My STI of the week this week was chosen after reading an interesting news article the other day; a guy has been jailed for 14 months, for knowlingly giving his girlfriend genital herpes whilst they were in a relationship together.
So how serious is genital herpes? And does it deserve a jail sentence for passing it on? Let's find out....
Genital herpes is caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 or type 2. It causes painful blisters to appear on the genitals and the surrounding areas. Herpes can also be found in the anus, eyes and mouth - which are more commonly known as coldsores.
HSV is highly contagious and can be passed easily from one person to another by direct contact. Genital herpes is usually transmitted by having sex (vaginal, anal or oral) with an infected person. Even if someone with genital herpes does not have any symptoms, it is possible for them to pass the condition on to a sexual partner.
Herpes is a long term condition - once you have it, it's there for life although the reoccurances do slow down as the years pass. and symptoms can be controlled with antiviral medication, but there is no cure. Sometimes it remains dormant, so in 8 out of 10 people they may not even know that they have it.
So all that said, it's not a particularly nice condition, especially since it's there for life and therefore could have an affect on future relationships - 14 months in prison actually seems like a small price to pay!
It's not too hard to stay safe, make sure that you use a condom with all your sexual partners.. And of course the easiest way to do that if you live in Suffolk is to register on the 'C-Card' scheme, giving you access to not only free condoms, but also chlamydia testing too! For more information visit the 'No Risks' website.
Take care and stay safe!!
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