American Academy of Pediatrics boosts health benefits of circumcision

Opting for or against circumcision is one of the most important decisions a parent can make for a newborn boy. (Fotolia.com / August 27, 2012)

http://www.kidsdr.com

Many new parents ask me about the pros/cons of circumcising their newborn sons. The American Academy of Pediatrics released a new policy statement today (Aug. 27) on circumcision, stating that the health benefits of the procedure outweigh the risks.

The AAP made its last recommendations on circumcision in 1999. The new policy statement will also be published in the September 2012 issue of the journal Pediatrics.

The policy was formulated after a significant review of the scientific evidence. The AAP statement does not recommend routine circumcision for all newborn males, but does believe that "the benefits are enough to warrant access to the procedures for those families choosing it, and should be covered by insurance." This is a stronger statement regarding the medical benefits of circumcision than was made in the 1999 policy.

Circumcision has been shown to reduce the risk of sexually-transmitted infections including HIV, syphilis, HPV and genital herpes. Circumcision has also been shown to reduce the risk of penile cancer, as well as cervical cancer in sexual partners. Circumcision also reduces the risk of urinary tract infection in a baby's first year of life.

Although the AAP does not "routinely recommend" circumcision, they do believe that the final decision remains with parents, according to the statement, which is the same language used in the 1999 policy statement. The policy states that "parents are entitled to factually correct and non-biased information about circumcision and must be allowed to weight the health benefits and risks in light of their own cultural, religious and personal preferences."

So, if you're having a new baby boy, discuss the AAP policy as it relates to circumcision, and ask your own doctor about the details of the new policy statement. It's important that every parent ask questions and make a decision for their newborn son based on the best science available. As a parent, you will make many decisions for your child based upon not only science but also on your own beliefs.

Every parent is forced to make key decisions for their child throughout the child's life, and opting for or against circumcision is one of the first and most important ones a parent can make for a newborn son.

(Dr. Sue Hubbard is a nationally known pediatrician and co-host of "The Kid's Doctor" radio show. Submit questions at http://www.kidsdr.com.)

View the original article here

Herpes cure: Shame as breadcrumbs to more wholeness

DISCLAIMER: There is no cure for herpes in the physical sense, but there is a cure for herpes in how you allow it to affect your life … your own unhealthy relationship to yourself and to this simple virus can be cured.

A friend shared with me one of the most profound statements about shame: Shame is breadcrumbs that lead to more opportunities for self-acceptance and wholeness. So having shame about genital herpes is us believing that who we are isn’t enough to have someone accept a simple virus. This shame holds us back from believing that entire parts of ourselves are lovable. So we avoid looking at those parts of ourselves. We look the other way. Denial is the easiest way to avoid those parts that we don’t love, those parts we don’t accept. But what if those parts we are choosing not to look at is where our beauty lies?

“Don’t turn away. Keep your gaze on the bandaged place. That’s where the light enters you.” – Rumi

Shame as a tool. So what if you choose instead to use shame as a tool, a homing device, that leads you to more opportunities for wholeness and self-acceptance? Put another way: What part of yourself do you get to accept instead of shame? The shame draws your attention to something you can either choose to avoid or get more curious about. If herpes will have you believe that you are not lovable, then you will instinctively move away from anything that might prove that imagining to be true; you will avoid all romantic opportunities out there in the world that could prove to you once and for all that you’re not lovable. But by avoiding these opportunities altogether, you are also avoiding one simple fact: You are lovable.

The Warrior’s Journey. This is starting to sound a lot like all of those ancient myths. The warrior goes on a journey to ultimately battle the fierce dragon, learns a lot about himself in the process and finds that the dragon is guarding a cave full of riches. There’s a reason these metaphorical myths have survived over the centuries: They apply to each of us in that we go through the process of living life, and confronting our own dragons. And once we find the courage to face our dragons, we might just find treasures of self-acceptance behind them. Herpes may seem like a fierce dragon, bent on taking away your love and freedom, but when you face it down you can find all of that is simply not true. For example, maybe you’re avoiding having the herpes talk with someone you’re interested in, but you avoid it because you believe they won’t see you as the treasure you are. Do you really know that you’re a treasure? It’s ironic: Having the courage to face the parts of ourselves that we feel aren’t enough actually gives us the opportunity to realize that they are.

