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**good times** · 11-26-2008, 06:05 PM

Yep, Herpes is pretty hard to avoid whether you are swinging or not, kissing, sex, sitting on a public toilet seat, even using a towel that someone with herpes used previously can all transfer the virus to you.

As far as a test for herpes goes, yes their are tests, the most reliable ones need to be done while the virus is active. But as someone else mentioned, even if you request std testing from your doctor or clinic, they will rarely test for Herpes (HPV). Their are a couple of reasons for that;

First, a lot of people have herpes, depending on who you believe the numbers can range anywhere from 10% of the population to as much as 75% (that includes both HSV-1 and HSV-2). So most in the medical profession consider it a waste of time and money to test for something that their is a pretty good chance most people already have. Keep in mind that even though you have never shown symptoms for it, you may have come into contact with it in the past and therefore test positive for it.

Second, as far as std's go, while contracting Herpes surely sucks, it isn't life threatening. Other than a little discomfort when it flares up, they have so far identified no adverse long term effects on an infected persons health. For that reason, and the fact that their is very little they can do about it, most in the medical profession don't consider it a problem worth testing for if you show no symptoms. So the only time they would test for it is if you had a rash that they wanted to identify.

Finally, while the HSV tests have gotten better over the years, the tests for it that are used when it is inactive can give inconclusive or false results. So, there again, most consider it a waste of time and resources.

So to answer your question, I guess you could ask someone if they had test results, but it really wouldn't matter if you did. For a lot of reasons, they wouldn't be worth the paper they are written on, in my opinion. If the chance of contracting Herpes is a deal breaker for you, you really shouldn't consider swinging. But the fact is, eliminating any chance of contracting the virus is impossible, leaving your home and interacting with others at all really only puts you at slightly lower risk than swinging. The next person you shake hands with could be shedding the virus.

11-26-2008, 06:05 PM	#10 (permalink)
good times Mod Squad Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 6,769 Location: Reno, Nevada Status: Married to Mrs Good Times Swing Lifestyle Name:randp	Re: herpes scares the crap out of us! Yep, Herpes is pretty hard to avoid whether you are swinging or not, kissing, sex, sitting on a public toilet seat, even using a towel that someone with herpes used previously can all transfer the virus to you. As far as a test for herpes goes, yes their are tests, the most reliable ones need to be done while the virus is active. But as someone else mentioned, even if you request std testing from your doctor or clinic, they will rarely test for Herpes (HPV). Their are a couple of reasons for that; First, a lot of people have herpes, depending on who you believe the numbers can range anywhere from 10% of the population to as much as 75% (that includes both HSV-1 and HSV-2). So most in the medical profession consider it a waste of time and money to test for something that their is a pretty good chance most people already have. Keep in mind that even though you have never shown symptoms for it, you may have come into contact with it in the past and therefore test positive for it. Second, as far as std's go, while contracting Herpes surely sucks, it isn't life threatening. Other than a little discomfort when it flares up, they have so far identified no adverse long term effects on an infected persons health. For that reason, and the fact that their is very little they can do about it, most in the medical profession don't consider it a problem worth testing for if you show no symptoms. So the only time they would test for it is if you had a rash that they wanted to identify. Finally, while the HSV tests have gotten better over the years, the tests for it that are used when it is inactive can give inconclusive or false results. So, there again, most consider it a waste of time and resources. So to answer your question, I guess you could ask someone if they had test results, but it really wouldn't matter if you did. For a lot of reasons, they wouldn't be worth the paper they are written on, in my opinion. If the chance of contracting Herpes is a deal breaker for you, you really shouldn't consider swinging. But the fact is, eliminating any chance of contracting the virus is impossible, leaving your home and interacting with others at all really only puts you at slightly lower risk than swinging. The next person you shake hands with could be shedding the virus. __________________ R (He is R, she is P) Last edited by good times : 11-26-2008 at 06:07 PM.