Herpes is very common.
TRUE! More than 50 percent of the adult population in the United States has oral herpes (a.k.a cold sores or fever blisters). Most people become infected with oral herpes as a child when grandma or Aunt Sue kisses them on the mouth when they were unaware they were contagious. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 16% (one in six) persons ages 14-49 in the United States has genital HSV-2 infection; however, as many as 90% are unaware that they have the virus.
If you wear a condom you can’t get herpes.
FALSE! Condoms give great protection against the STD’s spread by fluid (vaginal fluid and semen) and help reduce the spread of Herpes, but unfortunately condoms do not cover all of the genital skin. Herpes is transmitted through direct genital skin-to-skin contact.
Anyone who is sexuality active can become infected with Herpes.
TRUE! While it is more easily spread from males-to-females versus female-to-male, anyone can become infected. That’s why more females (21%) have HSV-2 than males (11.5%).
Herpes can only be spread when someone has an outbreak.
FALSE! Someone can be asymptomatic (have no symptoms) but have viral shedding on the mouth or genital skin. This means that the virus can be spread at any time.
You can get herpes from a toilet seat.
FALSE! There are no documented cases of anyone getting genital herpes from objects such as a toilet seats, bathtubs, or towels. Herpes is a very fragile virus and dies quickly outside of the body.
Herpes tests can determine where you will have an outbreak.
FALSE! There are several different tests (viral culture, DNA, and blood tests) that can be performed by a medical provider, but they cannot tell you when you will have an outbreak or where it will occur. For more information on Herpes visit this website.
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