I get it through a prescription from my doctor. I asked her to write it and she did. So it’ll cost you a visit to the doctor and the cost of the creme. Good stuff though.
I got the geintal variety in college. Have had mild outbreaks that have virtually disappeared over the last 8 years. It’s never been a big problem for me, other than getting over the fact that I had it at all.
Ok, here are some fun facts about Herpes Viruses…it’s a long read, but bear with me.
90% of the population has at one time or another been exposed to HHV1 (Human Herpes Virus 1…the one that causes cold sores) most people build up an immunity and are asymptomatic. Some people don’t, and get cold sores.
Canker sores/mouth ulcers/apthous ulcers, whatever you want to call them ARE NOT CAUSED BY A HERPES VIRUS. The confusion arose because the primary infection with HHV1 can present as gingivostomatitis, with sores on the lips, tongue and mouth. In the days before they could test for the presence of virus, the appearance of mouth ulcers was so similar to that of the mouth sores of primary HHV1 infection that they had no way of knowing it wasn’t caused by the same thing. We know better now. HHV1 can a rare cause of menigitis, especially in the immunocompromised or the very young, it is not something to be dismissed as harmless.
HHV2 is the one that causes genital sores. However if you do the wrong thing at the wrong time you could get an HHV2 cold sore on your lip…or a HHV1 sore somewhere less pleasant. If a woman has active genital sores (HHV1 or HHV2) while in the last few weeks of pregnancy an elective c-section will be performed. Neonates can have very nasty things happen to them if they pick it up.
HHV3 is Chicken Pox (Varicella), which lies dormant in the nerve roots and can flare up again to cause shingles (Zoster). Chicken pox can be very dangerous in a newborn, and if a woman develops it in the days before or afterward the birth, steps will have to be taken to protect the baby with anti-viral drugs. Shingles on the face can lead to blindness (herpetic dendritic ulcers of the eye) deafness and paralysis (Ramsey Hunt syndrome). In most cases, wherever it occur on the body, it’s incredibly painful.
HHV4 is Epstein-Barr, which causes infectious mononucleosis, and has been associated with Burkitt’s Lymphom in the developing world, and Guillame Barré syndrome.
HHV5 is Cyto-megalo virus (CMV). About 50% of us are already immune to it, and will have had an asymtpomatic infectionin the past. It can cause serious problems in the immunocompromised (HIV and AIDS patients, transplant patients, people who have had chemotherapy etc) or if aquired by a foetus during pregnancy. A woman must ACQUIRE her PRIMARY infection during the pregnancy to affect the foetus, having had it previously will not cause damage.
HHV6 causes the mild viral illness Roseola Infantum, Exanthema Subitum or “Sixth disease”, characterised by 3 days of fever and a rash…hence its German name “three day fever”. It’s very common in childhood, and is often mistaken for a cold or teething in infants.
Basically, the bad news is that almost everyone reading this board will have been infected with at least one Herpes Virus. The good news is that for most of us the infection was either asymptomatic or has left us with little residual damage.
“Herpes”, meaning only genital herpes or cold sores is an inaccurate term, implying a stigma around a family of viruses that all of us have been exposed to, and most of has have been infected with.
There’s also an HHV7 and HHV8. HHV7, IIRC, is rather uncommon and not much is known about it. HHV8, on the other hand, is responsible for Kaposi’s sarcoma, almost exclusively found in HIV patients. We test for it in the lab where I work.
I can tell you, Shingles is painful. I don’t know that I’ve ever felt pain like that before or since and I was only 6 or so when I got it.
I have scars under my arms from shingles which makes shaving an absolute bitch.
I had them like that too. I was about the same age. The doctor told my mom that they were brought on by stress. I think it was the first sign that I was to be a stressed out kind of human.
I just remember how puffy they seemed, and that the medicine smelled weird and made them all dry. Standing there in my footie pajamas getting my shingles shellacked. Weird.
I had no idea that it had anything to do with herpes. I’ve never had so much as a cold sore, although once I had an ingrown hair in a bad place and freaked out so much I went to Planned Parenthood and had it checked out. The lady there showed me what herpes actually looks like. All I can say is, holy f’n ouch. I’m so sorry for anyone who has to go through that, much less explain it to potential lovers.
I get cold sores. (Thanks, Mom!) They present when I’m exhausted or fighting a fever. I had one last week that swelled my upper lip so big it looked like I’d taken a punch.
No herpes here. Squeaky clean. Guess that comes from not having much of a social life. 
