Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Herpes -Are You At Risk?

By Harold Ulvaeus

Genital Herpes is something you may not discuss with your friends, however, it is a viral infection that is spreading very fast, with about one million new cases per year. In the US it is estimated that fifty million people are infected with genital herpes, making it a lot more common than most know it to be.

Being diagnosed with Genital Herpes can be a real shock for many. Emotions of feeling unclean, shame, and less worthy are common.

The statistics show that if you are diagnosed with herpes, or if you think you may be, you have a lot of company. Take a look at these statistics:

In the United States about 20% of the adult population are infected with genital herpes. Somewhere around 50 million Americans. Breaking the statistics down, the rate for women is about one in four, and for men it is one in five.

Genital herpes is more prevalent than all other viral sexually transmitted diseases put together. Since a very low number, around 20 percent, know that they are infected it means that many millions are inadvertently infecting their partners with herpes.

Combining the fact that most do not know that they are infected, with another fact, that the disease can be transmitted even in the absence of symptoms, and it is easy to see how it can spread so rapidly.

Once the initial episode has passed, not everyone will ever have an outbreak again. For those infected with HSV-2, about 80% will have additional outbreaks, and those infected with the HSV-1 will have a 50% risk of having additional episodes. Typically, the number of outbreaks is about 4-5 per year.

While getting the diagnosis of genital herpes can be distressing, it is important to get a proper diagnosis which involve the proper blood tests by a medical practitioner.

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