Inventing herpes

From the Cracked article “5 Basic Facts of Life (Were Made Up by Marketing Campaigns)”

BSIP / UIG via Getty

No, we don’t mean that advertisers went into the lab and genetically engineered herpes in order to sell herpes medication. We mean they invented the idea that herpes was a thing that people should worry about.

Don’t worry, only 85 percent of people can expect to catch this.

Well, how can that be possible? After all, chances are that when you hear the word “herpes,” the first thing you think of isn’t cold sores. No, your mind immediately jumps to oozing, pulsating herpes sores all over your junk. On the list of places where itchy, nasty sores would be most inconvenient, your wang (or your lady wang) comes in second only to “all up in your asshole.” But it gets worse — not only are the sores disgusting, but you also have to deal with the negative social stigma of herpes that comes along with having the “crotch rot.” People with herpes live in constant fear of others knowing it, sometimes becoming depressed, joining herpes support groups, even contemplating freaking suicide. Of course we should all be worried about herpes, right? It’s a disease!

BUT it actually came from …

Back in 1975, Burroughs Wellcome developed a drug that helped herpes sufferers by relieving their symptoms. The good people at Wellcome had one problem, though: The world gave precisely zero fucks about their new drug.

“A little blue pill that doesn’t make my dick hard? No thanks.”

How is this possible, you ask? Didn’t people have herpes back then? Well, the disease has been around for freaking ever — 2,000 years, if we’re going by the first time someone scratched his balls and then decided to make note of it on official record — but the thing is that herpes, both oral and genital, was never really seen as anything more than a sore in an inconvenient place, no more embarrassing than a zit. Herpes was so insignificant that common medical textbooks of the day didn’t even mention it. Hence, when people came down with sores on their mouth or down where the sun don’t shine, they didn’t think twice about it, not even realizing that these sores had a special name.

Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
“I just covered up with a giant hippie bush and figured that was the end of it.”

But then Burroughs Wellcome had a bright idea for how to market their drug for a disease nobody had heard of or cared about: They launched an ad campaign educating people about the difference between a normal cold sore and a “stigmatized genital infection,” which would make others treat you as if you had come down with a case of radioactive crotch.

The ads worked wonders. People with herpes felt (and to this day continue to feel) ashamed that they’d come down with it. They bought the drug in droves — a drug which, by the way, obviously did not cure herpes. Burroughs Wellcome thus came to invent what’s known today as “disease mongering,” which is basically making you feel like a social dipshit because of a common physical illness — sadly, a move that likely doesn’t even break the top five list of douchiest moves by pharmaceutical companies.

Jupiterimages/Creatas/Getty Images
“We’re renaming acne ‘deathface murderplague.’ That should do the trick.”

View the original article here

Science nod to family of unwitting medical heroine

Sixty-two years ago, scientists harvested cancer cells from an African American tobacco farmer which were used for some of the biggest breakthroughs in medical science -- without her knowledge or consent.

The abnormally resilient cells were taken from Henrietta Lacks shortly before she died and used for decades without her family's knowledge, spawning Nobel-winning discoveries and a multi-million-dollar industry that yielded the polio vaccine, cloning, in-vitro fertilisation and many medicines.

It became the most widely used human cell line used by researchers and made Lacks a giant contributor to medical science, albeit unwittingly.

Now, six decades after her death, Lacks' descendents are paving the way yet again -- this time helping to lay the groundwork for ethical use of genetic data obtained in the name of research.

On Wednesday, authorities announced they had finally reached an agreement with Lacks' family for the continued, though controlled, use of the cells' genomic data, which was published on the same occasion.

"It is truly fitting, given the priceless contributions that Henrietta Lacks has made to science and medicine, that her story is now catalysing enduring changes in policy," Francis Collins, director of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), told journalists.

"We should all count Henrietta Lacks and her family among the greatest philanthropists of our time if we consider how they have contributed to the advancement of science and human health."

Lacks, a mother of five, was 31 when she died of an aggressive cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland in 1951.

At the time, US regulations did not require doctors to obtain a patient's consent to harvest cell specimens.

The cells taken from Lacks, dubbed HeLa for the first letters of her first and last names, caused great excitement in scientific circles: they were the first-ever human cells to grow endlessly in the lab -- all others harvested up to this point eventually died.

"HeLa cells... are considered one of the biggest medical miracles in the last century," said a statement from the University of Washington in Seattle, which on Wednesday published a genome sequence of the cells in the journal Nature under the terms of the new agreement.

"The cells allowed scientists to perform experiments without using a living human and led to major medical breakthroughs", including a vaccine for certain types of cervical cancer and drugs for herpes, leukemia, influenza and Parkinson's disease.

Lacks' identity was revealed in a scientific journal in 1971, followed by a television documentary in 1997 and the publication in 2010 of a book, "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks", now being made into a film.

Then in March this year, scientists from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Germany published a full genome of the cell line -- including data that could divulge certain heritable traits of Lacks' descendents.

Such information, which may point to a propensity for diseases like alcoholism, Alzheimer's disease or bipolar disorder, could be used to deny people life insurance or disability coverage, and the data was removed from public fora within days after the family protested.

The incident resulted in talks between the Lacks family and the NIH, which in turn yielded Wednesday's deal in terms of which researchers must apply to the NIH to use the HeLa genomic data in a study, agree to terms defined by a panel that will include two Lacks family members, and contribute their findings to a database.