There’s thought to be a link between roseola and MS. The tissues of many MS patients show they have active HHV6 infections, and patients who have roseola infections sometimes have demyelination. It’s thought that the immune system mistakes myelin for HHV6, leading to demyelination and MS.
Since roseola is such a common childhood disease, it’s likely that it’s not the sole cause of MS. There are probably other genetic factors. In other words, many people who have MS have had roseola, but not many people who have had roseola go on to develop MS.
I apologize that I doubted this claim. I did a Google and found out it is actually possible. For this reason here is a warning!
NEVER kiss anyone with a fever blister. NEVER!
And some of my best friends complain about fever blisters. 
Here’s a completely unfunny story:
For a long time I thought I had herpes. I’d had sort of kind of slightly herpesish bumps a few times, and on a standard STD checkup the doctor at the free clinic said it was herpes and gave me medication. I later went to my doctor and told him the story and he just wrote another prescription and that was that.
It wasn’t until I was in a relationship and went in for a full test for everything that a doctor said “um… no… that looks like folliculitis” or JUST INGROWN HAIRS. From shaving. So I got the blood test, type 1 and 2 negative. Never again will I let a doctor diagnose something like that based just on sight. That was a lot of mental turmoil for nothing. :mad:
I had a bad case of chicken pox when I was about five years old. Left me with some facial scarring. I had mono at eighteen. Ah, the diagnosis adventures!
According to this, 50-80% of Americans carry the herpes simplex virus.
I’ve got it. Probably from my parents, who both have it. I caught it in the 5th grade and had a horrendous first case. I had cold sores all over the inside of my mouth and down my esophagus. I think they call that stomatitis. I had a 104 degree fever and was delirious for about two weeks. Lost over 20 pounds.
Of course, it had to happen over Christmas break. I was too sick on Christmas morning to get out of bed and open my presents. Suck-o.
No, I realise that, but if they are doing a long term study, I’d still like to get him in. I’ve got a friend with a mylieon (sp?) deficiency disease and any data I can contribute helps (as well as selfishly wanting to have my kid watched over carefully ;))
Plus a predisposition on my side to auto-immune disorders - I just want to be exxxtra careful. I thought for years that I had had Syphilis until some doctor (my OB) took the time to explain it was an unexplained auto-immune disorder tripping the Wasserman test - something many many other people over the years had never bothered to persue beyond making sure I took the expensive+accurate Syphilis test as required by law (and coming out negative).
HSV 1 is usually oral and HSV 2 is usually genital. The strains actually prefer those locations. If you have oral sex and get infected with, say, HSV 1 in the genital region, it may cause an outbreak but usually doesn’t recur.
Ringo, it’s not that unusual to have one outbreak and never have another, even though you have the virus. I’m not saying you do. The only way to know is to get a blood test for it. One important counseling point I used to make when I worked in the STD clinic was to tell those with a first (perceived) herpes outbreak that they didn’t necessarily JUST catch it recently (in other words, it isn’t proof that your current lover is stepping out on you). Some people don’t recognize any outbreaks for years and then some kind of stress causes them to have one.
Re. the acyclovir cream, hopefully it will be over the counter here in the US soon, too. Maybe they’re worried that people with syphilis will mis-diagnose themselves and assume they’ve treated it effectively with acyclovir (which doesn’t work for syphilis, even though the sore will go away, but might come back later in even more monstrous forms).
Acyclovir cream or pills (also sold in other forms, like Famvir) are expensive in the US if you don’t have insurance that covers these meds. If you’re low on cash, go to the local public health clinic and you might get the prescription for free. It’s worth having on hand if you have oral herpes, too. The mouth sores are often more severe and painful (not to mention publicly more visible) than the genital version and the anti-viral meds nip them in the bud before they get worse, too.
I had shingles years ago. Very unpleasant at the time - strings of weeping blisters around the middle body (front and back), mostly on one side. Itched like crazy, so sleeping was difficult. Had scars from where I scratched too hard, but they faded. After a month, maybe, it had mainly gone, but I carried on having occasional ‘tingling’ sensations for a year or two. Since then, nothing. But the virus is there in the nerve endings. When I’m old and run down, I’m told, I can expect it to come back. Hopefully medical science will have come up with effective treatment by then.
Given all the diseases you can get, it’s no big deal.
Hemlock:
Shingles is just an outbreak from having had chickenpox before. So anyone who has had chicken pox has the virus that can come back as shingles when they get older. I have no idea what happens if you’ve been vaccinated.