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Herpes 101

Who Has Herpes?

Who Has Herpes_  Alexandra Harbushka

You probably have herpes and you’re not alone. 

When you get diagnosed with herpes you feel like you’re all alone and the only person in the world with herpes. Well guess what!!! You’re now the majority. Yes, the majority of people have herpes. In fact 84% of the world population has herpes. 

Let’s break that down for you...

First let’s talk about the United States and people with herpes. I pulled up numbers from the census and data from the Center of Disease Control to get as exact as we can…

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Herpes Medications That Clear up Your Outbreak

160 - Herpes Medications - blog alexandra Harbushka

Different Types of Antivirals for Your Herpes Outbreak

You get the call from your doctor saying you have herpes and they’ll fill your prescription. 

Eek… right?

Here’s the deal. Take the antiviral. Chances are you’re in pain and feel horrible and all you want is for your outbreak to go away. Getting that antiviral in your system ASAP is the best thing you can do. In fact, the soon you get it  in your system on the onset of an outbreak, the sooner your outbreak will clear up. I’ve heard of peo…

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Everyone Has a Herpes Virus

158_ Everyone Has a Herpes Virus - alexandra harbushka blog

If you don’t have herpes then hearing that everyone has  herpes virus probably just freaked you out!


Well, it’s true that everyone has a herpes virus and it’s nothing to be worried about. You’re going to be just fine. Promise. 


We’ve been living with these dang herpes viruses for as long as humans have been walking on this earth. The herpes virus want to survive as much as we do and they’ve done a pretty good job at it. 


Let me explain.


There are more than 100 known herpes viruses ou…

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Herpes Viruses & How It Affects Children

157_ Are Children Safe If Infected With Herpes_ alexandra harbushka blog

Will herpes impact your child's health?

There’s been a lot of parents or people who want to become parents  recently asked about their kids. When were diagnosed with herpes were worried that we could potentially pass this to someone we love and of course accidentally to our kids. 

I want to cover the facts and how you can prevent transmission to your kids. 

Over the years I’ve had people reach out to me with questions and of course stories when it comes to herpes and their kids. I’ve had pare…

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Will Herpes Impact Your Fertility? 

Will Herpes Impact Your Fertility_ - alexandra harbushka blog

Wanting to know if you can get pregnant if you have herpes?

I get questions all the time about pregnancy and herpes. In fact, this was one of the first questions I asked when I was first diagnosed back in 2011. 

There are so many myths out there that demonize herpes and make us feel like we no longer have the same rights a people who don’t have herpes. It’s 100% BS and yes, you can have a baby. 

I talk about herpes and pregnancy in other episodes and I’ll have them linked so you can hop over …

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HSV 1 Does Not Mean You Have Oral Herpes

153_ HSV 1 Does Not Mean You Have Oral Herpes - alexandra harbushka blog

HSV 1 Can Be Genital Herpes


One of the most common misconceptions I hear when I read comments or get asked questions are about oral herpes and HSV 1.  So let’s break it down and get right to it. 

Before we break it down let’s just do the 101 on herpes. There’s two types; HSV 1 & HSV 2. Both have very similar symptoms and we can not tell one virus apart from the other one unless testing is done.  HSV 1 prefers to live in the oral region meanwhile HSV 2 prefers to live in the genial region. Ho…

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Herpes & Pregnancy

151_ Herpes & Pregnancy blog alexandra harbushka

Yay, you’re pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant and want to know what herpes has to do with it. 

Wow, this is exciting! Time in your life so let's talk about herpes and pregnancy. 

I can remember one of the first things I was worried about and asked my doctor about pregnancy. I was curious if it would impact pregnancy, birth, and the child. I’m sure I wasn’t the only woman so here are some great details on this next exciting big step. 

Let’s break this down into two sections, people …

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Herpes Vaccine Research

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The double-edged sword with creating a herpes vaccine

This vaccine is one of the most sought out vaccines and it would help millions of people throughout the world. Not to mention on the business side of things how it would monetarily reward the people or company who solved the puzzle. But here’s the deal, as of now there’s no research happening for the herpes vaccine. 

If you feel like the wind’s been taken out of your sails go watch or read the other episode about waiting for the herpes cure…

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3 Ways To Know You Have Herpes

147 3 Ways To Know You Have Herpes alexandra harbushka blog

Yes, it’s easy to freak out and think it’s herpes. Here are 3 ways to know for sure. 

When you have an itch, a tingle or maybe slept with someone that you know has herpes the automatic OMG phase kicks in. It turns to panic and your mind will take you down the rabbit hole of horrible thoughts. Oh and then you turn to google. PLEASE, whatever you do...don’t turn to google. You’re in the right spot to find out more answers and not see scary photos on the internet. 

There are 3 basic ways to confi…

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Waiting for the Herpes Cure

146 - Waiting On The Herpes Cure - blog - alexandra harbushka

This is one of the most pressing questions and the answer often leads to heartache. I hear questions like this daily saying…

“How is there no cure to herpes?”

“Why is there no vaccine when we have a vaccine for practically everything else?”

“When will there be a vaccine?”

“Will there be a cure?”

“Is there something that will prevent outbreaks permanently?”

Here’s the deal. I get it, I’ve felt this way and wondered about it too. The truth is don’t hold your breath and also don’t let this ho…

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