What if you woke up one morning next to your partner and found painful sores on or lining your privates? Panicked, you say nothing about it to your partner but immediately visit a walk-in clinic alone. Before being assessed you are asked how long you have been with your current sexual partner, to which you proudly respond “over two years.” You are then examined by your doctor, who diagnoses you with type 2 genital herpes, a sexually transmitted disease contracted during sexual encounters with others who may or may not know they carry it.
You try listening as your doctor hands you pamphlets with happy, attractive couples on the covers and goes over the antiviral medication prescribed to you, but all you think of is “how could this have happened?” Thinking how you’ve only slept with your partner for the past two years, you begin stressing, “when did my partner cheat on me?” So you approach your partner and accuse him or her of being unfaithful, who then swears to have slept with no one else. You use your herpes outbreak as evidence, but your partner stands firm.
So if you and your partner have only slept with each other for the past two years, where did the STD come from?
The truth is that the first time you experience an outbreak of herpes may not mark the start of having it. People can have herpes for years without knowing it, for your initial infection could bear almost no noticeable symptoms. Then you have a bad outbreak two years later that forces you to get herpes testing, which comes out positive. Your steady partner of two years may not be the source of the infection, but someone you slept with two, even three years ago. This complicates things, especially between you and current partner.
Genital Herpes can put a lot of strain on a relationship, as your partner is always at risk of contracting it. Your symptoms do not have to be active for you to be able to infect whomever you are sexually active with. Even if no sores are present, the disease is transmittable. Most often the virus is transmitted during vaginal, anal or oral sex. Even if the person only has cold sores, a mild form of herpes, they can give their partner genital herpes. A person with cold sores that performs oral sex can transmit their type 1 herpes to their partner’s genitals, giving them type 2 genital herpes.
But don’t look down on those who have herpes, which is more common than you think. According to the Center for Disease Control, in the United States 16.2% of people between 14-49 years of age have genital herpes. This means that about one out of every six people you meet could carry it.
Knowing this, it is important that you lower your risk of contracting the STD by making smart sexual choices. The fewer partners you have, the lower your probability of coming into contact with someone who may have it. You lower your risk substantially by always wearing or having your partner wear a condom, no matter the type of sexual contact. Remember, it is your right to insist that your partner wears a condom, especially with the knowledge that he or she may unknowingly carry the virus.
If you want to feel safe with a new sexual partner, make a joint appointment to get herpes testing in NYC. You should be comfortable and open to talking about your sexual health, as it only benefits the both of you. If you live nearby or in NYC, try this genital herpes treatment NYC located in midtown. It is just blocks away from Grand Central at 42nd Street, making it accessible via practically every train and subway line NYC public transit has to offer.
Log onto STD Testing NYC or call 1-212-696-5900 to make an appointment today. Don’t let a late diagnosis of herpes complicate your current or future relationships. Always know what’s going on inside of you, even if you feel no symptoms.
