
Two-thirds of the world's population under 50 have herpes - Futurebot
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/28/us-health-herpes-idUSKCN0SM2UW20151028
======
nommm-nommm
Herpes is said by some to be an early example of "disease mongering" to sell
medication.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herpes_simplex#Society_and_cul...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herpes_simplex#Society_and_culture)

Herpes simplex was not always stigmatised. It was merely a cold sore in an
unusual place until the 1970s. As late as 1975, a study of "Psychological
morbidity in a clinic for sexually transmitted disease" does not mention
herpes simplex because at that time, no significant morbidity problem (i.e.
mental anxiety or illness) was associated with the virus.[98]

Pedro Cuatrecasas states, "during the R&D of acyclovir (Zovirax), marketing
[department of Burroughs Wellcome] insisted that there were 'no markets' for
this compound. Most had hardly heard of genital herpes..." Thus, marketing the
medical condition – separating the 'normal cold sore' from the 'stigmatized
genital infection' was to become the key to marketing the drug, a process now
known as 'disease mongering'.[99][100]

Since the creation of the herpes hype, some people experience negative
feelings related to the condition following diagnosis, in particular if they
have acquired the genital form of the disease. Feelings can include
depression, fear of rejection, feelings of isolation, fear of being found out,
and self-destructive feelings.[101] These feelings usually lessen over time.
Much of the hysteria and stigma surrounding herpes stems from a media campaign
beginning in the late 1970s and peaking in the early 1980s. Multiple articles
were worded in fear-mongering and anxiety-provoking terminology, such as the
now-ubiquitous "attacks", "outbreaks", "victims", and "sufferers". At one
point, the term "herpetic" even entered the popular lexicon. The articles were
published by Reader's Digest, U.S. News, and Time magazine, among others. A
made-for-TV movie was named Intimate Agony. The peak was when Time magazine
had 'Herpes: The New Scarlet Letter' on the cover in August 1982, forever
stigmatizing the word in the public mind.[81] Herpes support groups have been
formed in the United States and the UK, providing information about herpes and
running message forums and dating websites for sufferers. People with the
herpes virus are often hesitant to divulge to other people, including friends
and family, that they are infected. This is especially true of new or
potential sexual partners whom they consider casual.[102]

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pravda
If you get the cold sores, get the Abreva®. That magical balm knocks 'em out
like Tyson deckin' your grandmother.

Can anyone explain this: "That is because improved hygiene in rich countries
is lowering HSV-1 infection rates in childhood, leaving young people more at
risk of catching it via oral sex when they become sexually active."

~~~
robbrown451
If you get it above the neck, you are immune to it below the neck. So having
occasional cold sores (being one of their two thirds) is actually a good
thing....one less thing to worry about.

~~~
dansky
Actually not. There are multiple strains for each type. A HSV-1 "above the
neck" infection does not prevent a HSV-2 infection below the neck.

[http://www.jci.org/articles/view/57148](http://www.jci.org/articles/view/57148)

~~~
e12e
I took gp to mean that HSV-1 "on top" renders one immune to HSV-1 below, _not_
HSV-1 _and_ 2 below. And that appears to be true. Interesting that 1 and 2
appear to be "assymetrically" related, from your link: "As HSV-1 and HSV-2
have similar pathogenesis and host interactions, many of the concepts for
development of an effective vaccine are likely relevant to both viruses. In
addition, infection with HSV-2 provides _partial_ protection against HSV-1,
although the reverse does not appear to be true, and thus there is potential
for generation of cross-reactive immunity. The possibility that an HSV-2
vaccine may provide protection against HSV-1 increases its potential value and
may shift the optimal time for immunization to early childhood, instead of the
more problematic adolescent vaccination series." (My emphasis, references
removed)

[ed: to add, I'm not entirely sure on how/if hsv-1 (the same strain of hsv-1)
can "move" \-- I recall sex. ed. stating that the most common cause of HSV-1
in the genitals and eyes were self-induced -- but that might have been the
other way around (HSV-2 moving from the genitals to the eyes)]

------
fredfoobar42
Herpes Simplex. If you get cold sores, you have Herpes Simplex. It's not the
STD version.

