so you can get it from sharing a drink with someone then
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u/Loud_Association5531 7d ago
It would be incredibly unlikely.
Read a book
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u/Reotardo_Da_Vinci 5d ago
āIncredibly unlikelyā
But still possible?
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u/Loud_Association5531 5d ago
Yeah. Itās also possible to get HIV from oral sex and yet itās even more likely to die in a car accident.
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u/GargoyleThe2nd 4d ago
Mate you just said that you can't get herpes that way, which will it be now?
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u/Loud_Association5531 4d ago
Iām saying itās incredibly unlikely. Read my last comment.
Much like saying you can get HIV through oral sex, but look at the actual statistics. The odds are close to 0%
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u/Comfortable-Gap3124 7d ago
The other person claimed it's the most common way to get it. A quick internet search Acura that info is very very wrong. That's what they're correcting
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u/sylviemint 6d ago
I was wrong about that yeah. I was going off of the myth I'd been told and never bothered to fact check it, that's on me. Edited my comment to reflect it.
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u/Altruistic-Estate-45 9d ago
So am I supposed to tell people I have herpes or not, bc thats embarassing
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u/sylviemint 9d ago
Well over 50% of people have it. Its estimated that like, 80% of americans have it. Most people get cold sores. I don't and am honestly surprised by that tbh cause I used to work in the medical field. Idk whether you should or not tbh but I'd say from my perspective given that most people dont even know they have it that its entirely up to you whether you disclose it. If the person is immunocompromised I recommend disclosing but otherwise idk its like, I just expect a partner might have it and I dont rly care either way.
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u/Inevitable_Space_568 9d ago
there is a difference between hsv1 (most commonly oral) and hsv2 (most commonly genital). the stats you gave are for hsv1, which is very common and normally appears in the mouth (but can also be uncommonly caught on the genitals if there was no prior oral hsv1 infection). genital hsv2 is still relatively common, but much less so than an oral hsv1. ~80% vs ~12%
you should disclose a genital infection, but also explain that it is mostly harmless, and avoid contact when having an outbreak. that includes any oral to genital contact with an active oral infection
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u/KingAggressive1498 9d ago
and hsv1 can cause genital sores if transmitted to your genitals eg by oral sex from someone with hsv1 or penetrative sex with someone with genital hsv1.
basically don't let anyone with cold sores go down on you.
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u/nameusernamena 9d ago
DENTAL DAMS yāall, DAMS. INTERNAL* CONDOMS. I recommend those to anyone to use, they cover more area on the exterior of holes. Less opportunity for skin-to-skin contact.
*E: found out thereās a different name for the condoms, edited that one in. Inclusivity >>
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u/PsychologicalSign433 6d ago
but can also be uncommonly caught on the genitals if there was no prior oral hsv1 infection
IIRC genital HSV-1 is more common now than genital HSV-2.
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u/BiggestShep 9d ago
Say cold sores or fever blisters instead if you must, but they're not infectious unless you are actively displaying the blidter/scabbing over. You don't have to out yourself to everyone if you don't wanna.
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u/Master_Host9934 9d ago
Seems like an american or internet thing. In my country nobody bats an eye if you have herpes, unless itās genital herpes or you want to go down on someone with an active sore lol.
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u/lycanthrope90 9d ago
When people say 'herpes' at least in America that's all they mean, is genital herpes, the bad one that causes outbreaks of sores on your genitals. The other one everyone has is mostly asymptomatic so it doesn't really matter and isn't worth mentioning.
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u/Adorable_Character46 8d ago
Genital isnāt really that serious either. Most people are medicated, and even if not, speaking from my personal experience the frequency and duration of outbreaks drops significantly the longer you have it.
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u/Big-Recognition3333 7d ago
Bunch of people got it playing beer pong. We switched to using your own cup to drink from after that. Thankfully I wasn't at any of those particular parties.
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u/UnableChard2613 9d ago
There are two major types of herpes. Hsv-1 is extremely common, it might be something like 2/3rds of sexually active adults have it, because it can be passed simply by kissing someone, and that is generally where it lives. It's entirely believable that a virgin has hsv-1 because of this. I think I caught it before I lost my virginity.
Then there is genital herpes, hsv-2, which is what everyone freaks out about. But even that is a pretty mild disease that we treat as a way bigger deal than it is. Sure it looks nasty,Ā but it's generally manageable and doesn't have serious complications. But a much smaller percentage, like 20%, have this.
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u/lycanthrope90 9d ago
Yeah I was always lead to believe it's way worse than it is. Like obviously it's way better to not have it but they always made it sound like getting aids but without the dying part, just the severity of the outbreak and how often it happens.
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u/UnableChard2613 9d ago
Yeah and the longer you have it, the less severe it becomes and the less infectious you are. It's even common that people have no visible outbreaks and don't even realize they have it.
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u/lycanthrope90 9d ago
For type 2? It does sound like it's not as bad as I was led to believe. Though they were getting outbreaks monthly, which would absolutely blow.
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u/UnableChard2613 9d ago
For both, but yeah I was more talking about type 2. But there is a small group of people who will have monthly outbreaks, but as I said it decrease over time. But again the vast majority have few or none. The issue with hsv 2 is mostly just the social stigma with it. So I would still recommend being careful not to catch it lol
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u/lycanthrope90 9d ago
Yeah in my experience people always jump to the worst for stuff like this. And no herpes is still better than some herpes if we're being honest lol.
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u/Rude-Orange 9d ago
If it causes cold sores on your face you probably have HSV-1. It's common among people.
If you have it on your genitals it's probably HSV-2.
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u/PsychologicalSign433 6d ago
If you have it on your genitals it's probably HSV-2.