So instead of looking away, let’s look deeper into those parts of ourselves. We might just find something rich and worth it.

View the original article here

Herpes coach: You are not alone

Does any of this apply to you?

Herpes is constantly on your mind, taking you away from living your life fullyHaving herpes has convinced you that you’re completely alone and always will beSimply saying the word “herpes” makes your heart sinkYou judge yourself mercilessly, saying things like “How was I so stupid to get herpes?”You just had your first herpes outbreak; you feel lost and don’t know what to doYou’re waiting for a herpes cure to save you from having to deal with thisYou have to distract yourself from remembering that you have herpes in order to just get through the dayHaving the herpes talk (disclosing) scares the crap out of you and you don’t know how you could possibly tell someone “I have herpes”You are disgusted — and think everyone else is, too — that you have herpes, so much so that it feels like it defines you for the worst (scarlet letter H)

Question for you: What is possible in your life when herpes stops hindering you and you get to really live your life?

Because here’s the truth: Who you are is more important than what you have. Period.

Let’s shift your negative associations with this simple virus. So many allow themselves to suffer with herpes. You don’t have to be one of them.

By the way, listen to herpes interviews (New Man Podcast, Coach Betty, Asking for What You Want as well as real people just like you and me telling their own herpes story). Also check out the herpes forum and the herpes opportunity weekend seminar.

For immediate clinical-related questions about herpes, here are some great help lines talk with a knowledgeable operator live. Here is the info for those:

(919) 361-8488 (M-F, 9a-7p EST)
(206) 344-2539 (MWF 6:30-9p EST)
or visit ASHA’s website

Interested in talking more about herpes life coaching? Send me a message!

View the original article here

Watch my herpes video diary

DAY 1

Last week, my girlfriend and I decided to go our separate ways. It’s been the most loving relationship I’ve ever experienced. And I was so afraid to let it go (even though we both knew it was time to let it go). All of the fear that was holding on to about what breaking up would look like ended up not being like that at all when it happened. Ultimately, as it was in our relationship, it has been the most loving breakup I’ve ever experienced, too. We still love each other, still live together until she finds a new place, still committed to the best for each other, and knowing that we aren’t meant to be together, at least not now. And this change has set me on a path of wanting to make sure I take care of myself, too. I have a tendency to feel alone if I don’t stay connected to what matters, if I don’t remind myself of what’s important.

So I have dedicated myself to get up by an alarm clock at 7:00a (which is early, folks, I’m a freelancer!), bolt out of bed, head out the door to start my first hour off with deep breathing, practicing gratitude, getting clear on what I want my future to look and feel like, and reminding myself to feel instead of shut down. I am lucky enough to have a beautiful forest and creek right across the street from me. And I go jogging along the creek during this routine. At a certain point along the path is a beautiful spot that overlooks a bend in the creek where I sit down and record whatever comes up. And I’ve decided to share the first three days of this video diary with you, with our community …

DAY 2, PART 1 (OF 3)

DAY 2, PART 2 (OF 3)

DAY 2, PART 3 (OF 3)

DAY 3

View the original article here

Herpes and medication

DISCLAIMER: I’m no doctor. (And I don’t even play one on TV.) Any recommendations in this blog post — and on this entire site, for that matter — should be gone over with your doctor prior to acting on it. It’s just the smart thing to do.

There is no herpes cure (like a lot of sheisty websites out there would have you believe), but there are ways to keep the virus at bay. And medication is only the tip of the iceberg. My initial advice about medicating herpes is this: Don’t take it if you don’t have to. It’s a drug. And I try to stay as natural and drug-free as I can. You’d be amazed at how staying physically and mentally healthy can naturally suppress the virus. That said, depending on your body, health and a whole range of factors, taking medication to make you more comfortable or to keep your herpes-free partner safe may be a viable option. Some people are under the impression that if they have herpes, they need to be taking herpes medication. That’s not true. Here are the facts …

There are only two solid reasons to take  suppressive medication for herpes.