~~~
graeme
Sort of. Oral HSV-1 can spread to genitals during oral sex. The article notes
this is becoming more common.

As for HSV-2:

    
    
      -More than 80% of people with herpes are undiagnosed
      -Overall prevalence by the time people reach their forties is 26%.
      -In the general population, one-fifth of women and 11.5% of men are infected.
    

[http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2011/04/latest-genital-
herpes](http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2011/04/latest-genital-herpes)

------
swang
I can never tell how worried I should be about HSV-1. If it's in the mouth
it's relatively normal but if it spreads to the genitals, that's bad?

~~~
proksoup
Yup.

And don't lick someone's genitals if you have it in your mouth.

And before you let someone lick your genitals, ask them if they have it.

~~~
cordite
How does one diagnose whether they have it orally?

~~~
wavefunction
re: roel's post

Herpes outbreaks are not necessarily apparent visually, which is true for both
hsv-1 AND hsv-2 ("genital herpes").

The only way to really know if you are infected is to get tested during an
outbreak, which is not always easy to do as outbreaks do not always correspond
to visual cues. So you either need to trust the person you're intimating with
or you need to take precautions, which also don't always prevent infection.
Condoms reduce the transmission rate, for example, but don't preclude
transmission to areas of the body not covered by the condom.

~~~
ryan-c
You can get a blood test for IgG antibodies without an outbreak that will
differentiate between HSV-1 and HSV-2.

------
oxplot
The source of this news article:

[http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/herpes/en/](http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/herpes/en/)

------
techaddict009
My fiance has it, should I worry about it?

Is there any proper cure?

I dnt want that me or our future baby gets it.

------
throwawayt1me
(This is being heavily downvoted, I'll try to edit but may end up deleting.)

So I don't have herpes (EDIT: SIMPLEX, what nearly everyone has), and I
realize it's not a big deal whether I do or don't. I do know I'm in a minority
of adults who are in situations to regularly hook up with strangers, people
who don't happen to have Herpes, and it's probably due to the fact that I
don't actually do so; I'm very picky and basically don't hook up with
strangers, just people I happen to know already or be introduced to, OR
hitting it off in very rare cases, by really sharing something personal. In
the past this included colleagues! (not very serious work.) What I mean is
that if I hooked up wtih strangers even a few times - let's say 10 times in 4
years - then I'd probably have it by now.

My reasoning is that given like 80% infection rate, pretty much if I'm going
to hook up with people who experience even the tiniest element of network
effect, then I'd expect to get it fairly soon.

so far my strategy is just to hold out until I meet the right person, who is
similar to myself and has had just a few sexual partners and longer
relationships. I was married previously, for example, for several years. (I'm
in my very early 30s.)

But I do feel like I might be missing out.

What do you guys suggest I do for more casual dating, other than starting from
the pool of people I happen to know or coincidentally run into, or meet at
parties or clubs but really, really share something with; rather than the pool
of strangers ready to hook up? Given that nearly everyone has it, I'm just not
ready for it.

By the way I'll go ahead and get it from someone if they're interesting enough
to be in a long-term relationship with; big deal, luck of the draw.

But if I don't have such a specific person in mind, I'd rather apply that
filter first . . . (or my version). maybe there should be a dating site for
people who happen _not_ to have it! we're certainly a minority.

~~~
rohansingh
This article is about the HSV-1 virus that causes cold sores, not genital
herpes. It has nothing to do with being "attractive" or "interesting".

~~~
throwawayt1me
I'm talking about cold sores!

Also, I didn't realize that was what was causing the downvotes. What I mean is
that it's easy for me to hook up with strangers, and if someone is attractive
and interesting I'd assume it's easy for them to hook up with strangers as
well; so the only question is whether they want to. (or I want to.)

The reason I mentioned that is that I thought the main vector was open-mouthed
kissing.

~~~
nommm-nommm
I've had cold sore since before I could remember and certainly before I ever
open mouth kissed anyone. Kids often get them from being germy kids. There's
really no point in worrying about it because you probably already been
exposed.

Take it from me, I have chronic cold sores and while they suck there really
isn't much use in worry about it. Most people don't get chronic cold sores, I
am in the slim minority.

