Blog
Intimacy during an Outbreak
Can you have sex if you have a herpes outbreak? Well yes and no. Let me explain.
Let’s back up a bit and talk about how herpes is transmitted. Herpes is transmitted via skin to skin. So what that means is that if you only have oral herpes and you have an oral outbreak, you are contagious only on your mouth. And vice a versa, if you have genital herpes and not oral herpes, then you are only contagious genitally.
So is it possible to have sex with a herpes outbreak, well let’s define sex and …
How to Deal with Your First Herpes Outbreak
If you’ve just gotten herpes and you are in a ton of pain physically and emotionally, I know what you are going through.
Sometimes when I look back I think it’s the physical pain that is the most. And then there are other times I think, no, it’s the emotional pain. Regardless they are both there and you are probably feeling something that you have never felt before.
First of all, I want you to take a deep breath and know that everything is going to be okay. I know it doesn’t feel that way …
Do Exercise and Herpes Go Together?
This has been a big topic on social media as well as in our Secret Society community. I’ve been getting lots of questions like; will sweat cause an outbreak, will friction cause an outbreak, will HITT cause me to get an outbreak, professional bodybuilders have asked questions about pre-workout and so on.
I want to say first before going into the should and should nots, if exercise makes you happy and you love doing it, then keep it up. In general, if there is something that you love doing …
Can You Have Unprotected Sex If You Have Herpes?
Yes, of course you can. But before you hit the sheets with your partner let’s talk about some details first.
One of the biggest fears or thoughts are about having sex when you’ve been diagnosed with herpes is that you’ll have to use a condom for the rest of your life.
The other day I was listening to a podcast and the woman called on and said that she was interested in a guy but he has genital herpes. She naturally was concerned and proceeding very cautiously. I mean, I totally get it. One …
Tell Your Partner Toolkit
So I think all the toolkits and products that we have are great but if I had to pick one I think this is such an informative toolkit.
Our biggest fear once we’re diagnosed is dating. It’s the fear of rejection, it’s the how do I disclose, do I need to disclose and so on. All of these feelings questions and emotions are valid and an important part of the herpes journey.
What I did and I don’t want to happen to you is feel stuck and or not put yourself out there. I stayed in a relationship w…
Foods That Trigger Herpes Outbreaks
So yes, there are some things you can do to help manage your herpes outbreaks and/or feed your herpes outbreak. In other blog posts I talk about lifestyle, supplements and why people get outbreaks. So today I’m going to talk about foods that feed outbreaks and why.
Just so we’re clear, there is not a ton of research done on foods that trigger herpes outbreaks. Typically herpes outbreaks are caused from hormone fluctuations, stress, weak immune system, exposure to hot sun or cold wind. Yes, th…
Why I Got Herpes
Why me? This is something I asked myself for years. I would sit crying wondering why this happened to me. What did I do to deserve this? I couldn’t think of anything worse than getting diagnosed with herpes.
Things that ran through my head were: why me and why not her? How is this going to impact my life? I wasn’t a slut, I didn’t sleep around and I was careful so how did I get this?
The truth is the herpes virus doesn’t really care how many people you’ve slept with. The way you get herpes …
Herpes Outbreak Toolkit
This is something that I felt was so important to put together and I really wish it was something that I could have walked away with when I was diagnosed. I wish that that Dr. would have said, "there is this great online community called Life with Herpes and there is an Outbreak Toolkit that has everything you need to know about herpes.”
So that is why I created this toolkit. When you get your first outbreak, your 100th outbreak or your first outbreak in a really, really long time, all you wa…
3 Reasons Why 75-90% People with Genital Herpes Don’t Know They Have It
If your first outbreak was anything like mine you’re wondering like me: how people could not know they had herpes or at least something going on down there.
Probably similar to you, I was in so much pain. I couldn’t sit down, everything was swollen, my entire body ached. I mean there was zero way I could have missed that something was going on down there.
But it is true that for many people living with herpes they have no clue they actually have it. Honestly, it’s not hard to find people wi…
Can You Be in a Monogamous Relationship and Still Get Herpes?
Recently on social media someone commented on my live and said that if I hadn’t been so promiscuous I wouldn't have gotten herpes.
There’s a lot of ways we can dissect this comment. Also, instead of going off on this man I used it as a learning opportunity to talk about how promiscuity has nothing to do with getting herpes.
However, I’m going to contradict myself really quickly here. On some level it is a numbers game. So the person who has sex with 100 people is far more likley to have he…