Shedding?

[Guest kwest]

so whats the real deal on shedding?

i had my primary ob between christmas and new years and so far no secondary ob

i still wash with rubber gloves in the shower and i fear my dick touching my legs/balls/stomach in any way, shape or form, and i dont want to live like this...

whats really goin on with shedding?

where do you shed from?

how often?

is it as strong as touching active sores?

have you shed it to yourself?

from what i understand, i'm only contagious to myself and others when i'm a) shedding or in an outbreak...

and of course outbreak means crazy lockdown and attention to detail to avoid infection, but how do you live with the randomness of shedding?

do you masterbate?

are you comfortable scratching your leg without thinking whats now on your finger tips?

i'm scared to even hold my dick while i piss...

someone crack an egg of knowledge on me, help me out some

[BoxofRain]

Im just as crazy as you are when it comes to not wanting to spread this to any other part of my body or to anyone else. I take a lot of precautions as you do and it drives me crazy but I dont want to risk it. Some people will argue that shedding only occurs a small percentage of the time but it is different for everyone and there is no way to tell when you are shedding....you can guess and it is easy to also assume you definitely are if you feel any symptoms or predome type indicators but what about the rest of the time? I never get predomal symptoms, nor do I get typical outbreaks so there is no phase my outbreaks go through and that is even harder to know when its there and when its not so I totally understand where you're coming from. I just like to be careful.....make sure to wash your hands often with soap and water, make sure you have no open cuts, or anything with exposed skin of any kind on your hands or around your nails if you do touch yourself. It sounds insane but on a few websites for prevention they recommend wearing latex gloves for masturbation and mutual mastubration.....for me that is not something id want to do.....cant get less intimate than that in my opinion.....plus it would just freak me out....like i was at the doctors or gynecologist..yuck! But for people who really want to ensure proper precautions Im sure some do that and are fine with it....maybe just got used to it or something, but not me. There are also a bunch of people who will say just dont worry about it, make sure no cuts on your hands and just wash your hands afterwards but id rather not risk it. I have noticed though just through washing carefully when I have the rash (which is how I get outbreaks) that even always using soap and water I have spread it slightly to an area directly under where the rash always occurs.

As for times other than washing and touching, I would try and not worry too much about it. Always wash any clothing, or bathing suit that comes in direct contact with the area, sleep in boxers, not nude if it freaks you out.....I only sleep in underwear that covers the areas completely because it freaks me out too. Never use a towel to dry off that area and then dry another part of your body off after.....wash it right after. Also, dry off the parts affected last, after drying any other parts off. Just simple stuff that is such an annoying inconvenience to live life like ....but Id rather be safe than sorry. Try and take your mind off it and not focus on the areas other times and over time you will become a little less paraniod but still will continue to take precautions. I am trying to not worry as much about it myself but still do everything i said above. wish there was a better answer that would make things easier.......Im sure you will get other posts telling you to not worry about it and statistics about shedding and stuff but everyones body is unique and very individual when it comes to this so shedding for one might occur 1% or 4 % of the time and for someone else it may occur 15% of the time when an outbreak isn't present.....theres really not a standard you can safely use as a specific guideline ........and also even if you did want to say people only shed a small percentage of time.......theres no way to indicate what days out of that percentage its happening so just try and take simple precautions and not let it ovetake you daily activities.

[katb]

Hi Kwest,

It seems to me that you slightly overestimate the chances of spreading herpes to other parts of the body, especially when you are asymptomatic. Asymptomatic viral shedding occurs not only for persons with genital herpes, those who have oral herpes also shed the virus (from oral area). Oral herpes is extremely common, more common than genital, and people are not concerned about spreading HSV to other parts of the body when they have no cold sores.

In fast, HSV-2 rarely causes complications or spreads to other parts of the body. And it is not simply a statistics. When you acquire HSV, the body produces antibodies that can protect other parts of your body from infection.

To make sure, you can ask the members of this board if anybody ever spread the infection to other areas of skin.

[vegemotion]

Too much paranoia

I have also read that with regular hygiene shedding herpes will not spread around the body. This obviously is not always the case, but it is so rare there is no reason to worry about it.

