Question:
How accurately do I understand herpes?

From what I have gathered, roughly one out of of every four people in the United States have herpes. Of those who are infected, 80% are completely unaware because they show no symptoms, yet they continue to spread herpes. The 'textbook' description of a herpes outbreak is described as follows:

Within three weeks of infection, the male will find a small red bump on his penis which will evolve into a small painful blister which will over the course of the next 10-14 days begin to scab over and eventually heal. During this time, multiple blisters may appear. This is referred to as the outbreak. The first outbreak is often the least severe and often not even noticed. This, of course, is the 'textbook' description. Herpes can take on many forms and even the slightest abnormality can in fact be herpes.

Herpes is one of the most commom STDs, right behind Clamydia. Although it is so common, people are not tested for herpes when they are tested for sexually transmitted dieseases unless they specifically ask for it. This means a person can be tested for STDs and still be infected with herpes although the test results came out clean. Even if the person is tested for herpes, the results may be inaccurate if the test is performed within three months of exposure. To ensure an accurate reading, the person must wait three months after exposure to herpes.

Personally, I would describe any diesease that attacks one out of every four people as an epidemic. I think the Bubonic Plague infected about one out of every four people. Can this really be true? I also don't understand why people are tested for herpes along with STD testing, being how it is one of the most common STDs.

I hope I am misinformed. Would someone please care to correct me?

Answer:
sounds pretty much acurate give or tak a few variations of similar info. It is exactly as scary as it seems.