I went through a little phase of being extremely scared of contracting herpes a couple of months ago so I did huge amounts of research. I think I have to agree with a lot of what is being said here...it's not as big of a deal as it originally seems. I don't think I'm now as scared of it (as long as reasonable precautions are taken) as I was. I think the thought of contracting it scares me more because of what it might do to our little "hobby" which we've really been enjoying! In other words, I'm not as afraid of us contracting it because of the actual consequences of the rash, but what it would mean for future play, which we'd really like to continue
One interesting little tidbit I came across during my frantic researching involved a potential cure for herpes that some researchers think is on the horizon. It would involve actually flushing out the virus so it could be killed. Right now, what is so frustrating about herpes is that it hides in the nerves so well that it can't be killed. If they could get around that little aspect, it would be curable. Of course, no one knows how soon a cure may come about, but it was interesting.
Potential herpes cure flushes out virus - Sexual health- msnbc.com