Sun and fun at a National Event on the beach!
The St. Pete Beach National Event is held at a hotel right on the beach! The name says it all! This end of the year event is a favorite for many that want to escape the cold! Sun, sand, pool, volleyball and the ocean…what more could you ask for!
Their website is not updated so check back and save the date!
If you have never been to an event and want to know more, visit our events page!
Herpes Gladiatorum on rise in athletes from skin to skin contact
Herpes Gladiatorum- BusinessWeek- In addition to the collegiality and competitive spirit that typifies team sports, one dermatologist cautions that players may be sharing something far less desirable: contagious skin infections. “Herpes simplex is so common among wrestlers where skin-to-skin contact is unavoidable that the condition is termed herpes gladiatorum,” said Adams. “Treatment includes oral antiviral medications and the athlete can return to practice and competition after four to five days of treatment. Wrestlers who spar with an infected partner have a one-in-three chance of contracting this skin infection, so it is crucial that the virus is treated and athletes avoid competition during the period of infection.”
It looks like this is becoming an increasing problem in high school wrestling programs. Last year, there was an outbreak among several high school wrestling teams in Minnesota. The National Center for Biotechnology Information did a report on this in 1991 and the occurrences have been going up. The NCBI states that 34% of the wrestlers tested had HSV-1 ( The herpes that causes cold sores).
This is a cause for concern, especially if you have kids that wrestle. HSV-1 should not be downplayed as a simple “Skin infection” as it can be spread to other parts of the body, including the genitals. From there, it can be spread by sexual contact. HSV-1 and HSV-2 (Genital) are virtually identical under a microscope. So, if you have a cold sore (HSV-1) you can give someone genital herpes via oral sex.
If you have kids that will participate in sports, it may be a good idea to be observant of any rashes or red areas. The National Wrestling Coaches Association has put out an informational video about this HERE.
There is no cure for herpes
Is there a cure for herpes?
No. There is not a cure for herpes…plain and simple.
Many of you, reading this, will think to yourself, “Of course there is no cure! Everybody knows that!” Unfortunately, this is not the case.
Once diagnosed with HSV, people tend to jump on their computer to find out everything they can about it. Misinformation is one of the biggest reasons that herpes is spread and the internet is full of it.
These people can be vulnerable and will, no doubt, come across claims of medication that promises a cure and even offer a 100% money back guarantee. They WANT to believe there is a cure and some will be willing to try anything.
In May of 2011, the FDA issued a warning to consumers to be cautious of these claims and will start cracking down of these fraudulent companies. This warning did not stop these claims of having a cure for herpes.
We have been seeing new sites popping up like crazy. They look reputable, have “Herpes” or “HSV” in their name, claim success in “trials” and they provide other information to appear credible. Then there is the hook. They just happen to have a cure for herpes.
One such site that we found promises a “Complete herpes cure in 5-6 months”, a success rate of 97% with a 100% money-back guarantee for $39.99. If you read the fine print, there is also a $10.00 “Restocking fee.” This is a scam.
Why is this so dangerous? Herpes outbreaks and their recurrence vary by individual. Someone could have a first outbreak and not have another one for months or even years. So, an individual gets diagnosed then purchases one of these “Herpes cures” and does not notice an outbreak for a long time. They think they are cured only to pass the virus to someone else. You can still spread herpes without an outbreak through viral shedding.
Don’t worry, all hope is not lost! There are some treatments that many have found successful for outbreak suppression. Acyclovir, Valcyclovir (Valtrex) and some even swear by Lysine. These may lessen the outbreaks but you can still spread herpes while on them. For more information on this and more, check out the treatment section on datingwithherpes.org. They have an excellent informational site!
Will there ever be a cure? Who knows! Research is going on all the time. Live your life to the fullest now. Don’t let it pass you by waiting for a cure. You’ll soon realize that there is much more to life than having herpes.
NationalHClub has moved!
For years, we ran NationalHClub.com and focused on listing HSV & HPV events and local groups across the country and Canada. Instead of updating 2 sites, we are condensing! Now, people only need to go to one place for the event and group information. Nationalhclub now points to the events section here.
The events listed here are not the only ones happening! Besides the larger national ones, local groups have gatherings all the time so check a group in your area. Many local events are also posted in the member’s section. Traveling to a new city? Look up their group to see what’s happening. You can also post that you are visiting in the forums inside HWerks.
People visited Chicago all the time and would let the group know. We usually tried to get a few people together and meet up with them. That’s a great thing about this community! Ok, in all fairness, we pretty much looked for any excuse to get out of the house!
If your group is having an event or get-together, let us know!
CDC says the top 15 list is a hoax
Examiner – According to a January 17, 2012 report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) list of the top 15 most herpes-infected cities in the United States is a hoax. The list has been widely published online and ranks Atlanta as the worst city for sex …. The list even goes so far as to attribute this quote to the Centers for Disease Control: “According to the CDC, the top 5 cities have as high as a 40% infection rate for sexually active young people.”
The original story has been circling the internet and went viral (No pun intended) on the blog sites. It is claiming that the top 5 cities (Newark, Milwaukee, Chicago, Washington DC and Atlanta) have up to a 40% rate of herpes among sexually active people. According to a spospokesman from the CDC, they don’t even collect data on herpes. The national survey that this hoax refers to doesn’t break it down by state.
