So herpes came up at work

Hi all,

I wanted to write this post because for the first time since I was diagnosed in June, herpes came up at work. I work in healthcare and it came up because one of my coworkers was describing a patient's symptoms to me and what tests the doctor had ordered. The symptoms were that of a classic primary HSV OB. The doctor had ordered gonorrhea/chlamydia and syphilis tests.. that's it.. I was dumbfounded but now know that so many health care providers are totally clueless about HSV. So I suggested that before any tests get done that she call and ask him to order an HSV swab.

I had the opportunity to educate several people at work today about HSV, how common it is, and some of the statistics. I would not be comfortable telling them *how* I know all of this, but I was comfortable telling them the facts. One thing that the girl, who was going to be collecting the tests, said that bugged me was that she was going to double glove and when talking about the lesions (I told her to try to get fluid from one for the best results) that it was gross. I was offended at first. Inwardly, I did not display this outwardly. But the more I've been thinking about it, the more I realize - she wasn't calling the *person* gross, she was simply saying the *lesions* are gross. Which in reality for a primary OB, the way she described it, they very well may be gross! Because lets be honest, lesions aren't pretty! Coworkers and I have referred to wounds and other things as gross before, without meaning that the person is gross or judging them, so I tried to ask myself "why should this be any different?".

Of the few people I talked to about it, all but one were surprised about how common it was (threw out that 1 in 6 people have it when its caused by HSV2 and even more if you count the rising HSV1 cases). I told them she didn't need any special precautions, just the standard, because you can't get it from anything except skin to skin contact. So unless someone is touching her genitals then they're fine.

I feel somewhat empowered that I didn't let this ruin my day like I could have. I'm still struggling on a daily basis to accept my diagnosis and to live my life happily without thinking about this constantly. So for me, this was a success, and I just wanted to share!

I think this is just awesome! What a great opportunity (not your last, I'm sure) to help get some facts out there. I'm envious of you being in the medical field in a way....if I sounded that knowledgeable at work, surely everyone would know why! The fact that you were able to mentally separate the gross comments and see them for what they were, rather than taking it personally, also speaks volumes to how far you've come since your diagnosis. :)

@HikingGirl thank you! I had my plan that if anyone asked I would either say someone close to me has it or that I know multiple people who do (which technically through this forum, I do). I keep moving forward every day and trying my best to get back to my old self