HEALTH: Herpes

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Herpes: The Little Secret Shared By MillionsPALM DESERT, Calif., Feb. 24, 2004 -- "Jennifer" is 33, attractive,and popular. Her friends and family ask her why she has not dated inso long, and she seems to shun the men they want to introduce to her."Ronald" is 49, kind, good hearted, not GQ, but attractive enough inhis own right. His friends wonder why he does not have a significantother. "Susan" is a divorced mother of three grown kids. She hasplenty of time to spare, but has not developed a life during her emptynest years. "Taylor" is a fresh-faced 18-year-old college freshman.She seems painfully shy and refuses to date. She studies all the timewhile her friends enjoy active social lives. None of these people havetold their "secret" - they have genital herpes."I've had herpes for so long that it really doesn't bother mephysically any more," Jennifer says. "But I'm really embarrassed totell anyone else, even my best friend. And I'm afraid of what a guywould say if we started dating and then I had to tell him. I'd just assoon not deal with it." And that's the biggest paradox about havingthe herpes virus. It's not medically very serious, and yet it can havedevastating emotional and social effects. In an age when we makeheroes out of celebrities who contract the HIV and Hepatitis-Cviruses, herpes remains the "stigma" virus, often belittled and jokedabout in the media.Here are some non-medical facts about herpes. For millions of people,they are the harsh reality:-- Genital herpes is carried by up to 25% of all Americans (that's 50million people). Many people have not told their family or closestfriends.-- Herpes is rarely harmful but can have devastating emotionalrepercussions.-- Most people who have genital herpes did not know that the personwho gave it to them had herpes. Often, that person did not knoweither, at the time of transmission.-- The standard "STD screens" available at clinics everywhere do not,as a standard, include testing for herpes.-- Many people living with herpes and wanting to be honest about ithave chosen not to date, period - some have been single for manyyears.-- Others living with herpes have chosen simply to ignore it, and nottell their partners for fear of ridicule and/or rejection.-- Others choose to believe that "they are not contagious unless theyare having a herpes outbreak" which is unfortunately not true due toasymptomatic shedding.Herpes is alive and well in the world and may be on the increase, forsome of the above-stated reasons."The Internet has been a godsend for people living with herpes." saysAnthony Matthews of Antopia Inc. "They have finally been able to meeteach other, form support and social communities, and get back outthere." According to Alexa.com, Antopia's "Meet People with Herpes"(www.MPwH.net - http://www.MPwH.net), with 40,000members, is the busiest herpes-related website on the Internet.Matthews is clear on his mission. "We're not trying to save theworld," he says. "We're not talking anything fatal here. We're justtrying to create resources for people who have been inhibited in theirlives, to help them move on. Or at least, to give them hope thatthings can get better, and Antopia is the way for that to happen."For more information, please visit Antopia's support and informationwebsite at www.GotHerpes.com()http://www.GotHerpes.com), or their datingwebsite at http://www.MPwH.net(http://www.MPwH.net), or call 1-877-3-HERPES.-=-Distributed by eReleases, http://www.ereleases.com