This is a topic that is surely to quiet down any party.
The truth will make us all want to crawl under a rock, so it's understandable why so many people like to live in denial when it comes to STDs/STIs.
As a former Navy journalist (hey, I still make grammar and punctuation mistakes), I have written about this subject many times. My target audience was primarily 18-22 years old so we ran these stories, along with stories about testicular and breast cancer.
When I discovered the differences (and lack of) between HSV-1 and HSV-2, I joked how the HSV-1 team had a much better publicist.
What I mean is, how often (years ago) we would see someone with a fever blister or cold sore and never even think of it as pretty much the same thing as genital herpes. But they are pretty much the same, in fact, if you do any studying on this at all you find that the HSV-1 virus is actually a lot more trouble than the so-called genital version.
HSV-1 can show up just about anywhere, even the genitals and anus and actively outbreak. Whereas, HSV-2 if contracted orally pretty much has one outbreak in the mouth and then usually, never again.
So, I'm going to start out with a bold statement that will put a frown on everyone's face:
There is no such thing as "safe sex."
Now, I'll explain. Starting with HSV-1 (Herpes), typically oral, but more and more prevalent in the genital area. When you add up the numbers, statistics show 85% of everyone has indicators (antibodies) in their blood that show they have been infected.
However, just like it's cousin HSV-2 (typically known as Genital Herpes), there is an incredible statistic that says 80% - 90% of those who have it (20% or more people have HSV-2) and don't know it.
To clarify if I'm being confusing, what I said was about 20% of the population has HSV-2, or 1 in 5. However, 80% - 90% are asymptomatic (have no visible symptoms). There is a similar representation with HSV-1, except that 85% of everyone has HSV-1.
Lucky for them, but not for anyone else. You see most of the spreading of asymptotic Herpes happens when there is NO outbreak, thanks to a nasty little dirty trick called "shedding."
Shedding is when the contagious part of the virus decides to travel back up the nerve path and have a look around on the surface of the skin. It does so silently and without witness or remorse and does all this without an outbreak. There are ZERO signs or symptoms the carrier is infectious at this point.
Most Herpes is not spread during an outbreak, because most people are decent folks and won't have sex when they are dealing with the pain and negativity of an outbreak. This is why shedding is the real issue.
Shedding is said to occur about 10% of the time. So it's estimated that about 3 - 5 days a month shedding is occurring, it's during these unknown times that spreading the virus is most likely.
So, when you look at the statistics of the two most common STDs, 85% for HSV-1 and 20% HSV-2, there is just a huge mathematical chance that at any given point you are continuing to expose yourself. All this and we haven't even looked at the many strains of HPV (High Risk & Low Risk).
Now back to my original statement about No Safe Sex.
We've all seen the nasty photos on the internet, or those of us ex-military types all remember the boot camp slide shows of the various diseases. So it's understandable we tend to think of the infection point, or contagious area on the genitals, but, this isn't so in many cases.
Many people have their herpetic outbreak or shedding points in what's referred to as the Boxer Shorts region. And, just to complicate everything further, the actual area of outbreak or shedding is known to move around, and since there are no visible signs or symptoms no one can protect themselves fully.
I know two people personally who outbreak on their buttocks, and the other on their belly (well outside the genital area).
Add in to the mix your typical high school wrestler. Once he's grown up and has Herpes Gladiatorum (HSV-1) on his face or forehead and his down between your legs your inner thighs are now being exposed.
Another scenario, man with buttocks area HSV is in the missionary and you hold on to his rear and then switch positions and start to play with your clitoris. You have brought the virus to yourself with your own fingers.
For us men, if a woman's outbreak area is her labia, then there is no way a condom can protect us. Most condoms don't go all the way to the pelvic bone, there is usually an inch or more of exposed penis at the base of the shaft. During deep penetration there will be skin-to-skin contact.
Which brings us to the main point. HSV(s), and HPV(s) are skin-to-skin.
We are asking an awful lot of a condom. Condoms are decent at catching fluids, but are just not that effective at protecting again skin transmission. I've read there is a 35% protection rate.
There is so much bad information out there, misconceptions and even more denial.
To make matters worse, when a woman goes into her Gyno and asks for a full STD panel, they DON'T even check for HSV. How can that be, one of the most common (20% of all people) sexually (and non-sexually) transmitted viruses is not an automatic test?
I think we could come up with all sorts of conspiracy theories, but one of the answers is they don't want to cause public hysteria and the cost of testing is pretty high compared to other diseases.
Another time-bomb effect of HSV is you can catch it, not show signs and then years later you have your first visible or noticed outbreak. Imagine that, you were wild in your youth and then meet the woman of your dreams. You two are in love and have been sexually active (and faithful) over a year and then your beautiful girlfriend (or you) has an outbreak. It is only natural you would think she cheated on you. The truth is, it could have been their all along and for whatever reason decides to come to the surface.
I'm not going to go get too deep with HPV in this post, I'm sure I've lost many of you with all the words here, but I will say, statistics are showing that by the time a woman reaches her mid to late 40s there is a 90% chance she has been exposed or is dealing with complications of HPV.
Also, some basic terms you need to know with HPV, high-risk and low risk. Low risk is the HPV that is associated with Genital Warts, and High Risk is generally associated with the HPV that leads to Cervical Cancers and other cancers (throat, etc).
According to the CDC, about 12,000 women a year get Cervical Cancer from High-Risk HPV. Other cancers: 3,700 women who get vulvar cancer; 1,000 women who get vaginal cancer; 1,000 men who get penile cancer; 2,700 women and 1,700 men who get anal cancer; 2,300 women and 9,000 men who get head and neck cancers. [Note: although HPV is associated with some of head and neck cancers, most of these cancers are related to smoking and heavy drinking.]
Here is some more good and bad news from the CDC. First the bad, there is no real test for HPV. The HPV tests on the market are only used to help screen for cervical cancer. There is no general test for men or women to check one’s overall “HPV status,” nor is there an HPV test to find HPV on the genitals or in the mouth or throat.
The good news, HPV usually goes away on its own, without causing health problems. So an HPV infection that is found today will most likely not be there a year or two from now.
I know there is "safer" sex, but I think we all have to admit, there is no real safe sex. And we put a lot more on the backs of condoms than they were intended to protect against. It's easy for many people to point the finger away from themselves, but there's a good chance the finger pointers are in the 90% who don't know category.