Last week I was diagnosed with genital
herpes. Aside from the devastation and
feelings, I had lots of questions for my
doctor. She informed me that by taking
acyclovir once a day i would have little
to no outbreaks again. But any sex I have
must be protected by a condom. Which was
expected. I got it from my boyfriend, who
had it for years I guess and never knew it
(no symptoms), so I asked my doctor about
sex between him and I, since we are both
infected, how does that work? She replied
that even though we are both infected we
must use protection every single time
still because if not then we will just
"re-give" the infection to each other over
and over again and it will get worse and
worse, even if we are on medication. When
I told this news to a few close people,
they disagreed and suggested I get another
doctors opinion. Any thoughts or answers
to this?
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braizzle
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 21 Jan 2008 Posts: 12 Location: , USA
Posted: 01-21-08 13:11pm
it's not that you'll "re-give" it. you
already have it! it's a virus, and it
never goes away. But, it is possible to
infect other parts of your body. Right
now the virus is centralized in one
location on your body, but with careless
activities, it can spread, which could be
what she means by worse.. Besides that,
your body builds antibodies for the virus,
so the longer you have it, the more your
body is able to supress it, so to say that
it gets worse in that regard is bogus. So,
at this point, it's really more of a
personal decision you and your boyfriend
would have to make. Do you want to use
condoms or not? are you willing to take
the chance that the virus will spread...
perhaps down your thighs? you're dealing
with a situation where the negitive
effects are slim, but possible. and it's
up to you how careful you want to be.
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Rosie H
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 1160 Location: Phoenix, AZ, USA
Thanks: 18
Thanked:9
Posted: 01-21-08 13:32pm
i disagree with your doctor also. Since
you are both positive you cannot keep
giving it to eachother...you already have
it. Since you are in a committed
relationship and you are both positive
there is reallt no need for condoms.
The only thing you both SHOULD NOT DO is
have sex when there is an active herpes
outbreak. You can transfer the SORE back
and forth and cause an outbreak over and
over again....maybe thats what she meant?
If you are having sex with someone else
that doesnt have herpes then yes condoms
are a must. Also if your partner did not
have herpes then condoms and medication
could drastically prevent giving them
herpes....
But in a committed relationship like yours
its really not important.
