comment: >
  
  Now that I think about it it’s been like 10 years since I’ve had a cold sore pop up. I used to have them every so often as a teen but in my late 20s I can’t even remember the last time one popped up.
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  Remember, /r/Showerthoughts is for showerthoughts, not "thoughts had in the shower!"
  (For an explanation of what a "showerthought" is, please read this page.)
  Rule-breaking posts may result in bans. >
  
  I knew cold sores were caused by herpes, but for a long time, I thought “cold sores” were a different condition known as “canker sores” and thought that I had oral herpes only to find out later that canker sores were an unrelated thing. >
  
  Canker sores are mouth ulcers; for everyone else in the world.
  They're usually caused by sharp/abrasive foods and/or bad diet, but can also be a physiological response to stress if you're some who's prone to them.
  Cold sores or oral herpes (HSV-1) occurs in 2/3 people worldwide 1 and is about that high in the USA too 2 - though the majority don't display any symptoms. If you have a cold sore and someone takes the piss, chances are they also have HSV-1 and don't know.
  Additionally, cold sores can sometimes be confused with in-growing hairs. If you pluck hairs out from around the mouth, sometimes they'll grow back without poking through the hole and can get infected. >
  
  we now know hsv-2 can also cause oral herpes >
  
  Dude that's not even that crazy, a LOT of people don't even know that HPV isn't herpes and that a canker sore isn't a cold sore. It's insane how much education a lot of people grew up with in modern times yet many  adults are still super uninformed about STDs and just go off of hearsay or what a parent told them long ago. >
  
  It's true, actual canker sores are not herpes, but way too many people refer to cold sores as canker sores. >
  
  Cold sores are herpes. Chicken pox is herpes. Shingles is herpes. #EVERYTHING IS HERPES!!!! >
  
  Ok, but that's confusing for lay people. If anyone reads this comment and gets confused, all those viruses are in the herpes family. When we talk about herpes in everyday speak, we are only talking about herpes simplex 1 and 2. This is separate to the virus that causes chicken pox and shingles. >
  
  And even further, when people are referring to herpes as an STI they’re referring to herpes simplex 2 which is only spread via genitals and tends to affect genitals. Meanwhile, ~2/3 of the population carries herpes simplex 1, it’s just cold sores and can be treated effectively w oral/topical antivirals. 
  Herpes Zoster is chicken pox, but people don’t realize the virus never leaves your body, it just lays dormant. Decades go by until herpes zoster flares up and causes painful shingles. There’s a vaccine, everyone over age 50 should get it. >
  
  I got pox late in life and man was it bad. I got those shots as soon as I could because I am not game for shingles at all! >
  
  All great info.  Thanks for sharing! >
  
  I wish there were more vaccines available >
  
  same with people who think geese and ducks are males and females of the same bird like with roosters and hens >
  
  There are people that think geese and ducks are the same thing, just different genders? >
  
  a lot more than there should be, which is zero >
  
  These are the same people that think The Clap is a punk band from the 80’s and Syphilis is that guy pushing the huge rock up hill. >
  
  Std herpes is literally the same cold sore in a different location. This ^ is the most frustrating comment of all. >
  
  Simplex 1 and simplex 2.  Both can infect both locations.  One is usually the lips and the other is usually downstairs.  
  But yeah, they're both herpes.  And both a life long illness.  And fairly easy to avoid.  If it's got blisters, don't touch. >
  
  Not fairly easy to avoid. 2/3 of the global population has HSV1 and 1/6 HSV2. 
  If you’re scared of both, you’re cutting your dating pool much smaller than someone with it. 80-90 percent of people that have it are asymptomatic. I’m one of them and doing just fine.
  FYI chickenpox is also a lifelong illness. So is mono. We don’t think anything about those. >
  
  When I say "fairly easy to avoid", it's relative.  For example, someone can have the flu around me and I may not know it.  They could walk by and sneeze or cough in my general direction and that's it.
  Herpes, either type, requires some sort of action between them.  Sharing a drink.  Sharing a body part.  
  Hope that helps make my comment make more sense.  ( : >
  
