Is it normal herpes
So i posted recently because a new partner infected me with the herpes virus. Since then, I have done a lot of research - it seems to be an incredibly common and harmless thing, but one which has huge stigma attached.
It seems to me that if everyone who had viruses like this admitted it, there would be no stigma attached and life would be less painful for those who have it (the majority, and the vast majority of whom don't even know, according to statistics). There's a lot of misinformation out there - but basically, if you ever had a cold sore as a kid, and then had oral sex with someone years later, you've exposed them to herpes. Even if it was years ago. So shouldn't we just get over it?
On the other hand, I think people should disclose their herpes history to partners (cold sores, genital herpes, whatever). If we all talked more, it wouldn't be such a big deal, and people would accept it as a spot on their genitals and decide whether they were ok with that or not. If the guy who infected me had told me, I would have waited longer to have sex with him, decided whether we were compatible and it was worth taking the risk, and then made an informed decision. I think it should be on the same level as knowing your partner gets angry easily, or lies, or has a controlling mother - something slightly unpleasant, but normal, but something which you should have a choice about getting involved with. IIN?