These viruses are microscopic. Do you really think that these viruses have not gotten on your nose, mouth, or other parts of possible infection sites? The immune system helps protect us from viruses every day, including herpes.

If herpes was as crazily contagious, with no ob present, as box of rain makes out, then I bet every person on this board would be just an full on open sore. In the eyes, mouth, fingers, elbows...everywhere. But this is just not true.

I am not saying to abandon precautions, but just be reasonable about it and not be completely obsessed about it spreading.

[Makeitgoaway]

Box,

Just because you noticed another spot near the original OB doesnt mean you spread it there. One thing I have noticed from this board is how paranoid it can make one. Sometimes too much information is bad.

The vast majority of people never see this stuff spread through general cleaning/ touching. I am sure there are the exceptions but doubt it is the rule. After joining recently I have noticed myself getting much more paranoid about things. I cant let this happen. cautious yes, paranoid and scared that I will be a walking sore or worse no..... I cant.

M

[Caliope]

I'd rather someone give me all the what-if's so I can make sure I cover all of the bases. It's amazing how we all see things so differently and a different point of view can shed light on a better way of conducting one's self. I don't want to criticize what works for some people. It's often better to be safe than sorry.

I estimate I've had hsv for 11 years. I did not know what it was for at least 8 of those years. In all of that time it spread only slightly. It did not go rampant on my body or all over my entire genitals. I maintained normal hygiene habits. I spread a little of it this year when I shaved the bikini area during an ob. (bad idea)

Wash your hands. Be aware of washing up after sex. If you have an ob be gentle with your self maybe use a hair dryer to dry tender areas instead of rough towels.

[Makeitgoaway]

All the "what ifs" can be paralyzing. Be careful, yes. I find if I read to many stories that I dont even want to shake someones hand. Not all stories are varifiable and or accurate. Like your shaving incident.

It could be that the OB was especially bad and it just happened to errupt in that spot that time. It may or may not happen there again. There is no way to know from one OB to another what or where this shit will hit. You know the general area but that does not always work out that it is in that one spot everytime. I dont want to feel like I can't shake someone hand.

If that happens I will never leave the house.

[gutted.]

until i started reading this board i took no precautions - basically because i didnt know i had to...

id shower norammly, wank normally, scratch my balls if they itched etc etc.

never spread it to any other parts..

since reading this board, ive became so paraniod about self inoculation.

lol - like sumone said too much info can be paralyzing

[BoxofRain]

everyone experiences their herpes experience very differently and no one has the right to say what or what isnt too many precautions. If you dont like the advice given, simply do not follow it. Its that simple. I also forgot to mention that having symptoms occur in one place and then another, depending on the location, can be from the virus traveling the nerve pathways. In the genital area there are many nerve pathways that cover a large portion of the area. That is why symptoms and outbreaks can extend anywhere in that region, such as being on the penis or vagina and then the next time, or even ocassionally simultaneously occuring aournd the anus or further up towards the lower back. So, in my first post when I explained how I noticed symptoms in an area other than the region where I usually get symptoms (which a large area to begin with) it could have occured there just as a result of the virus traveling the nerve pathways in the same area, therefore not being a result of it being self spread.

[vegemotion]

precautions

I don't think anyone is trying to infringe on anyones "rights" here. Its just that some of these precautions are a little overboard when given the data from universities and private organizations studies. Wearing rubber gloves when you are showering will definitely provide protection from the herpes, but does it really provide THAT much protection from spreading herpes compared to not wearing gloves? The herpes could still be transfered from the glove to various parts of the body.

Yes, it is everyones choice to use what ever precautions they deem necessary. Just trying to spread the news that the extreme precautions against self inoculation are not always warranted based on legitimate facts.

One last thing. If new to this board, the information people will give here is quite varied. Look up scientific studies from universities or medical centers for legitimate numbers relating to transmission and outbreaks to make an informed decision for yourself of how you want to live with this virus.

peace

[vegemotion]

forgot

Forgot to say that the previous post is in the context that there is no outbreak present.

