"One morning I woke up in unbearable pain. It felt like someone was stabbing me in the crotch. When I checked myself out, I saw a couple little sores. I went to the doctor and got a cream.  

"Two days later, the sores were everywhere. I couldn't go to the bathroom or sleep or walk. Two days later I could barely open my legs I was in so much pain.  

"Going to another doctor was possibly the worst experience of my life. He had to scrape one of the sores to get cells for testing. I was screaming and sobbing and begging him to stop. The test showed type 1 herpes, the so called "lighter" type.  

"I spent the week alone, at home, crying, sobbing. It was awful. I stopped eating. I didn't talk to anyone. I felt disgusting, and still do in a way. I felt like the happy, bubbly, flirty, fun girl I used to be was killed. I was ashamed. I felt dirty. I felt like no one would love me again.  

"When I told my boyfriend, I watched the look in his eyes change. I haven't heard from him since. I have not had any romantic partners since. I have been holding back on getting close with anyone because I am dreading the day I have to tell them."  

One out of five women aged 14 to 49 years has herpes. While there are treatments for outbreaks, there is no cure. Type 1 is caused by mouth to genital or genital to genital contact with an infected person. Condoms have limited effect since herpes can infect areas that are not covered by a condom.  

The CDC says, "The surest way to avoid herpes is to abstain from sexual contact, or to be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who is known to be uninfected." In simpler terms, it is simply saving sex for marriage.  

A lesson learned too late for the lady in our story. "In a strange way, it's almost a blessing... I won't be sleeping with a guy I like right away, he now has to earn my trust." If only she had made that decision first.  

(Story citation withheld due to explicit content.) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013, February 11). Genital Herpes - CDC Fact Sheet. Retrieved from Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs): http://www.cdc.gov/std/herpes/STDFact-herpes.htm)