Quick Poll: Would you date someone with an STD?

[tictac]

Knowing that:

 

1. You are put at risk even when using protection.

2. Sex will be "different" because of outbreaks, varied contagious times (e.g. in the case of herpes).

3. This person you are dating may not even be long term or "the one".

4. Knowing that your life may be forever altered if you are infected.

5. Knowing that you may face regret and/or resentment.

 

etc...........

 

Also, do you think more guys than women are willing to "put up" with dating someone with an STD than the other way around?

 

Q. What is the first thing that goes through your mind when you see an attractive person and then when you see them up close they have a huge coldsore on their lip?

[Openminded]

Depends on the disease for me.

 

Herpes Simplex 2, no I couldnt.

HIV/AIDS - I dont think so.

 

Depends on how contagious, and the effects. I dont want to wait and wonder whether I am going to contract something everytime I get busy. Especially with something as horrible as HS2 or HIV

[ShroudedSorrow24]

I would never put myself at risk of a disease just for sex. It would be hard to live a normal life and my family would reject me if I had one.

[myplague234]

i would never in my life have sexual intercourse with a women that carried a venereal disease. its disgusting and i wouldnt put myself at the risk.

[Meow18]

This is a very interesting question. I was actually wondering myself what people would do in this case. I really don't know what I would do. Its like sex is an important part of a relationship (when your ready & in love!!). So I've been thinking about this myself. Its really a hard desicion because if you love that person, you want to express your love in that way, but its understandable to not want to because you don't want to put yourself at risk of catching the disease. I guess my answer would be it depends on what they had. If they had something serious like HIV, then I would not.

[myplague234]

i think any STD is serious. Cause if you contract one, that would put a bit of a damper on thigns for future sexual intercourse. Plus, i dont think i would have sex with a beautiful women if they had genital warts or something. it would mess up the rest of your life.

[ShroudedSorrow24]

Its really a hard desicion because if you love that person, you want to express your love in that way, but its understandable to not want to because you don't want to put yourself at risk of catching the disease

 

I think that right there sums it up. If it was me in that position those thoughts would be running through my mind. Ultimately I would not do it no matter which STD it is. You can love the other person, but you should love yourself and your own body also. I would never knowingly put myself at risk of getting an STD. Have respect for yourself and your body.

[Meow18]

What if you knew this girl was the one & you were getting married?? Would you still not have sex with her for the rest of your lives?

[myplague234]

i wouldnt marry her if seh had an STD because we could not start a family without me contracting the STD she carried. so im sorry but..still no

[ShroudedSorrow24]

I probably would't get married either... I'm not trying to sound ignorant its just that I don't want to get involved with people that have STDS

[tictac]

Thanks for the input. I think as you get older and have [more] serious, adult relationships where things like marriage, children, etc are involved then the question is even harder.

 

I think what is more scary is that there are A LOT of people that have a STD and don't even know it. There are some that can have no symptoms at all and even those that contract it get can go for years with no symptoms.

 

So back to my original question, if you met someone really attractive and they had a cold sore on their lip, do you think diseased? herpes? No thanks? What?

[moviestr]

Those sound like two different questions. if I saw someone with a coldsore on their lips I wouldn't necessarily be repulsed. Besides, most people get cold sores in their mouths once and a while, and those are actually from a herpes strain.

As for sleeping with somone with an STD, I don't know how I'd react. My best friend has an STD, and she's told me a lot about her situation, so I'd hope i'd be more sympathetic. STDs are more common than we think, so I don't think I could end a really important relationship just based on my partner having an STD.

[alexander]

I'd do anything for love, and with my luck it would make sense that, if I ever do meet someone, I'll find out she's carrying an STD. If I thought I could spend the rest of my life with this girl, I'd be willing to postpone sex for a while and get to know her better. If things went smoothly, marriage, and then sex, would follow. If she can infect me with love, I guess I'll take anything else she has to share.

 

I can imagine how much pain these people go through, knowing that, if they were honest, most potential lovers would turn their backs on them in an instant. What's it like to wake up one day and know your love life is over? To know that almost anyone would sever all ties with you in order to "not get involved?"

[ShroudedSorrow24]

Wow Alexander I liked your post alot. It has changed how I think about this situation...I guess I never looked at it that way. Thanks for sharing your viewpoint

[alexander]

Thanks. I don't expect everyone to share my views on this subject, though. Especially at our age.

[Meow18]

I totally understand your view. If it was just a guy that I knew I wouldn't be with forever, I would not have sex with him. If my boyfriend told me he had an std, I would wait until marriage to have sex with him. It would be too risky to have sex with him if I wasn't sure if it was meant to be. This whole thing is so hard. I can't even imagine what it must be like for a person to go through life with an std. If I knew this guy was the one & I loved him with all my heart, then I would most likely risk it. If they had like HIV or something as serious & deadly as that, I don't know what I would do in that case. I would still love them & I wouldn't leave them just because of it. I just don't know if I could do that to myself.

[alexander]

If they had like HIV or something as serious & deadly as that, I don't know what I would do in that case. I would still love them & I wouldn't leave them just because of it. I just don't know if I could do that to myself.

 

Very good point, about HIV and deadly viruses. In that extreme a situation I don't know what I would do, either.

[curly183]

You guys sholdn't judge a book by it's cover. 1 in 4 people contract STDs every year and it could be someone you know. Wouldn't you feel terrible if you were making a funny comment about STDs and your friend right next to you had one? Think people. Most STDs are cureable, and the ones that aren't, all but AIDS, can be supressed through medications. Stop living in the dark ages and grow up. You'll probably come into contact with someone who has one in your lifetime. Put yourself in that person's shoes. People who have them aren't necessarily dirty or whores or "players" or disgusting. It's the luck of the draw.

[moviestr]

Thank you for your post curly183. I think it's high time we realize how common stds are and that we need to adapt to the changing world, which means understanding that it happens to everyone. STDs don't discriminate. . .anyone can be affected.

[Openminded]

1 in 4 people contract STDs every year...

Give me a break. Show me the scientific proof on that one.

[moviestr]

It may be difficult to categorize all stds into one group, but HPV, or genital warts, which is one of the most common stds, is very common. As of December 2003, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

 

Approximately 20 million people are currently infected with HPV. At least 50 percent of sexually active men and women acquire genital HPV infection at some point in their lives. By age 50, at least 80 percent of women will have acquired genital HPV infection. About 6.2 million Americans get a new genital HPV infection each year.

 

 

Check it out for yourself:

cdc.gov/nchstp/dstd/HPVInfo.htm

[curly183]

Look it up for yourself. It's a common fact that 25% of the population has a sexually transmitted disease. Where are you getting YOUR information from? It's not an uncommon thing anymore. Look it up on the internet or go to the library. You're being naive as to say that people with STDs are lepers. Just because they don't make it your common knowledge doesn't mean they don't have one. Wake up, kid.

[moviestr]

Are you responding to my post? Because I was agreeing with you that STDs are very common. The statistics I found on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that STDs are very common. I AGREE. I would never say that someone with an STD is a leper. And I am awake.

[curly183]

No, I wasn't replying to you. I was replying to "openminded." They're having trouble believing that 1 in 4 people are infected with STDs every year. Sorry for the confusion.

[theghost]

just to get this out of the way...Cold Sore are ONLY caused by herpes?

 

Also yes 1/4 people have std's....and they are usually over 18

 

 

And I think this whole std jokes have to stop, I know a friend that I think he has herpes, and when my other friends make jokes about std's he doesn't smile or anything.

 

I think warts is the most common std...