[BoxofRain]

My original post says nothing about showering with gloves on, that is just crazy in my opinion. It mentioned the gloves for mutual masterbation, which is also available info. on many websites, I added that it seems weird and I personally wouldnt want to do that, but it is a precaution some practice. kwest asked for the truth about shedding and i told him the truth....the what ifs, the scoop on statistics, the recommened precautions that are out there, and a little bit about how i understand how he feels about not wanting to spread it. I never said do this or you will spread herpes. I posted the info. as it truly is and the precautions that exist, never saying you must follow them, or that you will become infected in other areas by not doing these things. They are precautions, not guarantees, or scare tactics. Everyone is so different and while one person may not spread this virus to other areas by random chance, another person out there will or has. It is just so different for every one...some people shed more, some shed less and the statistics will never be totally acurate or pertain to 100% of the herpes population because the studies done are random, contain a certain percentage of people, and test for presence of the virus on the skin over a limited time period. Not everyone will shed the same way, nor for the same amount of times, or necessarily the same amount each year...the virus can activate and travel the nerve pathway, be on the skin without symptoms, and travel back all in a very short period of time so it is impossible to ever have an acurate percentage of shedding asymptomatically that everyone can go by. There are only guidelines that a person can use to estimate and roughly get an idea and hope thats true for themselves, but immune system functioning plays the ultimate role in each persons fate in terms of shedding and outbreaks. I just feel it is important to tell someone the whole truth about all of the possibilities, rather than sugar coat anything, and then it is up the individual to decide what feels right for them and hope for the best. Herpes is a hard thing to deal with and depending on the way a person has experienced it, people will all choose different ways to cope with having it...be it very precautious or taking it with a grain of salt and hoping for no further complications. I just truly care about others and if there is any info. that is out there and someone asks for the truth, i am going to present the truth, not brush over it just in case a person out there isnt aware of some of the risks and this way the facts are there and perhaps one person can benefit from the knowledge or not feel so alone in how they are feeling about having this.

[Caliope]

Boxofrain I think that was nicely put.

We need to be rational and reasonable.

If I was trying to warn you about the need to wear a seatbelt in the car and I gave you all of the reasons why you should do it you could easily understand that certain risks exist but not everyone who gets into a car is going to have something bad to them if they don't wear a seatbelt. Each situation is unique and the circumstances can change.

The same applies to herpes there are some guidelines and there are some risks and then there are the best practices. There is no reason to be paranoid and ruin your quality of life trying to overthink all of the things that can happen.

If you just take the time to read some of the information that has been compiled on this site you will find information in writing that says that most people who practice reasonable hygiene don't spread hsv all over themselves.

[gutted.]

people who practice reasonable hygiene don't spread hsv all over themselves.

so poor old gym monster, who has done, is not hygeinic?

[Shayna]

people who practice reasonable hygiene don't spread hsv all over themselves.

so poor old gym monster, who has done, is not hygeinic?

I believe I read in Gym Monsters post that while he was sleeping he scratched his ob area and then rubbed his eye.

I guess we need to retrain our subconsious to not do the little luxuries we used to do while in a sleep state.

[Caliope]

whoa there, I was not trying to pass judgement on others state of hygiene. sometimes accidents happen. but they are the exceptions not the rule.

I simply wanted to point out that washing our hands after touching infected areas is a very successful way to keep from spreading infections. Washing our hands in general can keep many infectious germs and viruses from causing health problems. Some good examples are the common cold and the flu.

Additionally there are some areas of our bodies that are more susceptible to infections from hsv such as our eyes.

[onelifetolive]

it should be obvious to anyone that if you touch an ob and then touch another part of your body - i would imagine a moist part of your body (eyes, ears, etc) or open cut - then of course you could infect another area.

hands should always be washed after touching an ob or touching yourself in general - and that goes for both people with h and without it.

all the info out there is scary for sure. can make one feel like one big infectuous and contagous germ. but i think that h is different for each individual and you just have to pay attention to your body (which one should do anyway). i think i developed a bit of an obsessive compulsive disorder for germs in general now.