If the person really cares about you, they’re going to accept you the way you are without judging you for your stupid skin virus.

I have told 3 people that I have herpes. All 3 of them cared more about me than a stupid skin disease i contracted out of pure bad luck. They were all willing to work around it, and weren’t worried about contracting it from me. They were very understanding and were happy with the fact that I was honest and up front about it.

The way i contracted herpes was through my boyfriend’s (now ex boyfriend) cold sore.

None of the men I have had sex with contracted the virus.

I avoided sex during outbreaks… (i’ve only had 4 in 2 years) and had sex with and without condoms. (which was THEIR choices… i ALWAYS recommend the condom…)

And I just want to share how I even go about the conversation. It’s something I struggled with for over a year. I’ve found this a more comfortable way to let someone in on a secret so scary to tell:

“so, i have something to tell you before things get too serious. It’s really personal so you have to promise that you will take into consideration my feelings and not judge me. i have ‘the technical term for a cold sore’ ” (i say ‘the technical term for a cold sore’ because ‘herpes’ is such and ugly word) and then i go into how i contracted it, how severe it is, and what i’m doing to prevent outbreaks. It also helps to know statistics and facts about the virus.

Again, I’ve found that being honest is the best policy. And if the person really cares about you, they’re going to accept you the way you are without judging you for your stupid skin virus.

I am now with a really great guy, who adores me and herpes doesn’t get in the way of that =]]

I hope that my story has helped in some way.