I hate going to class with an OB

[lady412]

I'm taking up dental assisting and right now we're taking an oral pathology class (go figure) Oral pathology is the study of infections of the mouth. There i am sitting in the class with the exact same thing we're dicussing and i just felt ashamed, like they were talking about me. I'm sitting there listening to all the remarks and sounds of people saying how nasty it is and how they hope they never encounter a patient with oral herpes. You can imagine how bad i felt. I just feel hopeless, not only do i get cold sores, but they leave a mark on my face, i light skin, so it make a dark scare where the coldsores apper, i wear makeup so no one can see it , but i know its there and i find myself being very self concious. I wouldnt wish this on my wort enemy!

[WaxedWrong]

everyone has some dirty nasty secret. and one of them probably is screwing there grandfather.

i would rather sit in class and think about my herpes, then have to think about screwing my grandfather....

[dancingqueen]

I totally sympathize with you... and I also agree with WaxedWrong. There are people out there that do some pretty crazy things, like the lovely example WaxedWrong gave us!

But, like you, I hate being anywhere in public with a cold sore. Even when I go to a restaurant, where I don't know any of the people, I just think everyone is staring at my sore. I actually got my last one while I was out at the bar a week ago. I am the type of person who definitely cares about what others think of me. I even stayed home this whole past weekend because of it.

This last cold sore was really bad, and I have been under a lot of stress. I feel that this is what brings them on. Try and keep a good mind about it and remember that its not a big deal, remember how many people suffer from cold sores. I can name probably 10 people off the top of my head! Use your abreva/campho-phenique/valtrex whatever you use to conquer your cold sore and stay healthy. Cover it up to your best ability, if that is what makes you feel better... I know I feel better that way.

My boyfriend actually happens to have one at the same time as me, right now, and we are both treating them together. Hell, we haven't kissed in over a week! Its too bad, but taking the precautions to not spread it back and forth is our concern....... that would suck.

Anyway, good luck... and always remember you are NEVER alone. Half of your class probably has them!

[BoxofRain]

hey lady, I know how you feel.....its like when you're somewhere and herpes comes up and how nasty it is or when there's a group of people you dont know well and you're all talking and someone mentions someone with herpes and how nasty that person is and how they never want to get it and blah blah......it sucks...makes you feel like crawling under a rock. Since Ive got this it has happened numerous times.....twice at 2 different places I was working, once at school and also I know exactly what you mean about being in class because last fall when I was in a class we were covering different sexually transmitted diseases and spent a significant time on herpes and it was horrible to sit there, have people all saying the same thing and about how thats their worst fear and all this stuff and even a few of my classmates who I was friendly with asking me as well about "arent you so scared to get that shit too?" and in my head i was like "guess what....I have it and yes, it WAS one of my biggest fears" and after class I went to my room and cried. My teacher who was a wonderful lady, also was a doctor previous to teaching for 15 years and she opens up the discussion with "I have a joke, Im sure you've all heard.....what's the difference between herpes and love?....herpes is forever" and I was just in such disbelief that she would have even said that. So, yes I know exactly how you feel. sucks soooo bad! makes you feel horrible.....but dont worry ....you're not alone..

[ToTheMoon]

cant keep a good man down

Hello good people ,

A couple of days ago i met a young man in a wheelchair we started chatting and he told me his story ...... Living in africa our crime rate is very high this good man was hijacked and as he was getting out the car they shot him twice ....he can never walk again ....he told me he had 2 choices either give up living or live and enjoy the beauty of life ..he plays wheelchair basketball , goes out and even has more sex than most people the will to live it a beautifull thing ...... to take ones life is not the way your soul will be lost .......why suffer in this life and the next....you all have so much to offer maybe one day you will find a cure for herpes maybe even aids never give up life is gr8 drink its sweet sap .

ps "a smile a day keeps the obs away"

Anyone who judges will one day be judged and beauty comes from within

[tothefuture]

Hi Lady412

Did they not also discuss how PREVALENT it is?

If not, I wonder WHY not.

Good luck in your training.

