I would really like to address the issues of pictures of herpes on the internet. What you will find is that many of the first sites that come up in Google, Yahoo, Bing (and the rest of the search engines), have managed to find the most inflammatory hideous pictures of herpes you could imagine. This does a great disservice to those of us with HSV for a few reasons.
First, having first being diagnosed with the virus many of us will search the internet to see what we can expect our herpes outbreaks to look like. Stumbling across these sad and ridiculous photos can be terrifying and intimidating. The vast majority of herpes symptoms do not actually look that bad. In 20 years, 99.99 percent of my outbreaks have looked like small blisters or sores and are nothing to be afraid of. Only once did I have a bad outbreak on the back of my knee (yes, the back of my knee, who knew?!) and I of course managed to keep it bandaged for the several weeks it took to heal. This particular outbreak came at a time when I was probably under the most stress of my entire life. I was 18, my parents were getting a divorce after 17 years of marriage, my younger siblings were in chaos and I was just about to depart on a one year tour of West Africa ALONE. So yeah, there was probably a reason that my body reacted with a herpes outbreak of such severity. Never before has it ever reappeared and trust me – between my own marriage, kids and work, there has been tons of stress.
Second, after telling a partner that you carry the virus (which you know you have to do! Before you have sex!), the partner will often search the internet for pictures of herpes and this is ridiculous because what they find could turn them off sex forever. When you are having a calm and rational conversation about spreading herpes and the risk of herpes transmission it wouldn’t hurt to mention that pictures of herpes outbreaks on the internet are not in any way a good source of information.
I have chosen not to post photos of herpes on my blog because I don’t think it’s necessary. Most people already know what a facial outbreak looks like (aka: a cold sore) and vaginal herpes outbreaks can be easily hidden and never seen. As I have only HSV2, none of my partners has ever seen one of my vaginal herpes outbreaks. They are my business and not for show and tell.
Many sexual health clinics will offer brochures or pamphlets that contain realistic photos of herpes. Stick with these and you can’t go wrong. With any luck, you will get your symptoms of herpes under control and never have to see another one.
Good luck!
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