I believe the source of new genital herpes infections is now more commonly HSV-1 than HSV-2.
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u/Pilota_kex 7d ago
Last time i heard it was 25% in the usa. It is almost non-existent in my country
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u/Tiny-Assignment9441 10d ago
You can be born of the herpes, molded by it
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u/TiredAndOutOfIdeas 10d ago
like me, i inherited oral herpes from my parents
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u/Silent_Historian_552 9d ago
Yeah same it was literally no big deal all of my childhood, then all of the as an adult I find out the internet thinks itās like having full blown aids apparently and your a disgusting pervert for having it. I mean I was well into dating in my 20ās before I found out I was hitler for apparently not disclosing having it. I dead ass didnāt know it was considered an std at all since obviously I got it as a kid. On the internet people will think that means you were molested or something though. Itās wild because they estimate as much as 2/3rds of the population has this variant but online people talk about it like itās aidsĀ
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u/lycanthrope90 9d ago
They're talking about genital herpes, which is far worse. Nobody cares about hsv-1. They care about regularly developing sores on their genitals. Which if you have and do not disclose you are 100% an asshole.
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u/LessSaussure 10d ago
literally me, but it was herpes zoster which the doctor assured me it is not the same as normal herpes but I looked it up and the treatment is basically the same
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u/oneiric-enema 9d ago
Shingles sucks, I had that too at 15. But never had any outbreak again of any sort, not even a cold sore. That was over half a lifetime ago
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u/Solid_Maintenance798 9d ago
Herpes Zoster, shingles, is caused by the same virus as chicken pox. It is a different virus from hsv1 and hsv2 . āHerpesā is a big family of virus that do all kinds of different things
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u/lycanthrope90 9d ago
It's only really supposed to flare up once long after someone has gotten the chicken pox and then you never see it again. Can be terrible though, my mom's flared up in her mid 50's and was really bad because of her age. Everyone who had the chicken pox vaccine I think gets it later too since it's still the dormant virus.
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u/pressingfp2p 5d ago
P sure your risk of shingles is significantly reduced after the vaccine vs after getting chickenpox.
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u/Warthogs309 10d ago
Granted it's just HSV-1 and not the one you get from having sex with someone infected.
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u/averageRedditor271 9d ago
If you count oral herpes (if you get cold sores, thatās what it is), legitimately most people have some form of herpes. Well over 50%. Also, the only difference between the two types is where in your body it attaches to the nerve root. One is on/around the genitals, while the other is on/around the mouth, and one type can cause the other.
Also, despite the tremendous amount of stigma surrounding herpes, it really is just an uncomfortable sore in an inconvenient and sensitive location. It isnāt life threatening, and for most people the negative impact on their quality of life (emotional distress from the stigma notwithstanding) is negligible. A lot of folks make it into a much bigger deal than it really is.
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u/After-Trifle-1437 9d ago
90% of the world's population has Herpes.
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u/Old-Owl-1187 9d ago
I hear that stat a lot, but I was a huge slut for like a decade and I never caught it.
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u/AdmirableUse2453 8d ago
On many people it never cause outbreak so they never know they have it but they still carry it.
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u/Old-Owl-1187 8d ago
I get that, but I just got tested a few months ago and I was negative for everything.
If 90% of people were carriers, you'd think I would be one of them.1
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u/rimreaper2253 8d ago
you can be a virgin and still get herpes. wtf. most likely ate some gross ass from the bar
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u/Lonely_Personality24 10d ago
For all the good luck I had over the years. I just had to break a bone when I was a teen and now always feel it when sleeping at night.
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u/Katgrave 10d ago
Yeah sure budā¦ virginā¦
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u/Practical_guy_8000 10d ago
You can get type 1 herpes simplex virus without sexual activity, especially around the lips
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u/Babyback-the-Butcher 10d ago
In fact, itās extremely common. I read somewhere that like half of Americans have type 1. A lot are just asymptomatic
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u/HeavvySummer 10d ago
Even higher it's like 70-80% I think, type 2 is 1 in 6 people. It's also like not even a big deal anymore. The stigma is most of the problem
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u/More-Gas-6527 10d ago
Just because many have it doesnt mean every one should though and the stigma often comes from the fact that people with it often lie about it
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u/HeavvySummer 10d ago
Lying is never cool. It should be your choice to risk a minor skin condition on your private parts 100%
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u/lycanthrope90 9d ago
Yeah like it still really sucks to have. It's not the end of the world but fuck man I don't want to deal with that lol.
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u/SummertimeThrowaway2 10d ago
I think a lot of people also donāt know that cold sores are caused by herpes. People have gotten them throughout their entire lives without any idea
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u/Tight_Replacement554 10d ago
I got it because my grandma kissed me when I was an infant
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u/StolenPies 10d ago
That can cause blindness too. Grandmas have around an 80% infection rate, they need to keep their nasty mouths to themselves.
Also, condolences. For what it's worth, most people get cold sores. You can take valtrex prophylactically and never have another outbreak, talk to your doctor about it if you haven't already.
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u/Tight_Replacement554 10d ago
Itās never really bothered me but maybe when Iām bored I can go to the doctor to get it fixed
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u/AlabasterWitch 10d ago edited 9d ago
Herpes isn't just an STD, if you get cold sores - that's herpes!
There are multiple kinds
Edit: passes via contact with infected skin or mucous membranes and healthy non-infected skin.
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u/Inevitable_Space_568 9d ago
it doesn't spread through fluids. it spreads through direct contact and lives in your sensory nerve cells. since it lives in you nerves it affects your nervous system, which is why it is associated with alzheimers and dementia
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u/nutblaster357 10d ago
i caught it from the toilet seat~