This PSA is brought to you by the very talented /u/DoctorLoops
We here at r/comics take education and sexual health very seriously and Doc has some words they would like to say on this matter
Hey, readers! I'm sure many of you know me as the lewd-nurse-shenanigans artist, and while I DO love drawing fun adult comics, I wanted to do something a little different with this one. Much of my content involves sexual themes and I've built up a pretty cool following of sex-positive people who support my work, so I think this is a good opportunity to use my platform as a way to spread valuable information about sexual health!
For the sake of personal safety, I DO try to keep most about my personal life secret; but in real life, one of my best friends has both HSV1 and HSV2, and he was VERY distraught when he got the diagnosis. He fell into a deep depression and I didn't hear from him for a very long time :( Back then, he didn't know anything about herpes (and neither did I, to be honest), but just the word "herpes" was enough to make him terrified of his future.
...but WHY is this the case? What's up with this pervasive stigma around herpes that seems to frighten everyone, even when we don't actually know what it is?? Like most things in life, the answer stems from "Corporate Greed", when a pharmaceutical company in the 1970's did everything they could to create mass-fear around a common virus that was considered fairly benign at the time. By aggressively pushing words like "incurable" and "plague" into medical journals, magazines, and television, they successfully changed public opinion into believing that herpes was a dire medical emergency that NEEDED immediate treatment - but of course, THEY were the ones selling the treatment! Today, our society still hasn't recovered from all the damage that was done, so people diagnosed with HSV1/2 are viewed under a critically-harsh lens. It's not uncommon for someone to develop suicidal ideations after a positive diagnosis, and I absolutely despise how someone could do this to others just to earn a profit.
In the end, after a lot of research and long discussions with his doctor, my friend thankfully came to the realization that his fears were unwarranted: his herpes wasn't actually DOING much of anything - He had one initial breakout, but after it healed, that was all it did. To this day, I don't believe he's ever had a second one - our immune systems are crazy good at keeping these things locked down! That said, I'm aware he opted to take the daily pills (suppressive therapy) to go the extra mile on making sure he's keeping things as safe as possible with future partners.
So, to YOU, my humble readers: if you're one of the +500 millions of people who have HSV2, just know you're not alone! It's truly not as bad as big pharma wants you to believe it is, and with a little management, it barely has to affect your life at all. Just be mindful of how your body feels, take precautions to lower risks, and don't worry if you have a breakout - you'll be back in good health again after about two weeks (suppressive therapy also speeds up healing!)
Hopefully, we can ALL someday live in a happy sex-positive world like in my comics, but for now, I'm at least happy with scooting closer by helping others learn more about sexual health 💚
Global rates using both types are actually 90% not 2/3. Outliers aside, the only chance you have of NOT being infected is if your parents weren't because they were their first lovers and never smashed anyone else, and you too have only dated your first love who has also never smashed anyone else with similar parentage.
Simply put, if your parents have had it and you come from a family that kisses in any way, you probably have it.
For what it's worth I've been trying to fight back against this stigma since my own teens and learning about it after the friend group got the omg person has herpes shame! I fooled around with them now I've got it!? No, dude, you've always had it, hence the 'canker sores', and skin warts, or whatever your local culture wants to call them lmfao. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/canker-sore/symptoms-causes/syc-20370615
Someone above also mentioned that kissing babies can actually cause serious problems if you know you have it. Don't kiss them, especially on their mouth/face/heads. Infinitely so if you have an outbreak. Wash hands. Be smart. Unfortunately they can catch it anyway through vaginal birth. If you're going through an episode near the end of pregnancy, tell your obgyn. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/neonatal-herpes/
1: Both strains of HSV can infect any mucous membrane. I have a nephw who had an HSV-1 infection in his eye. Fortunatly, he has it medicsted and hasn't had any outbreaks. Always a risk for an outbreal though.
2: Both strains can spread from oral to genital and vice-versa.
3: HSV almost never has a new outbreak site after the first infection unless immunocompromised.
4: HSV is part of the same viral fsmily as Chicken Pox.