So, until more data comes out, it would be safe to assume that 1 out of 4 people has herpes…regardless of the area. Besides, Atlanta is a great city!
The stigma needs to stop
DJ in Detroit referred to people with herpes as being “Dirty.” We just heard from members of a local group and got their permission to post this here. Here is the original post made:
“OK– Just need to VENT– I was listening to 98.7 on my way to an appointment around 3:00 today, and the DJ announces that he just heard that the Detroit area has one of the largest H populations in the country. (Fine– so what?) He goes on to ask the listeners if they’ve run into anyone “dirty” like that in their lives, and gets a female caller on the air to ask her if she’s met any “dirty” men in her dating life. !!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT THE……?????? Where does it say that H [Having herpes] has ANYTHING to do with personal hygiene??????? I wanted to jump thru my radio speaker and strangle the idiot!!”
Metro Detroit Help, one of the largest social / support groups in North America for those people that have contracted either the HSV or HPV virus and based in SE Michigan with over 1,000 members, have fired off an email to the staff at 98.7FM. This radio station is owned by CBS. Others, from around the country are also sending emails to the station.
Here is an email sent in by one person:
If you are going to date online, you may want to look at getting Google Voice. The best part is that it is almost free! They made me put $10 in my account and it is still there after 2 years. It is free to call from the US and Canada and their rates for international calling are very low.
What is it? Google Voice (GV) is a free service by Google if you are signed up with their email, Gmail (Also free). It gives you a phone number that works like any other but better.
You call from that number with your cell phone after downloading the app. The app also combines your regular cell’s voicemail and gives you a visual voicemail just like the iPhone. It will then transcribe it and email it to you if you don’t want to listen.
On a regular dating site, people want someone who lives in the same town and anything over 10 minutes away is considered a long distance relationship. On a herpes dating site, people are more willing to venture out farther than the norm to meet somebody. This may mean that they will spend more time on the phone. If you don’t have the same carrier or an unlimited package, this can get expensive. This is where GV comes in…it is also free to call and receive calls because it uses your cell’s data package.
You can set the screening to only accept calls in your address book, block certain numbers or send certain callers straight to voicemail. You can even set up a specific voicemail for certain people.
This also protects you from someone, you met online, from blowing up your phone if that first date didn’t go so well.
Sun, Slopes and Skiing! The Perfect Combination!
bayareafriends.org/lake-tahoe-ski-trip – Please join Southern California Friends, Bay Area Friends, Northern Nevada Friends, Sacramento Friends and the H Meetup/Social/Facebook Groups for the 14th annual Lake Tahoe ski trip. Besides the beautiful scenery and excellent skiing, it’s a great way to have fun and make some new friends! Lake Tahoe is the most beautiful Alpine Lake in the world. Lake Tahoe borders California and Nevada and is located just 200 miles east of San Francisco and only 45 miles southwest of the Reno-Tahoe International Airport. We have booked a gorgeous 7 bedroom 5 bath 7,400 square foot Lakefront luxury estate vacation home for the annual Lake Tahoe Ski trip. The home is located in the prestigious Tahoe Keys and has a pool table room, 2 living/entertainment rooms with large screen TV, huge kitchen, indoor koi pond, panoramic lake views and rooftop jacuzzi overlooking the lake and mountains.
Wow! What a view! This is listed as a local event but if you like to ski and want to travel, then get in touch with the Bay Area Friends before this sells out! The BAF group is a very active one and has great events. They also run DatingWithHerpes.org and it is a great site for information about herpes. If you like to ski then don’t miss this event! If you have never been to an event and want to know more, visit our events page!
Nope, it's next to impossible that you got it from a towel
Can you get herpes from a towel? According to the Mayo Clinic, it is all but impossible.
“Because the virus dies quickly outside of the body, it’s nearly impossible to get the infection through contact with toilets, towels or other objects used by an infected person. “ Besides, soap kills the herpes virus instantly.
The same goes for hot tubs and pools as the chlorine instantly kills the virus.
The experts can not seem to agree that it is impossible. This is probably because there hasn’t been any cases that can be validated. Most likely people, usually those in relationships, have tried to blame their HSV on anything but how they actually got it.
Now, should a guy ask another guy to borrow his towel after he gets out of the shower? Heck no! It has nothing to do with herpes. Guys just don’t do that sort of thing. We would go through a roll of paper towels or use the hand dryer before asking a guy to use his wet towel.
Just use common sense!
The Riverwalk in San Antonio
Friendsovertexas.net- OK Friends…the website is updated with the hotel information, tentative weekend schedule, event fee and the guest book is up and running! Get to the website and check everything out and sign the guest book. The San Antonio gang and the Friends over Texas Network are excited to see you all again next year and we promise it will be an event to remember!
Everything is big in Texas and this event is no exception! Since Texas is so big, they rotate their national events between Austin, San Antonio, Dallas and Houston. Their local groups are very active. The Texas events are very well organized and people fly in from all over to attend. It is always a great time! If you have never been to an event and want to know more, visit our events page!
Update from the event planners:
The hotel IS going to sell out! That means that once we have sold out our room block, the hotel will have no more rooms to give us! That means you will have to pay more, stay at a hotel different from the event hotel and we all know that is NO fun!
So…if you are thinking you might be attending, get your event fee paid and your hotel room booked!
We expect 200 plus to be in attendance, you don’t want to miss this event!
Click the button to log in or join! Want to learn more? Go to the Membership page!
