Herpes Stigma In Thailand?

[JohnnyCrisp22]

Hi there - this is a genuine question so serious answers only please ????

 

Genital herpes is heavily stigmatized in Western countries and I'm just curious how it is generally viewed in Thailand or even South East Asia in general.

 

I've heard from other sources that due to differences in sex education and culture, most Thais don't even know what it is. Or that if they do, it's seen differently, similar to the way Westerners might view cold sores (oral herpes) as something that is of course not desirable but also not something to be petrified of.

 

Does anyone have any insight on this? I was diagnosed a year ago and always use condoms + daily antivirals but am wondering what dating in Thailand might be like in this situation. According to the statistics, the prevalence rates for herpes in Thailand are also quite high relative to many other countries.

 

Thanks.

 

 

[BritManToo]

9 minutes ago, JohnnyCrisp22 said:

I was diagnosed a year ago and always use condoms

wondering what dating in Thailand might be like in this situation.

1)Condoms give no protection against herpes.

They'd need to cover the blisters for them to be effective.

 

My pal had blisters on his lips, cheeks, arms, legs and right across his chest.

This was in CM a few years back, poor chap, in his 50s, had only had sex with 3 previous women in his entire life.

We all thought it was Eczema, but the doctor took one look and said, "worse case of herpes I've ever seen"

 

2)Wait until all the blisters have gone before touching another person.

And you can live a normal life, attacks usually settle to once or twice a year lasting a week each or less.

It's almost certain all the girls available for you to 'date' will already have it along with HPV.

Edited October 12, 2020 by BritManToo

[JohnnyCrisp22]

Just now, BritManToo said:

Condoms give no protection against herpes.

They'd need to cover the blisters for them to be effective.

 

My pal had blisters on his lips, cheeks, arms, legs and fight across his chest.

This was in CM a few years back, poor chap, in his 50s, had only had sex with 3 previous women in his entire life.

 

Wait until all the blisters have gone before touching another person.

And you can live a normal life, attacks usually settle to once or twice a year lasting a week each or less.

Appreciate the reply. Condoms do reduce transmission by roughly 50% on average, but yeah, you're correct that they certainly aren't fool proof.

 

I'm moreso just curious about the "stigma" aspect in terms of how it's viewed culturally in Thailand. Is it something people are concerned about like in the West, or is it generally seen as a non-issue?

 

[BritManToo]

2 minutes ago, JohnnyCrisp22 said:

I'm moreso just curious about the "stigma" aspect in terms of how it's viewed culturally in Thailand. Is it something people are concerned about like in the West, or is it generally seen as a non-issue?

Non-issue from the women I lived with that had it.

No touching for a week when it appeared.

I never caught it .......... well I've never had symptoms of it.

[Jack Hna]

20 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

1)Condoms give no protection against herpes.

They'd need to cover the blisters for them to be effective.

 

My pal had blisters on his lips, cheeks, arms, legs and right across his chest.

This was in CM a few years back, poor chap, in his 50s, had only had sex with 3 previous women in his entire life.

We all thought it was Eczema, but the doctor took one look and said, "worse case of herpes I've ever seen"

 

2)Wait until all the blisters have gone before touching another person.

And you can live a normal life, attacks usually settle to once or twice a year lasting a week each or less.

It's almost certain all the girls available for you to 'date' will already have it along with HPV.

Did not stop you snogging him though did it.

[scubascuba3]

No stigma but girls are often frightened of catching something but have very little knowledge regarding STIs, on a few occasions I've sat them down and explained PrEP use, and more often than not it's in one ear and out the other. It's very likely they wouldn't even spot herpes or warts 

[steven100]

31 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Non-issue from the women I lived with that had it.

No touching for a week when it appeared.

I never caught it .......... well I've never had symptoms of it.

you've certainly dodged a lot of diseases lately so I've noticed. Did you ever catch a cold by any chance.

 

 

[JohnnyCrisp22]

22 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

No stigma but girls are often frightened of catching something but have very little knowledge regarding STIs, on a few occasions I've sat them down and explained PrEP use, and more often than not it's in one ear and out the other. It's very likely they wouldn't even spot herpes or warts 

Thanks. Do you think HSV disclosure would even make sense in this context then given the high prevalence and lack of stigma/knowledge? Or as long as one is taking all possible precautions then that's generally socially acceptable?

[timendres]

12 minutes ago, JohnnyCrisp22 said:

Thanks. Do you think HSV disclosure would even make sense in this context then given the high prevalence and lack of stigma/knowledge? Or as long as one is taking all possible precautions then that's generally socially acceptable?

Your question is one regarding your own moral character, not what is socially acceptable.

[scubascuba3]

31 minutes ago, JohnnyCrisp22 said:

Thanks. Do you think HSV disclosure would even make sense in this context then given the high prevalence and lack of stigma/knowledge? Or as long as one is taking all possible precautions then that's generally socially acceptable?

Yes not worth talking about unless in a relationship, just take precautions, don't do any sexual activity when contagious 

[BritManToo]

48 minutes ago, steven100 said:

you've certainly dodged a lot of diseases lately so I've noticed. Did you ever catch a cold by any chance.