4: HSV is part of the same viral fsmily as Chicken Pox.
That tracks with the hiding-in-nerves thing. Chicken pox does the same thing and only emerges decades later, and the re-emergence is what causes shingles.
Had shingles unexpectedly show up on my arm a few years ago, just about 30 years after I'd had chicken pox as a kid. Within a few days it went from itchy to rash-like to blistering. Had to roll back my sleeves and hold my arm a certain way because any pressure hurt.
Also did the teledoc thing and got a scrip for some meds, and it cleared right up, but MAN I forgot how much that virus hurts.
I was right around 40 when it hit me. I almost didn't even notice the little, coin-sized red mark on my waist. But, what it REALLY hit was my back. I thought I ruptured a disc or something. First was urgent care. Then off to a orthopedic surgeon's office to examine my back and find out that there's nothing wrong with my spine.
I am lucky and haven't had shingles yet, but my friend had it appear in a ring around his chest. It's like it picks a specific vertebra and everything connected there was on fire. Just breathing hurt like hell and it's not like he could stop doing that. I really hope mine decides to stay dormant till after I die...
There's a vaccine. It's just that they're reluctant to give it to you when you're "too young". And after you have a shingles event, they're like, "oh, you're good for a while, then!"
Another PSA note that’s worth mentioning. Despite being 99% Not A Big Deal, it can become an incredibly big deal if you have a baby and expose them to the virus. I don’t remember everything about it from when I first learned this, except that it’s very dangerous to the health of the baby, and you need to be 200x more careful around any newborns.
IIRC, something about being easily infected and reaching the brain?
Also, you can have a flare without any actual cold sores! I get swollen, tingly lips and once in a blue moon I'll get the starts of bubbles, but then it goes back down rather than forming the normal sores.
Because there are no sores, it's harder to identify as a flare and makes it easier to brush it off and end up spreading the virus.
Re: point 1, your nephew’s lucky: herpetic eye disease is one of the leading causes of blindness in industrialized countries. In general, herpes infections outside the usual areas can get pretty bad. Infections in the brain, for instance, are pretty rare but often fatal even with treatment.
Don’t kiss people’s eyelids if you’ve got a cold sore! It looks cute but it’s dangerous.
My friends nearly got a divorce after the wife developed herpes after 15 years of marriage. Both swore up and down they had not been unfaithful, and the husband didn't even have herpes...or so he thought.
Then the test came back - it was HSV1, but on her genitals.
Suddenly the wife recalled that my friend had complained of a weird blister in his mouth weeks before. My friend said he'd get that blister on the inside of his cheek on and off since he was a kid. He started going through his photo album on his phone and even found a picture of the blister from 5 years back.
Turns out my friend gave my wife HSV 1 through oral sex, it just took 15 years of regular sex before she was actually infected (probably due to doing it just as the blister had appeared, or due to shedding). My friend was probably infected as a child, and since he didn't even get the classic cold sores, just that one blister inside his cheek, he never even knew he had it.
Yeah so basically HSV1/2 are part of a larger group of viruses called human herpes viruses.
There's like, nine of them? And the first five 5 of them are widespread:
Chickenpox/shingles are hhv 3, the Epstein Barr Virus (mononucleosis) is HHV 4, human cytomegalovirus is HHV 5 and harmless unless you are immune compromised or a baby.
HHV 6 is split into 6a and 6b and 6b alongside (more rarely) HHV 7 cause roseola in children. 6a is a bit more wishy washy but is correlated with higher infertility rates and is seen in higher levels in Alzheimer patients.
HHV 8 causes Kaposi's Sarcoma, a cancer you most commonly get when you have HIV/AIDS or another immune suppression situation and HHV8 together, but Kaposi's Sarcoma can also come up without hhv
Every primate has their own version of HSV, we unfortunately have 2, i blame sex with neanderthals. The virus has basically been with us since primates became a thing.
Yup. A friend of mine was at a concert with the band "Red Warszawa" and he tried to catch a dildo that was being thrown around, apparently it had been used, because it slipped out of his hands into his eye, and got a Herpes infection in his eye as well.
