Men's Health: Living With Herpes

If you are a man with herpes, you have to learn how to suppress your outbreaks. Also, you have to learn to handle dating and relationships in a healthy and responsible way.

Herpes is a disease that affects five times more men than women in the United States, and while it is a condition that has several treatment options, there isn't a cure.Herpes can be transmitted from one person to another through oral-genital contact, oral-oral contact, or genital-genital contact.While it is less common, skin-to-skin contact can also transmit herpes if an open herpes sore comes in contact with an open wound.Herpes is an STD that affects a large number of men, and it can be very hard to cope with because it carries a very negative stigma with it.Men with herpes often feel that they are stereotyped as being dirty and scummy.It can be extremely challenging for men with herpes to have success in the dating world, and for married men, it is a major challenge to prevent the spread of the disease to an uninfected spouse.However, herpes can be coped with, and men with herpes can go on living and enjoying life as long as they learn to deal with their disease in a healthy and responsible way.

For single men with herpes, the dating scene may seem like a complete nightmare.Even if you were the most suave lady's man in town before you got herpes, it is likely that dating with herpes is going to be a precarious challenge.While it may be tough to take, the fact of the matter is that there are going to be men and women who do not want to date you for the pure and simple reason that they do not want to be put at risk for contracting herpes.Can you blame them really?Would you have been eager to have sex with someone with herpes before you got the disease?While you clearly did make that mistake, chances are you did not know at the time that you were engaging in a sexual activity with someone who had herpes.It may seem easier to you to keep your disease a secret from potential sexual partners, but you really shouldn't do that.For one, if you are considering getting into a serious relationship with someone, you don't want to build your relationship on lies and secrets.Plus, even if you are using a condom, you are putting your sexual partners at risk, and they deserve to know that (don't you wish you had been granted that pertinent information prior to getting it on with someone with herpes?).While it is true that dating is going to be more challenging for you now that you have herpes, you can still find love and happiness with someone who will accept your disease and your past indiscretions.

Herpes is a preventable disease, and that fact can be one of most frustrating realities for men who suffer from it.Practicing safe sex can greatly reduce the risk of herpes infection, and obviously, abstinence is the most powerful form of protection (for unmarried or uncommitted men).You should know the men or women that you sleep with before you sleep with them, and by "know them" I mean that you should know that they have tested negative for any and all STDs.Casual sex just isn't worth the risk in this day and age - you are better safe than herpes-ridden and sorry.Unfortunately, many men find that out the hard way.They wake up one morning to painful tingling and itching in the anal or genital area, accompanied by clusters of tiny fluid-filled blisters.Other symptoms include painful urination and ejaculation, headache, fever, aching back, and swollen glands.These symptoms vary in severity from patient to patient, but they often last for as long as two weeks, and recurrent episodes can be anticipated for the future.

Since herpes cannot be cured, if you have herpes, you have to assess the best treatment options.If you have herpes, you are not expected to just "tough it out" during your possibly frequent and painful outbreaks.Suppressive and episodic medications are available to help make life with herpes more livable.Antiviral medications can lessen the intensity of your outbreak symptoms.

© Demand Media 2011