Sexually Active With Herpes – Is It Safe?
An often severe bit of news for people who get a herpes simplex diagnosis is that herpes is considered to be a lifelong condition. Once a person is infected with herpes they are, according to the thinking of mainstream medicine at least, infected forever. Whether this thinking is actually true or not is something that can be debated (and perhaps discussed in another blog post).
For now however an assumption of lifetime infection is the standard. So what does this mean for intimacy? What does it mean for sexual activity? Well one possibility for intimacy at least is the option for dating other people with herpes. There are various herpes dating websites on the Web, and other sites as well for people with herpes to network — which sometimes leads to intimacy.
Sexual activity goes beyond simple intimacy of course and does raise certain issues. First and foremost being aware of herpes status carries implied responsibilities, including telling sexual partners that one is herpes infected. A herpes infected person who has sex without confirming their status to their partner immediately becomes legally liable and can be hit with financial damages.
Multimillion dollar judgments have been made, and settled, against people who were herpes infected and had sexual relations without divulging their herpes status. Beyond financial liability however, there is a question of morality. Ask yourself this: Would you want your sexual partner to withhold an STD diagnosis from you? Most people would say no.
Another issue with herpes and sexual activity is the increased risk for HIV infection. People who are infected with genital herpes have a considerably higher risk for HIV infection than people who do not have genital herpes, something that is not related solely to genital herpes symptoms. So a person with genital herpes should take particular care to avoid being exposed to HIV. The best methods for doing this are abstinence, and properly using condoms during any sexual activity.
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