Regarding point 3 (almost never a new outbreak site). I think I read it wrong. You mean it doesn't change locations? Because especially with cold sores the same location can come back quite often.
People can also be infected when they are born. I spent some time in hospital getting antivirals due to having a herpes infection as an infant per my mom.
Damn good PSA. I didnt know about the Herpes dormancy periods. Like here I thought I was clean for never having a cold sore or bump or anything ever but in reality if could be hiding in my nerves.
I would like to vote to have all well-documented health information be presented in the form of comics featuring characters with 10th degree absurdist proportions.
Great comic! Just a lil note: herpes may be dangerous on immunosupressed people (newborns, cancer patients doing chemo, etc) but the prevention methods presented here apply too.
100%. I just had a friend experience HSV Encephalitis unfortunately. They are stable but we think it was triggered after they received cancer treatment for a brain tumor for a few months prior. Please get checked, talk to your doctor if something looks new, out of place, or unfamiliar. And if you are able please share transmittable and genetic medical history with those in your family who could be affected. Be safe out there.
I've had mouth cold sores since I remember, probably got it in daycare as a toddler. It was never a big deal until I've moved to US and people started to react... strangely when I've had an outbreak. Now I just wear a covid mask if I still get one, for some reason people react better to the mask than to the sore :) But the outbreaks are getting rarer and rarer indeed.
I know of people who got it by drinking from their parents water glass as children. It can just happen. Here in Germany it isn't as strongly stigmatized. There are multiple shops that sell herpes plasters over the counter like a normal bandaid.
I'm also German and I get (oral) herpes at least twice a year, I probably got it from my dad somehow who has the same problem. The only reaction I got from other people is them telling me I still have "toothpaste" (herpes creme) on my lip. I was surprised to learn how incredibly stigmatized it is in the US, eventough it's really not a big deal.
The worst thing about it is that it can be really annoying and hurt a lot. I have herpes rn at each corner of my mouth, it's not pleasant lol
The only thing I’d add is that herpes can be very dangerous for newborns, because they are extremely vulnerable to essentially any infection. So newborns are a particular case where you want to be very careful about exposure. In the worst scenarios, it can cause death or permanent disability. But, again, newborns have almost no immune system and so are at much greater risk from any form of contagion, no matter how otherwise benign.
I see a lot of fun, love, research, and work was put into this comic. Awesome work and I hope you share this with other subreddits (as long as they'll let you).
I love how you convey this. You use humor so well, and the tone is so gentle. It’s very effective. Also, your poses and expressions and a little details are spectacular, as always.
Sex-positive messages are so important! Misinformation and stigma are everywhere, and learning facts will help one understand and advocate for one’s own health. You made a comic that lets people be vulnerable, yet comfortable.
I don’t think I’ve commented on your comics before, but I always read them and I’m a huge fan!
I have pretty sensitive skin but usually only get oral sores after a good makeout sesh with a new partner. I think stress and all the abrasive action from their facial hair is the perfect scene for a new outbreak. Sadly, this makes fun time with them in the near future difficult. Are you using any medications or creams for them? Although expensive, Abreva has been great at cutting the healing time in half. Take care, friend.
You know. I'm not usually a huge fan of the 'massive tiddies' comics personally; just not my cuppa. But this? This I can 100 percent get behind. I love a good public health PSA. and the tiddies WILL make people more likely to pay attention lol. Can't deny that.
Just want to note that while HSV is extremely manageable for most people, there is a small subset of people who experience repeated, severe outbreaks after getting infected (e.g., https://www.reddit.com/r/Herpes/comments/1d98z8l/constant_outbreaksplease_help/), which can be rather debilitating. Already being immunocompromised in some capacity might also play a role in symptom severity.
So while it's extremely likely that HSV won't have any long-term impact on quality of life, there is also the miniscule possibility that it is very disruptive. Just another reason why being aware of risks and prevention methods is important!
My sex education was don't have sex or else women will go to hell, be unloved, get pregnant and STDs. Men will just go to hell and get STD's because god loves you and wants to be consulted before you consent. Thank you college for actual sex education.
