Few things leave women as shaken as a genital herpes diagnosis, and it’s not hard to understand why. 

On top of the STI itself, the discovery of HSV2 often leads to a ton of uncomfortable questions. Where was it contracted? Could a partner have strayed? And perhaps the toughest of all: how do we tell our partners about the diagnosis?

That being said, while we should never downplay the seriousness of genital herpes, it’s far from a death sentence. In fact, we can still lead great, long and healthy lives after contracting the virus – and the same goes for our sex lives. 

In this episode, I’m going to walk you through a discussion of HSV2, and share some tips on how to have the tough conversations post-diagnosis. 

Herpes really effing sucks, but you can still be you and have an amazing sex life, even with the virus. -Heather Bartos

Things We Learned From This Episode

  • A rundown of the Herpes family (it’s bigger than you think!) 
  • How to tell a new partner about a herpes diagnosis
  • How to resume your sex life, POST-outbreak
  • What to do to ease the symptoms of genital herpes and prevent spreading it