# What's up with Herpes now?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-herpes-now/71923>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [July 10, 2001, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-herpes-now/71923 "2001-07-10T05:05:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![LightTracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ab097/32.png) [@LightTracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LightTracer)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-herpes-now/71923/1 "2001-07-10T05:05:31Z")

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What’s up with Herpes?

I just read in one of the health sites that even if you use a latex condom coated with spermacide, you still run a risk of getting the disease even if your partner is not active at the time. It seems the host can be active and not know it because the lesions and itching might not show up!

They said that latex condoms MIGHT protect you. So how do couples, where one partner has herpes, have sex?

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**Author:** ![BabaBooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dfb087/32.png) [@BabaBooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BabaBooey)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-herpes-now/71923/2 "2001-07-10T05:08:28Z")

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In the butt?

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**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-herpes-now/71923/3 "2001-07-10T07:11:42Z")

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Time to do more research, then. Find more sources on herpes and see what the majority of them say.

I find it hard to believe that condoms wouldn’t prevent the spread of this particular STD.

Esprix

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**Author:** ![choosybeggar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@choosybeggar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choosybeggar)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-herpes-now/71923/4 "2001-07-10T12:23:52Z")

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I find it hard to believe that condoms are effective against many STD’s. Epidemiology supports this notion, however. Biologically, though, it’s less clear to me.

Consider the case of male to female transmission of STD’s: microorganisms can be transferred along with sperm (as in HIV, Hepatitis B, probably gonorrhea and chlamydia as well) or from direct contact with a skin lesion (herpes, syphillis-I think, human papilloma virus, _Hemophilus ducreyi_).

I dunno 'bout the rest of you folk, but when I’m doing the cozy, comdom or not, there’s ALOT of skin contact. Condoms _should_ be more effective at preventing STD’s caused by sperm-dwelling organisms than by skin dwellers. Female to male (or male to male) transmission patterns should be similar.

Insofar as HSII lesions needn’t be active to transmit infection, I believe that is a long-established (though sad) fact.