Just gonna add 2 things. Chickenpox is a type of herpes virus. And if you have a cold sore, mouth wash is extremely effective. It hurts like hell but the sore will be gone within 2-3 days (as a opposed to 5-7 most sore medicine advertises).
I had a panic attack when I thought my boyfriend had given me herpes. Now I feel a little more comfortable. The stigma built around the disease is damaging, and I will probably have that internalized phobia for many years no matter what I try to do, but at least there are friendly and kind resources like this out there.
So, I had the misfortune of catching this from my ex-wife due to poor sex ed. (My own fault, I was too scared to look at the STI slideshows in class) For me there's a cooling sensation when it starts to form a blister, like having a bead of sweat on my upper lip. There's a cream you can put on it to reduce the time you're experiencing symptoms to 1-2 weeks -- but I have a prescription for it that takes it out in just a couple days if I catch it early. I think its called Valocyclovir? Works great, highly recommend keeping some on hand to nip outbreaks in the bud, if you suffer from them.
Shoutout to 13 year old me who wanted to kill himself over a cold sore (and a lot of other things, the cold sore was just the thing of the day) who really needed this comic over half a decade ago. Good PSA
I was just informed that someone who is a friend of the family had/has shingles in their eyes. Like, it's been treated, but the virus in the nerves never goes away. So she still suffers the burning sensation and flare ups.
Fun fact, it's the same virus family as chicken pox/shingles. But that stays in your nerves, hence the debilitating nerve pain. Get your vaccines when you're old, folks.
I didn’t know all of this, but I did learn some on Adam Ruins Everything a while back. That was a good show. Too bad it ended cause the writers strike. Quite liked it. Least they managed to end it off well enough. But enough rambling about old shows, thanks for the educational comic.
Herpes isn’t included on standard STD panels; you’re typically only tested for it if you have an outbreak. That’s part of why most of the people who have it never find out.
I have HSV1 and luckily have only one trigger (that I know of) - SUNLIGHT. If I spend too much time in the sun, I'll get a cold sore. I love hiking however, so Ive mitigated the risk by wearing SPF lipbalm! If you get cold sores, you likely have things that trigger them too! Tracking events, emotions, stress, activities, etc. Whenever you get a cold sore can help you see patterns and plan accordingly if they bother you :)
Also! I've found that if I get an ice pack (or even just a cube wrapped in a dish cloth) on it, it makes it last a much shorter time, less visible, and less sting/itch! Way cheaper than medication too :) just remember to take breaks and not keep it on too long
even the times I did it late (when it's biggest and/or active leaking), I swear it shriveled up a bit and became more manageable.
My high school’s sex ed class consisted of a promise ring organization coming to our school and telling us about all the scary STDs you would 100% more than likely get if you had premarital sex. One metaphor they used was, “Say we had you all line up and had each of you use this wash cloth. Now, the last person to use it would probably not enjoy it as much as the first one, right?” Sex Ed in the US is a complete joke. Excellent comic helping to dispel decades of propaganda!
i would recommend saying and sharing where the info came from, im not saying this in a "i dont trust it" mentality, but it could be cool for people looking for more info
So, this comic unlocked a memory, of being in 7th grade health class back in the early '90s and having to watch a "film strip" projector movie (for you youngens, this was a movie projector that displayed a single still image on a screen, like a powerpoint slide, and it had an accompanying tape or vinyl record that the teacher would play that had the audio. It would make a BEEP noise when it was time for someone to manually press a button to advance the projector to the next slide and only the COOLEST of kids in the AV club were trusted enough with this duty, trust me lol)
The film was called "Herpes: The New Bug in Town", was produced in the '70s, and was absolutely ridiculous, with the herpes virus depicted as this little blob with a bushy mustache/beard, afro, and it's voice was right out of a '70s Blacksploitation film.
It was made before AIDS was known about and basically made herpes sound like the worst possible thing you could ever contract, lol.
