Test for Herpes Viral Shedding? & Herpes Cure Vaccine Medical Advances?

Hi there,

I am about to start my first relationship after the one where I got herpes and it is pretty nerve wracking.

The guy in my life is just the sweetest and more loving person I've known and it is 100% in trying with me. Even when I was doubting as I didn't want him to take the risk he never backed down.

So I am trying to make sure that whenever we finally do it I do everything I need to to take care of him.

I am now taking medicine daily and condoms will be used at all time and not sex during outbreaks but I am having a problem with the viral shedding part.

I am not sure if it is because I am constantly thinking of this but I feel like I have the tickling and all the symptoms of when an outbreak is going to happen although I haven't had one for a while. So I wanted to know if there is any instant test I can do to know if the virus is shedding. I think I read somewhere about a test kit but I can't find anything else anymore.

Any ideas?

On another subject, did you guys know that Dr. Ian Frazer from Australia is having positive trials on a herpes vaccine? they are still on initial trials but they seem to be going very well. Dr Frazer is the same one that gave us the HPV vaccine, so that should give us more hope :). Thought it was something good to share.

Thanks a lot,

Heya mdellam!

That's awesome that you have such a sweet guy in your life. :) My heart gets all warm and mushy just hearing what you write. It truly feels like he's holding your heart through this, and that feels so good to me.

Do you have genital HSV-1 or genital HSV-2? If you have genital HSV-2, then the chances of you passing herpes to him with suppressive therapy and condom use is only 1%. There is twice the chance of dying in a car accident every time you get behind the wheel! Read these handouts (and the e-book while you're at it) for all those facts:

http://eepurl.com/b4IPP

And 80% of those 1% that pass herpes don't know they have herpes, so the fact that you KNOW you have herpes and can even avoid sex during outbreaks will keep your boyfriend that much safer. (People who don't know they have herpes will have sex when they have "razor burn" or an "ingrown hair" not knowing that those are actually herpes outbreaks, putting their partner at risk.)

Just to put this in perspective, I was in a relationship with my girlfriend for 3 years. We decided together to not use condoms and I was on suppressive therapy. That meant there was a 5% chance that I would pass herpes to her. She never got herpes. This is not to say there's no risk and to go willy nilly, though. :) It's just to put it in perspective to quell the paranoia. It's important to be careful, but not paranoid. Being careful means you CARE about him (which is awesome and what a relationship is all about); it brings you into your heart and body with him. Being paranoid, however, disconnects you from him and brings you into your head. Does that make sense? I love that you want to keep him safe, but just don't let that take you over into not being able to enjoy sex and be in the moment with him. Take all the necessary precautions that you two decide on then let go and have fun so you don't have to think about herpes at all.

And about the "instant herpes viral shedding test" ... That would be awesome, wouldn't it? :) I could see the iphones of the future having a swab connector (much like the Square doohickey) where you swab your nether regions and the app tells you whether you're shedding or not. And unfortunately that doesn't exist in the present moment. You just need to pay attention to your body and notice what is prodrome symptoms and what is just the paranoia masquerading as prodrome symptoms. And just avoiding sex during outbreaks will lessen the chance of spreading herpes by tons (again, read what I said above about 80% of people not knowing they have herpes — that's all tied into the 1% chance of spreading it to a male).

And lastly, about Dr. Ian Frazer, yes, those trials are looking quite promising! And let's not hold out hope too far in the future. The thing about hope is that it can have a tendency for us to put our lives on pause now and wait for something in the future to make us happy or save us. Even if these trials go 100%, the vaccine won't be to market in the US for at least 6 years. That's the year 2020. :) I don't know about you, but I don't want to wait to live my life as fully as possible. I want to live and love as fully as I can now. If a vaccine comes around, then great! If it doesn't, then I haven't wasted my precious life waiting. Ever since I first got herpes, there have been many promising vaccines and cures for herpes, but they've all fallen through so far. That's not to say this one will, too, but let's not hold our breaths.

Here are a few articles about this that I wrote:

http://herpeslife.com/herpes-cure/

http://herpeslife.com/the-key-to-being-happy-with-herpes-give-up-hope/

http://herpeslife.com/herpes-forum/discussion/3356/herpes-vaccines/p1

http://herpeslife.com/herpes-forum/discussion/1818/test-for-herpes-viral-shedding-herpes-cure-vaccine-medical-advances/p1

http://herpeslife.com/herpes-forum/discussion/2277/herpes-treatment-options/p1

http://herpeslife.com/herpes-forum/discussion/3704/research-update/p1

"I could see the iphones of the future having a swab connector (much like the Square doohickey) "

Uh - NO Adrial. My phone isn't going anywhere near my nether regions.... even on vibrate...

I don't know whether to laugh hysterically at the thought or get grossed out... LOL :D

do you think the swab connector will also be available for Android and Windows Phone? I hope so! :)

Would you have to get a new swab with each new iPhone? You know they would change the port just to make you buy more and more.

U would probay have the option to login thru Facebook and have Facebook track your data

Adrial, could you tell me what's the difference between having vhs1 and vhs2 with regard to the possibility of passing it?

All the info is right here @Julian

Handouts + disclosure e-book:

http://eepurl.com/b4IPP

excelent @Adrial u give me hopes with your history 5% and she doesnt have H.. WONDERFUL... we are not CONTAGIOUS we can live a normal life..

Ceci,

Just wanting to make sure you don't take what was said so black and white. :) Just because of my past experience doesn't mean we're not contagious. We are less contagious than we may think, though. I know that when I first got herpes, I thought every single time I had sex, even with a condom, I'd pass herpes along to the person I was having sex with AND all of the surrounding neighbors. ;) That's just not the case. And there's still a risk of passing herpes. It's important that our sexual partners know that risk and are educated about it so they can make an informed decision.