Hey guys. Glad to hear this being discussed. My gf and I were shocked both have an outbreak of herpes 6 months into our (faithful) relationship. No idea where it came from; could have been someone from years ago, and via either of us. Until I got it, I never heard that you can get it wearing a condom. Here are some key facts that everyone should know (and I didn’t):
* 30-40% of Brits have genital herpes; c.80% have oral.
* Of those 75% won’t have any symptoms or any idea they have it. There is no test to confirm you don’t have it.
* If you do get it, symptoms settle right down for most ppl after a year or two, and sex life is still great
So it’s a (minor) risk of the modern lifestyle - if you’re not waiting to have sex on your wedding night you’re very likely to be exposed to it / have it. Toughest bit if you’re an unlucky ‘symptom’ person is that it’s got such a bad rep, and hard to know how to let people know the risk. I’ll have to see if I wind up single again!