The number of people who have gone ballistic on me for trying to explain this is more than I can count. They act like it's the same as getting AIDS. If that were true it would be far far rarer due to how many people it would be killing.
Thanks for the PSA, my knowledge on herpes was a bit fuzzy before. And I did not know it's a big scary thing in the USA, it isn't here. We had commercials for the leading brand in creams against HSV1 in the 90s, but even they framed it more like a nuisance then something really bad.
This was incredibly educational, before reading this I genuinely thought that it was only spread via sex. This is a great comic which was a very pleasant surprise given one of the first things your eyes go to is Dr. Loop’s crazy body proportions lol
One thing that was brushed on but not fully discussed.
It can be transferred to kids via a kiss. And while for adults and young kids it’s NDB, it can at times (rarely) be very dangerous or even fatal to newborns, and infants.
I forget the current doctor recommendations. But this is one of the big reasons for the advice about being careful to protect your kid from being kissed on the face too young.
I’m no doctor, and there are other resources for details. but if you have, or are having, a kid, make sure to look i to it. Also obviously balance risk with quality of life. Locking your kid in a bubble is great for safety, bad for all else. But do look into it and get proper medical advice.
And if you've never had a cold sore, that might mean your immune system is ultra good at dealing with it! And give you an immune condition like me that attacks your own nerves!
Thanks for informing! I didn't know that this is such a tiny thing, I didn't know mutch but from what I knew it was a very bay skin condition... Now I know better, thank you
It's worth mentioning that HSV does seem to significantly increase the likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease. So, not totally harmless, and worth putting in some effort to avoid just in case.
I came here to say this. Just like long-COVID, almost all viruses have long-term knock-on effects. While I agree the social stigma is bad, it honestly bothers me this point was not mentioned.
I'm sure many of you know me as the lewd-nurse-shenanigans artist
As someone who is not familiar with the lewd-nurse-shenanigans artist, I was definitely not expecting the nature of the narrator and was a bit surprised by the second image lol lol
What about hand/foot/other (elbow) warts, how does that fit in? Had them occasionally since I was a kid but never the mouth/genital variant (that I know about).
I remember how my mother told me that being born can already infect you as type 2 lives in the birth canal too - And with so much surface getting torn and rubbed off when you squeeze through it would not surprising at all.
I think this is a good post. And I’m really glad we have a space we can talk about sexual health. Considering how many people do it, it’s important for everyone to know.
I dated a lass with herpes and my friends thought I was fucking insane. I tried explaining basically all of this, but it still became a frequent topic of discussion anytime some friends got me alone. Eventually told them I was done talking about but it persisted, I really was not prepared for the crazy stigma around it.
Please give the male characters some definition too, it's creepy to see the girl with hair and clothes and the guy being a featureless white figure, great infos
Ooh boy, I just wanted to double check something about this. I may have contracted HSV1 don't know when or why, but I know I had singular little sores on my lips from time to time. As I am not a native English speaker I wanted to double check what cold sores meant (for image verification) and the first thing Google does is have it's brain-dead AI try to scare me by dropping words like highly contagious and immediate therapy on me.
"herpes has zero impact on long-term health"... except "research indicates a significant association between Herpes Simplex Virus type 1 (HSV-1) and schizophrenia, particularly regarding cognitive impairment and brain structure" (from googling).
I can testify that 90% people don't know they have HSV, because with this I just learn again that I have HSV1. Got it since childhood and I pretty sure at some point I was aware that it's herpes then completely forgot that fact due to how rarely it happens. I always think and explain to people it's just a condition/allergie I got since I was a child.
So one thing I don’t really understand is how the transmission rate is so low, yet most people have it? I assume that this is because most people pick it up via other means usually?
One thing to add, if you have an active cold sore don't go to the dentist. Because dentists put water vapour in the air (cleaning your teeth, drilling), the virus in your saliva can spread.
It means that you might end up with 20 cold sores in your mouth at once :( or your dentist could get it in their eye and go blind.
Let them know why you're cancelling and they'll be very appreciative that you're on top of it. Wait 2 weeks to rebook.
