Herpes -Are You One Of 50 Million?
by Harold Ulvaeus

Genital Herpes, having a bit of social stigma attached to it, may not be something openly discussed. The truth is that Herpes is much more common than most people think.

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

Rest assured, that even though Herpes is a life long infection, you are far from alone.

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.

After the initial episode, those infected with HSV-2 have an 80% rate of reoccurrence. Infections caused by HSV-1 have a lot lower risk of reoccurrence -about 50% will have a reoccurrence with 4-5 outbreaks per year being the average number.

While it can be tempting to self diagnose, using pictures found on the internet as a comparison, Herpes should be diagnosed by an experienced clinician utilizing proper testing.

Not everyone knows the Herpes Symptoms Signs sometimes people believe that Herpes Look Like A Pimple. Get more Herpes Information Today see us at What Does Herpes Look Like, our lens.