So before we even get into the actual medication options themselves, it’s important to determine for yourself whether medicating yourself is even necessary or beneficial. As far as I see it, there are only two solid reasons that you should take suppressive medication for herpes:

To protect a partner who doesn’t have herpes. Taking suppressive therapy will lessen the chance of passing herpes to your herpes-free partner. Even if you aren’t having an active outbreak, herpes viral shedding happens 5-10% of the time, so taking medication every day across the board helps lessen the chance of passing the virus. “70% of new herpes infections are acquired from people who have no symptoms at the time of transmission … Suppressive therapy has been shown to reduce the likelihood of transmission by half or more.” (Source: About.com)If your outbreaks are severe and/or frequent. Especially when you initially get herpes, the first herpes outbreak and subsequent outbreaks within the first 6 months to a year can be more extreme before your body builds up immunity to the new virus. But the good news is, the vast majority of people who have herpes report that their outbreaks increasingly lessen in both frequency and severity as time goes on. A major determinant of that is how you take care of yourself mentally, emotionally and physically. So initially you may take daily suppressive therapy to lessen the outbreaks, but keep in mind that your body is working hard to build its own defenses. You may consider easing off of the medication after a few months to see how your herpes outbreaks have changed. Consider easing to episodic therapy from suppressive as a midway point.

Suppressive vs. Episodic Therapy

Suppressive therapy involves taking the medication on a daily basis to suppress the herpes virus. This form of medicating applies mainly to the two reasons discussed above. Taking suppressive therapy doesn’t mean you will avoid herpes outbreaks altogether, but suppressive therapy has been shown to lessen the frequency, severity and length of time of outbreaks. It also helps lessen viral shedding (if your partner doesn’t have herpes).

Episodic therapy refers to treating herpes outbreaks on an as-needed basis as they occur. If you are single or otherwise not having sex with a herpes-free partner, this may be the option for you to lessen the severity and length of herpes symptoms. As you get more knowledgeable about your prodrome symptoms that signal an outbreak is coming on (tingling, burning, itching in the area of your outbreak or pain in your butt/thighs), you can take a dose of medication to cut the outbreak off at the pass. The sooner you can medicate at the first sign of an outbreak, the better. My experience with medicating after the outbreak is in “full bloom” is that it doesn’t do much good. Others have said it shortens their healing time, though.

Herpes antiviral medications

There are three herpes antiviral medications available in tablet form: famciclovir, aciclovir and valaciclovir (also known as Valtrex).

Lysine, Arginine and Herpes

One of the main conversations about your diet is that of Lysine vs. Arginine. Eat a diet high in lysine and low in arginine to prevent and control herpes outbreaks. Lysine inhibits the herpes virus from reproducing, while arginine is a favorite food of herpes and encourages the virus to grow and replicate, according to John W. Hill, author of the book “Natural Treatments for Genital Herpes, Cold Sores and Shingles.” Lysine also inhibits the herpes virus from being able to use arginine, thereby slowing its reproduction rate.

So choose foods high in lysine (fish, chicken, beef, lamb, milk, cheese, beans, brewer’s yeast, mung bean sprouts, and fruits and vegetables) and avoid foods high in arginine (gelatin, chocolate, carob, coconut, oats, wheat flour and wheat germ, peanuts and soybeans).

And when all is said and done, do what feels healthy to you. I’m not a big fan of totally restricting your diet in order to avoid a simple herpes outbreak. It’s simply a lifestyle choice. If chocolate makes you happy, then eat chocolate. This lysine-arginine conversation is just something to be aware of.

Natural remedies

If you do some google searches, you’ll find thousands (if not millions) of people who claim to have success with many different natural remedies. None have been okayed by the FDA, but you make your own decisions on what you think will work. It’s your body and your health!

From the herpes forum:

“I have an amazing herbal ointment made in NZ…I have even used it before sex…smooth it on and its like this lovely silky barrier. It’s made with Manuka, Melissa, tea tree and peppermint oils.” — Lelani on Tested positive for HSV 2

“Lysine plus astragalus (chinese anti-viral herb) and olive leaf extract (another anti-viral). i did valtrex during my second year… i also don’t trust the meds (liver damaging) although my doctor who is an HSV specialist says it’s safe to take daily (500mg tablets). Test it out.” — Carlos on Tested positive for HSV 2

“Since this virus has a lot to do with the immune system, and I’m sure you’re familiar with GNC get the probiotic50 and lysine1000 they’re both really good supplements and it will keep you from getting sick as well. Olive leaf works really well too! Typically I only use Valtrex when I get an outbreak like 2000g within 24 hours. Keep in mind foods high in lysine (milk, fish, eggs, poultry, beef) usually keep the virus at bay. But carbs on the other hand, (rice, wheats, grains etc) are high in arginine in which the virus thrives. Keep that in mind and keep doing what you’re doing. Oh and just keep that area dry, for some reason everyone’s nether regions tend to produce a different type of sweat than that of the rest of your body, so use some baby powder or balla powder (it’s good, I use it).” — College_Guy12345 on Herpes prodrome: What’s it like for you?

