Gettyimages.com/ a herpes virus
Sexually transmitted diseases should, obviously, not be treated as no–big-deal. Many can have long-term implications for health, and we should, of course, take all the action we can to prevent the contraction of STDs or, if we have them, to prevent spreading them. STDs are serious, but I don’t like the way our culture pushes them into a dark corner as if those who suffer from them must be bad, irresponsible, and gross. Anyone who is sexually active is at risk of contracting STDs. In fact, fifty percent of people under the age of 25 who are sexually active will contract an STD. Furthermore, an estimated two-thirds of individuals between the ages of 14 and 49 have herpes type 1. If we’re going to push these individuals into dark corners, well, the streets will actually be a pretty empty place. Herpes is highly contagious and incurable, two facts that have created a lot of fear and misinformation around the disease. Here are stigmas and falsities about herpes.
Gettyimages.com/Curious couple flirting at party
People with herpes are promiscuous
You only need to sleep with one infected person to contract herpes. Also, for the record, herpes type two is mostly contracted when a person with type one performs oral sex on an uninfected individual. So, someone with herpes doesn’t necessarily need to have a lot of intercourse to contract it.