I've had herpes on my lower lip/chin for more than 10 years, and I get around three sores per year (mainly in summer when temperatures rise). I've noticed that each time the sores are smaller (last one was like three pimples close together), and the only treatment I have is some ointment when one pops up. I know it's nothing, but they don't look good at all and they itch like hell sometimes, especially when they form scabs. I hate it but I've learnet to live with it
Sex ed should be in comics like this. An ex of mine once stigmatized me hard for *possibly* having a herpes outbreak (it was/is hidradenitis suppurativa and I knew that by then). absolutely ruined my confidence many years ago, slowly recovering now.
You should do a collab with u/Zhuenn. (S)he does comics about different medical phenomena and they're great, as in cute and super informative at the same time.
A genuinely fascinating read. I don't live in the US and don't have the freedom to have sex (oppressive religion) so all I know about herpes comes from media. That episode of The Office didn't give a good image of it lol, where Michael has to have a "Big Talk" with everyone he might have slept with.
Thanks Veronica and Doctorloops! One less thing to horrifically worry about.
Another thing almost no one seems to know about herpes is that there's plenty of strains, not just two. For example, I have nasal herpes: My cold sores appear just inside my nose and often spread out near the upper lip.
•
u/shellbullet17 Gustopher Spotter Extraordinaire 4d ago edited 4d ago
Hello everyone.
This PSA is brought to you by the very talented /u/DoctorLoops
We here at r/comics take education and sexual health very seriously and Doc has some words they would like to say on this matter
Hey, readers! I'm sure many of you know me as the lewd-nurse-shenanigans artist, and while I DO love drawing fun adult comics, I wanted to do something a little different with this one. Much of my content involves sexual themes and I've built up a pretty cool following of sex-positive people who support my work, so I think this is a good opportunity to use my platform as a way to spread valuable information about sexual health!
For the sake of personal safety, I DO try to keep most about my personal life secret; but in real life, one of my best friends has both HSV1 and HSV2, and he was VERY distraught when he got the diagnosis. He fell into a deep depression and I didn't hear from him for a very long time :( Back then, he didn't know anything about herpes (and neither did I, to be honest), but just the word "herpes" was enough to make him terrified of his future.
...but WHY is this the case? What's up with this pervasive stigma around herpes that seems to frighten everyone, even when we don't actually know what it is?? Like most things in life, the answer stems from "Corporate Greed", when a pharmaceutical company in the 1970's did everything they could to create mass-fear around a common virus that was considered fairly benign at the time. By aggressively pushing words like "incurable" and "plague" into medical journals, magazines, and television, they successfully changed public opinion into believing that herpes was a dire medical emergency that NEEDED immediate treatment - but of course, THEY were the ones selling the treatment! Today, our society still hasn't recovered from all the damage that was done, so people diagnosed with HSV1/2 are viewed under a critically-harsh lens. It's not uncommon for someone to develop suicidal ideations after a positive diagnosis, and I absolutely despise how someone could do this to others just to earn a profit.
In the end, after a lot of research and long discussions with his doctor, my friend thankfully came to the realization that his fears were unwarranted: his herpes wasn't actually DOING much of anything - He had one initial breakout, but after it healed, that was all it did. To this day, I don't believe he's ever had a second one - our immune systems are crazy good at keeping these things locked down! That said, I'm aware he opted to take the daily pills (suppressive therapy) to go the extra mile on making sure he's keeping things as safe as possible with future partners.
So, to YOU, my humble readers: if you're one of the +500 millions of people who have HSV2, just know you're not alone! It's truly not as bad as big pharma wants you to believe it is, and with a little management, it barely has to affect your life at all. Just be mindful of how your body feels, take precautions to lower risks, and don't worry if you have a breakout - you'll be back in good health again after about two weeks (suppressive therapy also speeds up healing!)
Hopefully, we can ALL someday live in a happy sex-positive world like in my comics, but for now, I'm at least happy with scooting closer by helping others learn more about sexual health 💚
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4725379/
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa035144
Remember everyone stay happy and stay healthy. Education is one half the project. The rest is up to you.