Here’s to Your Health

Ultimately we should take care of our health regardless — our bodies are our temples, after all, right? And if you haven’t been taking care of yourself, herpes may be one of those wakeup calls that motivate you to hit the gym and eat right. The healthier we are, the better we treat our bodies and our minds, the more we have available to keep the herpes virus suppressed. And aside from that, you just feel better overall when you take better care of yourself. Stress to the body, whether it be polluting ourselves with greasy burgers or polluting our heads with nasty thoughts, is one of the main initiators of a herpes outbreak. So use herpes as a great excuse to just take care of yourself across the board.

Here’s a great perspective-shifter … To continue the health discussion a bit more, you can think of a herpes outbreak not as something disgusting and shameful, but instead as a sign to take better care of yourself. Herpes acts as a barometer in your body that signals that you aren’t taking as good care of yourself as you could be. That mental shift can take a lot of unnecessary suffering out of the equation. Feeling a herpes outbreak coming on could mean you stop what you’re doing and go get a massage, go outside in the hammock and read your favorite book. Use your herpes outbreaks as a physical sign to destress your life.

View the original article here

Herpes interview with Marcia of Asking for What You Want

I totally enjoyed my chat with Marcia of askingforwhatyouwant.com last night. It was less an interview and more two friends chatting about how people with herpes can totally lead happy, fulfilled lives and learn to accept all the love they deserve.

Here’s what Marcia had to say about our interview last night …

Wow! Last night’s interview with Dale was terrific! If you missed it, no problem … You can listen to the recording in its entirety at:
http://herpesopportunity.com/podcasts/what-the-h.mp3

Here is just some of what we talked about:

Why herpes is not the end of your dating lifeSimple steps you can take to overcome herpes shameThe opportunity herpes provides for intimacyWhether or not to disclose your herpes statusHow (and when) to talk about herpesHow to handle guilt and anger from your partnerTips for non-herpes partnersWhere to get Dale’s free e-book on herpes disclosureDetails and (mega!) discounts on his upcoming weekend conference

We also were cracking up at a few points. (Who knew talking about herpes could be so much fun?)

Also, Dale wanted to add a note and extend an offer:

I’d love to offer each of you a 30-minute call with me to discuss whatever would benefit you, whether it’s coaching or you just need an ear to hear your story. Email me at hello@thehopp.com, and we’ll set something up that works for you.

View the original article here

I’ve been lying to you …

Yes, this whole time, I’ve been lying to you. I’ve been talking about transparency and openness and vulnerability as keys to letting go of shame around having herpes. And I haven’t been being entirely open, vulnerable and shameless. I have been afraid. I’ve given convenient excuses to my friends and family who know about the Herpes Opportunity, and I’ve provided excuses to myself. And through those excuses, I think that in a way, I’ve been perpetuating the stigma, perpetuating the idea that as a person with herpes, I need to hide to protect myself. Believing that if people knew the truth that they would have judgments. They would reject me. It’s been a part of my own long-term process of “coming out of the herpes closet.” And as much as it was truly a part of my process, there was also this nagging voice in me that said I wasn’t practicing what I preached. I felt like a fraud. And I apologize.

And now I’m ready to come clean … *deep breath* … My actual name is not Dale …

My actual name is not Dale. It’s Adrial Dale. Nice to meet you.

My first name is Adrial. My last name is Dale. Full name? You’ve probably already put that together by now: I’m Adrial Dale. Nice to meet you.

And you know what? Initially, a rush of fear and nausea comes over me. The fear of who might find out my true identity, what they might think … And then after that passes, I feel liberated. I feel lighter. It’s ironic. The very thing that I was holding back was actually eating away at me. Whether or not it was a big deal to anyone else what name I used, it was clearly bugging me in the background. It was a big deal to ME, whether I liked it or not. I realize now that my own integrity was trying to get my attention and I wasn’t acting on it.