Rarely, I don't get flu much either ........ except for earlier this year.

[JohnnyCrisp22]

23 minutes ago, timendres said:

Your question is one regarding your own moral character, not what is socially acceptable.

 

That's an overly simplistic viewpoint since what is "moral" is largely defined by the culture as opposed to some sort of objective truth, which is exactly why I'm asking in the first place.

 

In the United States herpes is highly stigmatized and viewed as "gross" (mostly because of the ad campaigns that were run in the 70's to market Valtrex), whereas in many parts of Europe people generally don't care about it.

 

Exact same virus, but different "morals" surrounding its seriousness. If people in a given culture collectively don't view it as a big deal, and if most people don't disclose it or talk about it, then yes, that has an effect on how one is obligated or not obligated to conduct themselves within that culture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 12, 2020 by JohnnyCrisp22

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

No stigma but girls are often frightened of catching something but have very little knowledge regarding STIs, on a few occasions I've sat them down and explained PrEP use, and more often than not it's in one ear and out the other. It's very likely they wouldn't even spot herpes or warts 

I don't think it's they don't spot it.

I think they've already have it, and have seen so many guys with it, that they just don't care.

[BangkokReady]

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

1)Condoms give no protection against herpes.

They'd need to cover the blisters for them to be effective.

He's talking about genital herpes, which I think appears on the tip of the penis.  A condom would cover this, if used correctly.

 

Quote

My pal had blisters on his lips, cheeks, arms, legs and right across his chest.

This was in CM a few years back, poor chap, in his 50s, had only had sex with 3 previous women in his entire life.

We all thought it was Eczema, but the doctor took one look and said, "worse case of herpes I've ever seen"

That sounds like shingles.

 

Quote

2)Wait until all the blisters have gone before touching another person.

And you can live a normal life, attacks usually settle to once or twice a year lasting a week each or less.

Unfortunately, and I think in an effort to sell drugs, a lot of people view genital herpes as being highly contagious all the time.  A little like AIDS.

 

Quote

It's almost certain all the girls available for you to 'date' will already have it along with HPV.

Savage.

[xylophone]

Genital herpes can appear anywhere in the genital area and not just on the tip of the penis, anywhere along it and even on the area of the pubic bone.

 

The outbreaks do seem to die off over the years and valacyclovir (Valtrex) can be taken as a daily prophylactic dose to prevent it ever really re-occurring, and a mate who has it in Australia can get Valtrex cheaply through the health system there and uses it most all of the time.

 

He split from his wife a few years back and now has a new partner and takes it daily just to prevent any flareups, and it appears to have worked for many years now.

 

As others have said, because of the almost non-existent sex education with regards to things like this, it's quite possible that many Thai girls have it and just dismiss it as "nothing much in particular".

 

Anyway, if one was anticipating sex with unknown partners, it would be commonsense to wear a condom as there are many other STDs that can be caught here, even a strain of gonorrhea which is almost totally antibiotic resistant.

[scubascuba3]

12 minutes ago, xylophone said:

there are many other STDs that can be caught here, even a strain of gonorrhea which is almost totally antibiotic resistant.

I've only heard of one person from Leeds who got Super gonorrhea, how many do you know of? it's not something I worry about maybe a few cases out of millions of encounters

[xylophone]

16 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

I've only heard of one person from Leeds who got Super gonorrhea, how many do you know of? it's not something I worry about maybe a few cases out of millions of encounters

It was in an article I read in a medical journal, which was followed by a local article (not sure if it was in a newspaper or not) but the statistics showed that around 33% of all gonorrhea cases in this area, were of the antibiotic resistant type, which was alarming some medical experts here.

[scubascuba3]

1 minute ago, xylophone said:

It was in an article I read in a medical journal, which was followed by a local article (not sure if it was in a newspaper or not) but the statistics showed that around 33% of all gonorrhea cases in this area, were of the antibiotic resistant type, which was alarming some medical experts here.

No way its 33%, if it was you'd have thousands of people still with it

[JohnnyCrisp22]

The STI that I would be far more concerned with is mycoplasma genitalium. Most have never heard of it, but it's an emerging bug that is almost as common as chlamydia now and highly resistant, particularly in the Pacific Asian region. Please wear a condom at all times, and if you are going to have unprotected sex with a longer term partner then make sure you both do a full panel test first since mycoplasma can be asymptomatic in some people (particularly women) but cause serious side effects in others.

Edited October 12, 2020 by JohnnyCrisp22

[xylophone]

1 minute ago, scubascuba3 said:

No way its 33%, if it was you'd have thousands of people still with it

Please note that I said, "in this area" and because it is "antibiotic resistant" they meant it was resistant to the normal antibiotics used to treat it, however there are other regimens which can be implemented using some very expensive and not well known antibiotics.

 

Point in question............. I had an E. coli ESBL infection here and it was resistant to all of the normal antibiotics and when one was eventually found, it had to be administered intravenously and over a period of about 16 days.

And it was expensive I have to say.

 

One of the reasons given regarding the "antibiotic resistant gonorrhea" was the overuse of over-the-counter antibiotics here and self-medication efforts.