  It’s not. Unless you’re testing every person before you even kiss them, in the US it’s a coin flip that the person you’re with carries the virus. In most European and Asian countries it’s 2/3 to 90 percent. For most of human history, having herpes was an accepted part of being human. Only in the last generation or two are we seeing thoughts and posts like yours.
  While herpes is shed with a cold sore present most definitely, it can also be shed asymptomatically. So Just because someone never had cold sores, doesn’t mean that they can’t give you them. 80-90 percent of carriers are again, asymptomatic. 
  You not having either strain doesn’t mean you’ve done everything right, it just means you’re lucky. It’s pure chance. You can do everything “right” and still get it.
  Of course. You can choose to not share items with people or test them before you kiss them. But imo, that’s overkill. 
  They only way you can truly avoid herpes is avoiding human contact and swearing celibacy. >
  
  "...seeing thoughts and posts like yours."
  I don't think I've given the impression that I think people with cold sores are "untouchable" or anything.  
  Yes, I realize it's been around a long time.  And it's prevelant.  
  But if you avoid casual sexual encounters and using other's utensils, it's mostly avoidable.  
  (Please realize I used the qualifier "mostly".  I know that some are just lucky.  But avoiding unnecessary contact can prevent a lot of things.) >
  
  Would you engage in a romantic relationship with someone with them?
  And again, you can have sex with someone and you’re both virgins, and still get it genitally.
  It’s not just prevalent, it’s more common to have it than not.
  YOU are the outlier if you don’t have either strain. You almost certainly have Chickenpox or the Epstein-Barr virus, two other members of the herpes virus family that like HSV1 and 2, are incurable. >
  
  I've been married for many years now.  So, no.  And if I wasn't married and was dating around, then no - I would not willingly/knowingly sleep with someone that had herpes.  But I am not the type of guy to sleep around anyway so it wouldn't matter.
  Yes, I realize that a virgin can have herpes.  It could have been transmitted during birth.  But we're getting further away from the original topic so I'm about done here. >
  
  So you’re saying you wouldn’t touch anyone with it. Period. 
  Tell your wife/husband you wouldn’t be with them over a few bumps (if they ever manifest). Unless you’ve both been tested beforehand, very likely he/she has it (it’s not included on standard STI panels). >
  
  Cold sores can also infect your brain. Herpes in the brain. It's lovely. Happened to a cousin of mine when he was young. >
  
  The amount of people who do not know that man is merely animal, and good and evil merely concepts is surprising. >
  
  I'm not sure how this relates to my thought, but okay! >
  
  That's the herpes talking. >
  
  🤣   Okay... award earned. >
  
  I... remember learning this. Multiple times, actually. Because I dgaf, frankly, so I keep forgetting. It's not like that knowledge will make it go away faster... >
  
  Or make it go away at all. >
  
  One thing I hate is that every so often, my lips start drying out, so I start using lip balm, and right around the time I get hooked on the lip balm, I get a cold sore, infecting it. As soon as the cold sore starts healing, I stop using that lip balm to avoid a repeat infection, and I find I don't need lip balm anymore. After a while, my lips start drying out again, so I start using lip balm, and just as it becomes routine, COLD SORE! It heals, I don't need lip balm anymore. I start needing lip balm, and just when I think it might become a regular piece of my life, a cold sore swoops in and pushes me away again. >
  
  Maybe use something else than lip balm speak to your doctor or pharmacist >
  
  I'm talking once every 15 months or so. Lip balm is a cheap, pleasant option. And I'll be using it for 2 or 3 weeks before the cold sore appears. Most of the time, simply licking my lips provides all the moisture I need. But once in a while it's like my body decides that it makes it worse, instead. Thus, lip balm. >
  
  I wrote herpes simplex type 2 on my assessment on a child and my nursing professor called me laughing while she said "that child cant possibly have herpes bec shes not having sex yet" >
  
  The amount of people that do not know they have herpes is surprising... damn little bumps! >
  
  Seriously. So much other stuff is herpes too!
  Everyone has the freaking herpes! >
  
  I recently started taking protein powder and developed cold sores. I have since learned protein powder contains Arginine which can cause cold sores to develop. Now, I've added Lysine supplements which is supposed to help counter against the Arginine. I did, however, always know that the cold sores were herpes and they are unpleasant. >
  
  I used to always call canker sores cold sores. It wasn't until I got older that I learned a cold sore was different. >
  
  Yes, herpes simplex 1 and simplex 2.  Both can be transmitted to lips or crotch but generally prefer their own "homes".