[Jenkins22]

Believe me Lady412! You are not alone. There are probably other females in your class hiding cold sores as well. I understand where you are coming from, as I just graduated college myself, and had to go to class numerous times trying to bite my lip to hide a nasty sore. I think about cold sores all the time, and stress about getting the next one. Stay strong, and if any of you cold sore sufferers want to chat about it some more, by all means get in touch with me. I would love to hear more about what you do during that "horrible week" period.

[Kittyn81x]

I'm sure there was someone in the room just like you.

Trust me, I used to be one of those people that thought herpes was disgusting and even funny. Turns out, jokes on me .

[Guest kwest]

not to hate on the disabled, but the fact that the guy in the wheelchair is scoring broads isnt the most comforting fact to someone with a crippled penis...

thats like telling someone who recently became parapeligic that even tho you cant have guilt free sex anymore, even with herpes weighin you down you can still touch the basketball rim

possibly an asshole comment as its 6:30 am and i havent slept yet, but thats just how it translated to me...

zZz is calling

[Anonymous]

I can sympathize with you completely. In fact, an ugly cold sore is the reason I am sitting home on the computer right now and it is killing me because it is beautiful outside. I sometimes let these stupid things temporarily ruin my life. I have had them for as long as I can remember but didn't realize they were a form of herpes until high school. It was bad enough before when I thought they were just painful, ugly nuisances that everyone got at some point but after the first time I was teased for having herpes, I developed a real complex about them. My ex-boyfriend would get mad at me if I stayed home because of them, yet even he would sometimes tease me about them. I have been in social situations countless times when people joke about it...sometimes even my good friends who know I get them. It really does make you want to crawl under a rock. I hate myself for being so self-conscious but it is just so hard to forget it is there...especially when it is burning and tingling to an almost intolerable degree.

[Caliope]

Anonymous - what do you do about your cold sores?

[Anonymous]

I have tried many different things. When I was young I would use zilactin but all that did was numb the pain and didn't seem to do much for the severity and duration of oubtreaks. Zovirax ointment and pills taken together seemed to help for a while. I found something on the internet called Simply Essential that I had to order from New Zealand and started using that instead of zovirax but eventually I was bound to have an outbreak too strong for it to force me to visit the doctor again. He then gave me famvir which worked so great (dried them up really fast - within a day to a day and a half) the first couple of times but it got very expensive. I don't think insurance looks at cold sores as a very big deal so they kept raising the price on it. My pharmacist advised me to go back to generic acyclovir when I went to fill my famvir once because she saw my cold sore and couldn't believe I would pay that much to treat it. I am a poor college student but I think it may be worth it to go back. As for lysine, I try to keep some around but have never been religious about taking it every day and can't really tell you if it does anything because I have never used it alone as a treatment. I still take it just in case, though.

One thing that really seemed to help for a while was this lip gloss called city lips. It is supposed to be one of those "lip plumping" glosses and actually does kind of work for that but it seemed to help my cold sores too. It seemed like when I would run out of it I would get a cold sore or if I started getting a small one and put the lip gloss on it that it would never really blister and only leave a hard clear spot that lasted a couple days. I swear to you it sounds weird but it seemed to help most of the time. That is the frustrating thing is that nothing seems to work ALL them time. Every regimend seems hit and miss and sometimes I worry that by trying too many different ones (or the wrong one at the wrong time) can make it worse. The key (of course) is always getting it at that first sign (or starting your preparation at any time you feel stressed or get sunburned or for me if the weather changes...I always seem to get them at weather changes).

Unfortunately this last one I had came with no warning. There was already a small bump just on and below my lower lip. I tried dmso and oxygen drops this time. I also took lysine and vitamin c. I also, after about the third day started putting hydrogen peroxide on it for kicks. By the fifth day it is completely dried up and am just waiting for the scab to heal (which even though the pain is gone can be the most frustrating part). I am to the point where I am willing to try just about anything. It can just be scary to dedicate yourself to a new regimend because of the fear it won't work and you will miss the window for making your old regimends work. I am not sure about the oxygen/dmso/hydrogen peroxide but it did leave the scabs fairly flat and I never really had a fat swollen lip, which is always nice.