 

I will try and look the article out, although a couple of computer crashes have wiped out quite a few of my articles.

[Enzian]

Not much stigma in many cases I think. I got it about 6-7 years ago and it was bad the first year but only in one certain spot always. Before I started a long term relationship 5 years ago I told her, and she said we can work it out. Also she had endometriosis and taking the drug for it and couldn't become pregnant, and didn't like condoms so we soon quit using them. We were tested at Bumrungrad and sure enough I tested for it and she did not. My outbreaks tapered off, became more and more mild, seemed to happen when I was out of country or just not around her, I started taking 200mg acyclovir morn and night-still do-last outbreak Jan. '18, so going on 3 years clear, we were together 4 1/2 years she knew the risk didn't care and never did get it from me. I know it's just luck and hope it will last but life is unsure.

[timendres]

On 10/12/2020 at 4:42 PM, JohnnyCrisp22 said:

That's an overly simplistic viewpoint since what is "moral" is largely defined by the culture as opposed to some sort of objective truth, which is exactly why I'm asking in the first place.

 

In the United States herpes is highly stigmatized and viewed as "gross" (mostly because of the ad campaigns that were run in the 70's to market Valtrex), whereas in many parts of Europe people generally don't care about it.

 

Exact same virus, but different "morals" surrounding its seriousness. If people in a given culture collectively don't view it as a big deal, and if most people don't disclose it or talk about it, then yes, that has an effect on how one is obligated or not obligated to conduct themselves within that culture.

I guess you and I see things differently. Before I knowingly give another person a virus that they will live with for the rest of their life, I think it is appropriate to give them the option. I am funny that way. But then I have largely ignored society's opinion my entire life.

[scammed]

incurable diseases scares me even more then the other genital nasties,

i rest my case wrt sex partner

[NCC1701A]

i don't have it so it can't be that wide spread. 

 

"wide spread" see what i did there? 

[wombat]

On 10/12/2020 at 2:59 PM, JohnnyCrisp22 said:

what dating in Thailand might be like

one does not date in LOS....as herpes is for life full disclosure is the way to go

[wombat]

6 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

i don't have it so it can't be that wide spread. 

 

"wide spread" see what i did there? 

i see flies

[Ireland32]

On 10/12/2020 at 5:12 PM, BangkokReady said:

He's talking about genital herpes, which I think appears on the tip of the penis.  A condom would cover this, if used correctly.

 

That sounds like shingles.

 

Unfortunately, and I think in an effort to sell drugs, a lot of people view genital herpes as being highly contagious all the time.  A little like AIDS.

 

Savage.

I had shingles same symptoms across chest 

[trucking]

Had it for 40 years. No big deal.

 

As the doctor who diagnosed it said, the older I get the fewer outbreaks I have. Maybe only once a year if I am run down. Goes in about seven days. Taking medication not advised according to that doctor. He reckoned if you let it be , the bodies immune system will become familiar with it and learn to cope with it without taking dubious medications.

 

Don't have sex if you have an outbreak and for about a week after the scar has healed as although it might not be visible the spores can still be spread.

 

No stigma in Thailand if you have it since as others have said, most people don't know what it is and have probably not heard of it. Even when you have an outbreak its only like a spot on your todger , not some vast growth an inch wide.

Also, when meeting people for the first time don't say " high my name is ....   I've got genital herpes ' since its totally unnecessary.

 

On the plus side ..... it is a virus so your body will be familiar with fighting it . When China unleashes its next deadly virus on us it could be that the only people who survive are those with herpes !!!  Every cloud has a silver lining.

[bkk6060]

On 10/12/2020 at 4:42 PM, JohnnyCrisp22 said:

In the United States herpes is highly stigmatized and viewed as "gross" (mostly because of the ad campaigns

This is a false statement in my opinion.

It is estimated approx. 12% of the adults have it so that is what..25 million plus.

The majority of the women I know in their 60's have it mostly caught earlier in their life.  They take the meds and deal with it.

 

As far as Thailand I do think there is lack of education with this.  HIV most know about Herpes not so sure don't hear or see Ads or people talking about it.

 

[jdlancaster]

On 10/12/2020 at 5:12 PM, BangkokReady said:

He's talking about genital herpes, which I think appears on the tip of the penis.  A condom would cover this, if used correctly.

 

That sounds like shingles.

 

Unfortunately, and I think in an effort to sell drugs, a lot of people view genital herpes as being highly contagious all the time.  A little like AIDS.

 

Savage.

 

1 hour ago, Ireland32 said:

I had shingles same symptoms across chest 

Herpes (HSV1 and 2) is way overhyped. Most doctors don't care to test for it unless there are symptoms as the stigma and anxiety is worse than the disease. Shingles/chicken pox (herpes zoster HHV3) is a type of herpes along with a few other types of common things we catch (e.g. mono/epstein-barr virus HHV4). We all have sometype of herpes. Genital herpes (HSV2 mostly, but HSV1 (normally oral) is getting more common genitally) likes to hang out in the nerves near your sacrum and comes back out every now and again. You shed the virus even with no symptoms and most people don't have symptoms.