The convenient excuses I was giving myself

Excuse #1: “I have a unique first name. What if people from my past search for my name on the web and find out I’m ‘that herpes guy.’ What if they have negative associations and judgments against herpes? I won’t have the opportunity to disclose to them on my own terms. Their own judgments might get the better of them and paint their perspective of me in a negative way.”Excuse #2: “I’m a freelance graphic designer (shameless plug: adrialdesigns.com … Ding!). If my clients search for my name, they’ll find out I have herpes. What will they think? Will I lose clients? I’d better not risk it. Not a good business decision.”Excuse #3: “Using an alias is just part of my process. Eventually I’ll reveal my real name. But not now. I’ll wait until I have more support from people who have been helped by the Herpes Opportunity before I do that.” (Note: This is not to say that I’m expecting myself to be totally transparent about everything that I have shame about, but I recognized that the time for hiding had long passed.)

The beliefs that I was choosing to believe

The fact that I felt I needed to cover up my identity was fueled by some pretty convincing beliefs. What I’m realizing now are how patently FALSE these beliefs are. Here they are, as I can see them now:

False belief #1: Most people believe herpes, and subsequently people with herpes, to be dirty and morally impure. (Sounds like a very open-minded assumption, huh?)False belief #2: I need to protect myself from judgment and possible negative stereotypes and the resulting consequences of such judgment/stereotypes. (Total victim mentality sporting itself here.)False belief #3: If my clients know I have herpes, they won’t want to work with me. (Because we all know you can get herpes from getting a website designed for you, after all, right?) False belief #4: If people find out I have herpes, I will be ridiculed and made fun of. (That says more about them than it does about me.)

What do all these beliefs have in common? They’re all allowing me to hide, to play it small, to shy away from the truth so that I won’t have to grow. Ultimately, these beliefs all spring from the fear that if people know the truth about me, I’ll be alone. Unloved. The essence of shame …

The truth (coincidentally, the main messages of the Herpes Opportunity)

Herpes doesn’t define me. It’s just something I have. Who I am is what I choose to do with what I’m handed in my life. I’m choosing to live from this belief and have my actions fall in line with that from here on out.People’s judgments against herpes act as a super convenient filter for me to weed out the people in my life who aren’t meant to be in my life. I want people by my side who are open-minded, supportive and non-judgmental. I haven’t had a friend or family member not want to be in my life because of this, and I wonder about the kind of friend or family member who would allow a simple virus to impact a deep relationship.When I share whatever I am ashamed of, what I am ashamed of loses its power over me. I get to take that power back and use it in more resourceful ways. That’s definitely the case here. I feel liberated and inspired. And so it is.

So what brought all this sudden transparency on?

I wish I could say that I simply had a profound personal epiphany that prompted me to come out with my real name on my own accord … but that’s not how it happened. I asked my social media wizard and all-around-great-guy friend Mike Morrell to school me on getting the Herpes Opportunity message out there to a wider audience. He excitedly agreed to help however he could. Little did I know that his help would include him immediately posting to his Facebook wall — and tagging me, yes, my personal facebook (which, if you don’t know facebook, is basically like posting on my personal wall)! At that moment of terror, I was about to politely ask him to edit his post to not include me, thank you very much. Then I realized something: this was MY opportunity to shed another layer of shame. And so here I am. All raw and vulnerable to the world. Yikes! And I have Mike to thank. If it weren’t for his “slip-up” this opportunity wouldn’t have presented itself. Interesting how that works, huh? So, just to get Mike back, here’s his website: http://www.mikemorrell.org

So there you have it …

I hope you forgive me for not sharing myself fully. I also hope this helps you in your own process of revealing yourself more fully to the world. Because hiding only promotes more hiding. And the shame grows. So let’s come out of the shadows more … it’s a beautiful day. Let’s enjoy it.

So, I’m wondering how shame might be having you hold yourself back? Can you relate at all? Are you feeling deceived and angry? I want to hear it all. Hop on this herpes forum post and share. I’d love to hear from you and we can all help dissolve the shame together as a community …

View the original article here