I apologize for the novel but I have tried so many things and if anyone else ever has any questions, I love to talk about the different remedies I've tried as well as hearing about new ones. Maybe it is good to keep the virus guessing...but you do always worry that you could be making things worse. Aternative therapies are so nice if they minimize scabbing but sometimes they just don't seem strong enough. Prescriptions can dry them up nice and you feel it working from within but are expensive and I often worry about becoming immune to them. I am just crossing my fingers that we will eventually find something that actually works for everybody all the time!!

[Caliope]

Anonymous - Thank you for the detailed response. I don't get coldsores but some of the stuff you mentioned I don't remember anyone discussing and who knows it could be the difference for someone out there. I am betting that your lip gloss has something in it that helps contain the virus or it has a great sunscreen in it so I believe you that it works. I'd stock up.

The one thing you didn't say you'd tried was Abreva. I found it to be the least expensive at Target which was under $14.00. Another that I discovered lately is Domeboro powder if you use it right away it heals the sore quickly and that reduces the contagious factor. You mix it with water and use it as a compress when the coldsore is just forming. It helps with shingles too.

I take the lysine every day at about 1500 mg. I do believe it helps. I also take Acyclovir daily suppressive medication but I usually take 3 a day at 400 mg. instead of the recommended 2 and it keeps me from getting most symptoms. Another that I strongly believe in is Vitamin C (mine has bioflavanoids) and it is because vitamin c helps your body to create interferon naturally and this fights viral infections. You can't take too much vitamin c because it is water soluble and what isn't used is removed by your kidneys.

I am one of those odd people who has had hsv for many years but not diagnosed until recently so I've had plenty of time to study my "mystery" ailment. I am healthy but in trying to follow a vegetarian diet I accidentally came across the problem many hsv sufferers agree on and it is that arginine triggers symptoms. Mine came on as itching and after eating things like nuts, grains, legumes, chocolate and corn (all high in arginine). I finally had to quit eating alternative proteins because they trigger the itching and a horrendous problem with pain from the sciatic nerve which is in your lower back.

Acyclovir is a miracle to me it makes such a difference in my quality of life. Unfortunately for some people it has awful side effects. I am one of the lucky ones who gets considerable relief from antivirals. I do take them daily without missing and I drink lots of water.

[trace]

helpful

Thanks, I think I will get back to taking acyclivor on a regular basis.

trace

[live4themusic]

Are you still following a vegetarian diet Caliope? I'm sure you can get protein separately from Arginine, you just have to know where. One of the things I don't know enough about is the content of Arginine in various foods that contain it, but I have been vegetarian for 4 years now and have been living with OHSV1 for about 7 (picked up GHSV1 just a month ago ) but I noticed the first 3-4 years of having OHSV1 I would get outbreaks every month to every 4 months. In the last 3 years I've only had maybe 5 visible OHSV1 outbreaks. I don't think the vegetarian diet has affected it that much, but I do take B vitamins and occasionally non-fish-derived Omega-3 (and 6 and 9) supplements as well, which have probably contributed to an improved immune system.

Do you feel that a vegetarian diet is making your outbreaks worse?

[Caliope]

live4themusic - My reason for going vegetarian had more to do with hating meat and being afraid to purchase and cook it and less to do with ethical reasons. I love veggies.

I quit doing vegetarian many years before finding out I had hsv because the more disciplined I was the worse I felt. It got to the point that my stomach ached all of the time and the only thing I could eat that wouldn't cause heartburn was oatmeal. I also was experiencing outrageous allergy symptoms and asthma. It may be because I don't tolerate beans, nuts or seeds very well and with the exception of oats even most grains were causing me an acid stomach.

I changed my diet back to including some meats and dairy foods and I do better. I also take vitamin supplements that include fish oils and an co-enzyme b complex, among other things. I also include flax for extra omega 3's.

I never had ob's until 2005 and I've only had two classic ob's ever. I do however get an itching sensation from time to time and that feeling like my skin is crawling especially if I eat the nuts, seeds, corn or beans.

[DanaS]

It could always be worse...

I have had a genital OB and went to class and that was an experience in of itself.