Diagnosed at 19

[Eosino]

Hi there,

I just got my diagnosis today. I have been with my current boyfriend for 7 months. He has never had a herpes outbreak before in his life and neither have i. We both got our first outbreak at the same time. I went to the doctor and got it swabbed and it turned out to be genital herpes.

The doctor told me next to nothing about caring for myself with this virus. I have been doing a lot of research and it has helped me understand it a lot better.

My question is: what hygiene measures should i follow?

Thanks.

[how]

I'm also 19 and know exactly what your going through...My boyfriend and I have been together for over three years and we have neither even slept with anyone but each other, turns out, he used to get cold sores and he had been sick and ended up accidently giving it to me genitally...You really need to get a blood test too because the culture isn't always 100%. As for how to take care of it, just keep it dry, and wear loose underwear or just a loose pair of sweat pants or something like that. Did the doctor give you anything to numb the pain or are you even hurting? Either way the best thing to do is just keep it dry, hope this helped you atleast a little.

[boopboop]

Hey,

Hygiene wise just do same as you did before....best to clean with water or ph balenced stuff....cleaning too much will give you thrush. And always wash your hands after going near that area....but u would have done that pre-H.. so nothing changes really.

Just look after yourself...is pics of some vitamins and bath stuff that can help with outbreaks in my album. You'll be fine, herpes is just a nuisance that stops you having a sex once in a while...don't make it any bigger in your head!!!

x

[Eosino]

The doctor didn't give me anything and he really didn't say much. He didn't even sit down to tell me the news. He stood by the door hovering over me. He just said that the next time i feel an outbreak happening i should go to the clinic to get a prescription for Valtrex. Which i don't think helps me because it seems to be a very expensive drug that i can't afford right now.

I had an argument with my boyfriend this morning. He said that reading up about herpes and educating myself is making myself a slave to the virus and letting it rule my life. All i want to do is know the facts so that i know how to take care of myself. He apparently thinks that i shouldn't even be learning about what foods to eat and what foods to avoid. Please tell me he is just being negative. Even though he has Herpes too, he is being very insensitive and unsupportive about the whole thing.

I know he is wrong, but i just need to hear someone else tell me so.

[Lost321]

Claudia91,

It is important to be correctly informed. I was diagnosed a week ago, and I have been trying to become knowledgeable about it as much as I can. I have also been trying to figure out what I can do to prevent outbreaks like what to eat and what not to eat. However, I also realize as important as it is to get as much information on it as possible that I also have to eventually try to live as much a life like I used to as possible because I can't stay in my room crying or reading webpages all the time. If I do that then I've allowed "H" to control my life when I should be the one taking control... My thinking is still new with regard to "H;" I still have trouble saying the word... For yourself (as I believe for myself) it is important to get to know your body and become informed about what can help you. I've found out just from becoming a member yesterday of how supportive people on here can be. I'm thankful to know that I can come on here and just really talk about it without being judged. It's important to have support too. Know that you aren't alone, and it is a GOOD thing to become informed just don't let it prevent you from living a little. All the best

[Eosino]

My outlook is positive. I only cried about it for about 2 minutes and then i decided that there is no use being sad about it because it's going to be with me for the rest of my life. My boyfriend's strategy is to ignore it and not do much, the flaw in that is that he's not very healthy to begin with. I'm going to take care of myself and educate myself as much as i can and if he can't handle that, then it's his loss. Also, i just got diagnosed yesterday. It's very ignorant of him to tell me that i shouldn't think about it. It's going to be on my brain for a little while and then i will put it at the back of my mind.

Thanks for all the help.