Is the Western Blot Worth It?
Is the Western Blot Worth It? Every article you have read about herpes testing mentions the Western Blot, calls it the gold standard, and stops there. None of them tell you how to actually get one, what it costs, or whether your particular situation warrants the...
Can a Herpes Blood Test Be Wrong?
Can a Herpes Blood Test Be Wrong? Yes. More often than you have been told, and in a specific, predictable way that the number on your report will reveal if you know how to read it. I want to be careful here, because this article gets misused in both directions. Some...
When Should You Actually Get Tested for Herpes?
When Should You Actually Get Tested for Herpes? The honest answer is that you are probably going to test too early, get a result that cannot answer your question, and spend the following weeks believing something that is not yet true. I want to save you from that if I...
Your Herpes Test Results Do Not Say What You Think They Say
Your Herpes Test Results Do Not Say What You Think They Say You got a number back and a word. Nobody explained either one. Maybe the word was "positive." Maybe it was "exposed," which is worse, and I will come to why. Maybe there was a number beside it — 1.4, or 3.9,...
How to Have “The Talk” — And Why It’s Not What You Think
The conversation most people with herpes dread is not actually the conversation they need to be having. The standard advice — the version you will find on every herpes forum and in every well-meaning article — frames "The Talk" as a confession. You have something to...
Herpes and Pregnancy — What Your Doctor Should Be Telling You
There is a lot of misinformation circulating about the risk of herpes during pregnancy, and much of it is designed to frighten women into unnecessary caesarean sections. Let me set the record straight. If you have herpes and you are pregnant or planning to become...
What Your Doctor Won’t Tell You About Antivirals for Herpes
I am going to say something that will make some doctors uncomfortable. Antiviral drugs — Valtrex, acyclovir, famciclovir — are presented to most people with herpes as the primary, and often the only, meaningful response to their diagnosis. They are prescribed widely,...
Shame Is the Disease — How Stigma Makes Herpes
I have said this for twenty-three years and I will keep saying it. The stigma is the disease. Not the virus. The virus, for the vast majority of people who carry it, is manageable. It is inconvenient. It is sometimes painful. It disrupts relationships and creates...
The Scipio Diet — What to Eat and What to Avoid When You Have Herpes
Diet is the most immediately actionable thing most people can do to change their relationship with herpes. Not supplements. Not expensive herbal formulas. Not specialised equipment. Food. What you put in your body every day, consistently, over time. It is unglamorous....
Why Holistic Herpes Management Works When Nothing Else Has
Most people who find their way to holistic herpes management have already tried everything else. They have taken the antivirals. They have googled every supplement on the market. They have bought the lysine tablets, the essential oils, the alkaline diet books. Some of...