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Herpes 101

Will Herpes Impact Your Fertility? 

Will Herpes Impact Your Fertility_ - alexandra harbushka blog

Wanting to know if you can get pregnant if you have herpes?

I get questions all the time about pregnancy and herpes. In fact, this was one of the first questions I asked when I was first diagnosed back in 2011. 

There are so many myths out there that demonize herpes and make us feel like we no longer have the same rights a people who don’t have herpes. It’s 100% BS and yes, you can have a baby. 

I talk about herpes and pregnancy in other episodes and I’ll have them linked so you can hop over …

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HSV 1 Does Not Mean You Have Oral Herpes

153_ HSV 1 Does Not Mean You Have Oral Herpes - alexandra harbushka blog

HSV 1 Can Be Genital Herpes


One of the most common misconceptions I hear when I read comments or get asked questions are about oral herpes and HSV 1.  So let’s break it down and get right to it. 

Before we break it down let’s just do the 101 on herpes. There’s two types; HSV 1 & HSV 2. Both have very similar symptoms and we can not tell one virus apart from the other one unless testing is done.  HSV 1 prefers to live in the oral region meanwhile HSV 2 prefers to live in the genial region. Ho…

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Herpes & Pregnancy

151_ Herpes & Pregnancy blog alexandra harbushka

Yay, you’re pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant and want to know what herpes has to do with it. 

Wow, this is exciting! Time in your life so let's talk about herpes and pregnancy. 

I can remember one of the first things I was worried about and asked my doctor about pregnancy. I was curious if it would impact pregnancy, birth, and the child. I’m sure I wasn’t the only woman so here are some great details on this next exciting big step. 

Let’s break this down into two sections, people …

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Herpes Vaccine Research

149 Herpes Vaccine Research with alexandra harbushka blog

The double-edged sword with creating a herpes vaccine

This vaccine is one of the most sought out vaccines and it would help millions of people throughout the world. Not to mention on the business side of things how it would monetarily reward the people or company who solved the puzzle. But here’s the deal, as of now there’s no research happening for the herpes vaccine. 

If you feel like the wind’s been taken out of your sails go watch or read the other episode about waiting for the herpes cure…

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3 Ways To Know You Have Herpes

147 3 Ways To Know You Have Herpes alexandra harbushka blog

Yes, it’s easy to freak out and think it’s herpes. Here are 3 ways to know for sure. 

When you have an itch, a tingle or maybe slept with someone that you know has herpes the automatic OMG phase kicks in. It turns to panic and your mind will take you down the rabbit hole of horrible thoughts. Oh and then you turn to google. PLEASE, whatever you do...don’t turn to google. You’re in the right spot to find out more answers and not see scary photos on the internet. 

There are 3 basic ways to confi…

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Waiting for the Herpes Cure

146 - Waiting On The Herpes Cure - blog - alexandra harbushka

This is one of the most pressing questions and the answer often leads to heartache. I hear questions like this daily saying…

“How is there no cure to herpes?”

“Why is there no vaccine when we have a vaccine for practically everything else?”

“When will there be a vaccine?”

“Will there be a cure?”

“Is there something that will prevent outbreaks permanently?”

Here’s the deal. I get it, I’ve felt this way and wondered about it too. The truth is don’t hold your breath and also don’t let this ho…

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3 Herpes Outbreak Triggers

3 Herpes Outbreak Triggers - alexandra harbushka blog

Your lifestyle choices can trigger your  herpes outbreaks

Ok so we have herpes and now we want to know what we can do to prevent getting the next outbreak. Because the less often we have outbreaks the less we think about having herpes. It’s kinda the out of sight out of mind. Just a quick reminder that if you have HSV you’ll have it for life, so just because you’re not getting outbreaks it won't mean that you’re cured or in the clear.  You’ll still have to tell you’re partners. Ok, I just wante…

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3 Reasons Why Your Herpes Diagnosis Is Good News

3 Reasons Why Your Herpes Diagnosis Is Good News 137 - blog alexandra harbushka

Beginning to look at your glass half full with herpes. 

I know this can come to you as a huge surprise. You’re like, wait for what...good news?!?!?!?!?! F that!

Sound familiar? And you’ve probably added a ton of’s “there are nothing good about herpes” thoughts in there. Like, it broke up my relationship, it destroyed my dreams and I’ll never ever meet anyone who will love me because I have this.

Sound about right? Did I miss anything?

Ok… I get it. I felt the exact same way. It’s a shock a…

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How To Know What's Not Herpes

That's Not Herpes ep 132 blog

When we look down and see a bump or a cut or a red spot it’s either one of two reactions. Either it’s an OMG WTF I’m going to die or we just shrug it off and assume it’s nothing.

Which one are you?

In other episodes, I talk about in detail what herpes symptoms are, what they look like and how you’re going to feel. Today I want to get the nitty-gritty on what’s not herpes. If you’re wondering about symptoms go here to check out past episode 101 here

What’s Not Herpes:

  • Pimple which includ…

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STD Awareness Month & Getting Tested

_STD Awareness & Getting Tested 131 - blog

Life With Herpes

Let's talk about sex, getting tested and standing up for your sexual health! Thank goodness we are in a time in history where we can have an STD awareness month. And have a plethora of information to educate ourselves so that we can protect ourselves and our partners.

STD’s or STI’s have a huge stigma but the thing is that there’s a 110 million Americans living with STI’s. In case you’re wondering how many Americans there are about 325 million Americans. So this means that 34%…

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