Don’t Let Herpes Interfere with Your Sex Life

Mar 14, 2022

One can have a fulfilling sex life even if one has genital herpes. However, it may become more challenging than before the diagnosis. After the diagnosis, you must be careful what you are doing and when you are doing it.

If you have sores on the genitals, avoid various sexual activities. Between an outbreak, you can have sex as long as you talk with your partner about the risks of contracting herpes. For instance, if you have no herpes sores on the mouth, you can enjoy oral sex with a partner. Also, when you are having an outbreak of genital signs, you can still have oral sex.

How People with Herpes Can Have a Healthy Sex Life

Fortunately, it’s possible to have a fantastic sex life even with herpes. Herpes does not take away from your ability to engage in intimacy. But it may challenge you on how to be sexual.

Open Communication

If one partner has herpes, they must learn to be open and honest about it with the new partner. If you just got into a new relationship, you must bring the herpes conversation right up front. You and your partner should get tested for STIs even when you know you have herpes, as it’s important also to get tested for other infections. Every person must know what they will bring to the new relationship. This helps to build trust, as concealing information can break the trust between you.

When you are open about your status, you help protect both of you. You also make your partner understand your need to use condoms.

Taking Steps to Prevent the Spread

After people get a herpes diagnosis, they ask whether they risk spreading it to their sexual partners. There are chances you may spread the disease. Ultimately, you can control the risk significantly by following these prevention steps.

Avoiding Sex During an Outbreak

Most health practitioners will recommend avoiding sexual intercourse from the moment an outbreak starts. You can only have sex until around a week after symptoms fade. This can help prevent you from spreading the disease to your partner. It will also prevent you from contracting a different STI. When a person is symptomatic, they are shedding more viruses than before. The open sores and subtle inflammation may make it easy for you to get another infection.

You would rarely want to engage in sexual intercourse during an outbreak. However, it is crucial to understand that the virus is very active. It can also be easily transmitted during this time. If you want to have sex, wait until all the symptoms disappear.

People with herpes sometimes feel the need to try everything in their power to reduce the risk of transmission. Their goal is to avoid putting others through the stigma or uncertainty they have experienced. However, this is not good as it may reinforce the thought that there desexualized. When a couple interacts intimately, there will always be a risk. Some partners do not need to use barriers, while others do. Relationships are different.

Sometimes a person who has already come to terms with the illness may still get into their head about the situation. This can take someone out of sex. You can only maintain a

Hot and fulfilling sex life if you have ongoing internal effort. It would help if you tried hard to reframe and challenge negative thoughts about the diagnosis. You should also find people who affirm you and your right to pleasure.

Use Condoms

If you have herpes, one of the best ways to prevent it from interfering with your sex life is by using condoms. Condoms will reduce your risk of transferring the virus to your partner. Over time, a couple may decide to stop using condoms altogether. It’s not unreasonable to do this, and as long as both of you are comfortable in the relationship, you can do it. As the relationship progresses, partners should communicate with each other. That will help to develop a choice that works for both of them.

Taking Medication

Your health practitioner can prescribe an antiviral medication for suppressing the virus. The medication will help speed up the healing process before an outbreak occurs. It will also help speed up healing daily for those suffering from frequent bouts.

Herpes does not have to limit your sexual life and intimacy. As initial outbreaks are painful and unpleasant, speak with your doctor for oral or genital infection. Some antiviral drugs will allow your body to recover from an initial episode. You can also use over-the-counter medications. The drugs will help control pain, including headache, muscle aches, and any discomfort that may occur during an initial herpes outbreak. It’s essential to focus on healing an outbreak, then refocus on your sex life after you are healed.