Understanding Herpes and Vaccine Myths: Addressing Misinformation
I can’t believe we’re here again 🫠
The vaccine didn’t give anyone herpes, but it could’ve triggered an outbreak to occur if they already had herpes — even if they were unaware they had it.
BTW, Dawn gets one thing right here: people’s assumptions and miseducation about herpes contribute to feelings of mistrust in relationships. Many monogamous partners are surprised to learn if/when their partner tests positive for herpes and automatically assume they cheated.
While cheating can and does happen, a herpes diagnosis isn’t immediate evidence because…
1) people don’t realize, understand, or accept that cold sores = herpes and can transmit via 😋. So if one partner has oral herpes, it can potentially lead to a positive diagnosis in the other partner. And if it’s not disclosed, this can lead to a lot of questioning.
2) people could’ve had herpes and mistaken the symptoms for something else or minimized the symptoms as a means to not seek testing.
3) unless specifically seeking testing for herpes, most people are unaware of their herpes status
4) herpes can remain dormant and asymptomatic for weeks, months, even years. There’s no test to determine where or when someone got herpes, so they could’ve gotten it years before it showed any symptoms.
I know it can be challenging, but before judging your partner or jumping to conclusions, please take the above scenarios into consideration!