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[penguinofhonor]

I mean, this is something I heard years ago, and the articles I read don't seem 100% sure, so I'd still check. But I wouldn't be resigned to a herpes fate right away.

[Vector]

-snip-

[Descan]

* Descan throws a lizard at Vector.

Booooo!

[Sirus]

Something like 90% of the US population has one form of herpes or another. Not catching it is a matter of pure luck.

wait what

Surely that's a typo of some sort.

These are herpes too

Okay, but that page gives an estimate of maybe 25-40% of the population getting it over the course of their lifetimes. Which is a lot, but nowhere near 90%.

[Vector]

-snip-

[Lord Shonus]

That figure is oral herpes only. Once you add in the various other kinds, it ranges from 60% and 95% infection rates in adults, depending on you particular location.

[Tawa]

Something like 90% of the US population has one form of herpes or another. Not catching it is a matter of pure luck.

wait what

Surely that's a typo of some sort.

These are herpes too

Okay, but that page gives an estimate of maybe 25-40% of the population getting it over the course of their lifetimes. Which is a lot, but nowhere near 90%.

It is 90%; Wikipedia gives a worldwide estimate.

I have no idea on Wikipedia's estimate but it appears to be unsourced.

Abreva, a cold sore medication company, states that 90% of people have likely been exposed to the virus, but that Wikipedia's estimate of 20-40% lifetime prevalence rate is how many have actually contracted the disease and had cold sores.

That figure is oral herpes only. Once you add in the various other kinds, it ranges from 60% and 95% infection rates in adults, depending on you particular location.

There's no way that all the other kinds of herpes combined lead to 90% infection, particularly considering that people can contract more than one kind of herpes.

[Vector]

-snip-

[Sirus]

...so, huzzah?

[Haspen]

I think I figured it out. These bumps are absolutely tiny and non-blistered, and I just looked it up online and they said it was a common allergic reaction to mangoes.

Guess who has been eating a lot of mangoes and is allergic to tropical fruit >_>

EDIT: By the way, I'm not very allergic. But it really is a better explanation than herpes, because the bumps have been around long enough that they should have swollen into blisters by now.

Reminds me when I began to fancy ginger-spiced lemon tea and in the same time developed a slight rash.

Lo and behold, I was sad when I found out I has allergy to ginger.

[TheBiggerFish]

Huzzah.  Maybe.  Ish.

[BlackFlyme]

I'm failing this semester pretty spectacularly. I also failed this same semester last year.

I haven't been trying. I probably should. I got yelled at, and rightfully so. I don't really have any back-up ideas.

I have wasted an insane amount of money on courses I have no interest in.

Fuck, I need to grow up. It's like I'm still 15.

[TheBiggerFish]

...
*pats, while secretly injecting BlackFlyme with DETERMINATION.*

Good luck.

[IronTomato]

I don't even know what the problem is, I just feel crappy. I feel nervous and on edge like there's something I need to do right this second except that obviously isn't the case. I'm trying to do other stuff to distract myself but nothing feels okay to do for some reason. What the fuck.

[Solifuge]

Oh jeez, herpetologist. Dad Joke Tier achieved.

Echoing the fact that Herpes Simplex 1 is incredibly common, and pretty benign. Many people are asymptomatic carriers, or are just unaware they have it, but the majority of humans are infected one way or another. This is partially because parents are likely to pass it on to their kids through normal parenting. Not long ago, I discovered that I "inherited" it, as did my sibs. I lucked out, and only get a single sore way back behind where my gums meet, and it's been dormant and non-contagious for most of my life, excepting when my immune system is really compromised. Learning that did stress me out, but at least I've not likely exposed anyone to it, and it's not a particular health concern.

As for the social side, the Chicken Pox virus causes a form of Herpes too (H. Zoster), and are similarly never "gone" once you've been infected. I'm guessing the reason there's no stigma there too is because we don't associate Chicken Pox with sex and intimacy. Hell, some parents (like mine 9_9) intentionally infected their kids with Chicken Pox at Pox Parties, due to mistakenly thinking they were protecting them from getting Shingles later in life.

In any case, we'll probably be able to affordably treat the serious retroviruses once current gene therapy tech matures and lets us target the dormant viral RNA. Once it's cheap enough, maybe even non-serious ones like HS1 can be treated too.

EDIT: After a fact-check, it looks like HS1 isn't a retrovirus. It dodges the immune-system by staying dormant in nerve cells, which complicates potential future treatment options a bit.