"Today's release of the human genome sequencing is a historic, game-changing event," granddaughter and family spokeswoman Jeri Lacks Whye told a telephone conference.

"In the past, the Lacks family has been left in the dark... For more than 60 years our family has been pulled into science without our consent and researchers had never stopped to talk to us... or to give us a voice in the conversation about HeLa cells, until now."

Whye said the decision had been a complicated one, seeking to balance the needs of science with protecting her family's privacy.

"We are proud of what HeLa cells have done for science," she said, and welcomed a stipulation that will require researchers to recognise Henrietta Lacks and her cells' contribution to science.

The agreement covered only researchers funded by the NIH, and would not prevent others from "piecing together" large parts of the HeLa genome from data already in the public domain, or even sequencing it from scratch.

"Such actions would not be right and would not be respectful of the Lacks family," said NIH deputy director for science, outreach and policy, Kathy Hudson.

Collins stressed the agreement was not precedent-setting, and was necessary only because the HeLa cells were in such widespread use and the Lacks family was by now so widely known.

View the original article here

5 (Scientific) Reasons to Stay Single This Summer

[caption id="attachment_13917" align="alignright" width="385" caption="Photo credit: Flickr/blgrssby"]

[/caption] For better or worse, humans do not have a distinct "mating season." Healthy females ovulate every month, which means that mating too can take place any time of year. And that's just the "reproductive" sort of sexual behavior, which is to say, a very small portion of the sexual behavior we merrily exhibit. So then, why the big push for spring flings and summer love? In a recent LiveScience piece, Adam Hadhazy investigates whether there is any science to summer romance. He highlights the important and indisputable fact that half-naked bodies are sexy, and notes that sun prompts people to get "out and about," but ultimately produces less than convincing empirical support for seasonal affection. Which is good. There is enough cultural pressure to be fun and flirty during these hot months, really, no one needs "science" echoing the sentiment. And in fact, I think we can go a bit further here. I'd like to argue that science is on the side of singledom this season. Here's why: 1. Summer snuggles are not as dreamy as they sound. Over the course of any summer spoon session, there's that awkward moment in which you transition from grateful to uncomfortable. In the context of an already too-hot room, you grow to loath the sweaty body after which you once lusted and secretly wish this breathing space heater would leave your bed. The situation is unpleasant and, potentially, unhealthy. Increased body temperature, as results from bed cohabitation, has been associated with disturbed sleep and even clinical insomnia. Research suggests that ideal nighttime room temperature is between 60 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit, which allows the body to subtly cool its core and induce sleep. Any factors prohibiting this cooling--such as the oppressive body heat of a mate--can lead to sustained physiologic arousal and impaired sleep. And sleep impairment itself is associated with a mess of medical complications, including chronic pain, diabetes and cognitive impairment, begging the question: are summer snuggles worth it? 2. Mosquitos can't resist a romantic happy hour. Cold beers and rapid conversation at an outdoor table for two. Sounds like a lovely date, right? Mosquitoes certainly think so. These pests are drawn to carbon dioxide in the air you exhale; and since more air is required for quick conversation, witty banter may be giving a come hither signal to more than your date. Further, studies have shown that mosquitoes are more likely to land on individuals who have been drinking beer, a signature of summer courtship. So drink up and speak up--I hear some creatures find that attractive. 3. If the sun is out, so is herpes. The next time you're admiring the tan of a potential mate, it might behoove you to look a little closer. The ultraviolet (UV) light associated with nature's bronzer can also lead to outbreaks of the herpes simplex virus. This goes for oral as well as genital herpes, though presumably your genitals see less sun than your face lips. In either region, these sun-induced outbreaks lead to a higher likelihood of disease transmission. So beware of cavorting with the sunkissed, for the warm kiss of the sun can bring the coldest of sores. 4. "Lovesick" may just be food poisoning. Went out to a romantic dinner and now you feel all funny inside? Those could be butterflies in your stomach. Or they could be bacteria (and not the good kind). Hot, moist air allows infectious microbes--including bacterial strains that contaminate food--to grow and reproduce at accelerated rates, leading to a heightened risk for food poisoning during summer months. And although we can take the necessary precautions to rinse and refrigerate foods when cooking for ourselves, dining out puts our fate in someone else's (potentially bacteria-infested) hands. So all those couples that insist on publicly displaying their affection may be wise to leave room at their booth for Salmonella and E. coli. Think it might be adorable to instead pack some food and head to a park with your boo? Nope. Listeria, the third most common source of death related to food poisoning, is known to infect soft cheeses, hot dogs, prepared salads, and deli meats--in other words, all the makings of a romantic picnic. Looks like any sort of "super cute" meal could be your last. Ramen for one, on the other hand, is totally safe. And definitely not sad. 5. Even safe sex can be dangerous when things get heated. It goes without saying that condoms are a necessary component of any hot summer fling. However, if the fling is hot enough, the condoms themselves may be at risk. As a biological material, latex can deteriorate as it heats, and exposure to UV-light has been linked to breakage--so those condoms displayed with pride and hubris on your windowsill need a new home. Additionally, lotions and oils, such as sunscreen and tan enhancers, can weaken latex. Indeed, that which protects you from the sun does not offer protection against babies and STDs. As it turns out, sex on the beach is pretty risky--and not just in the "maybe we'll get caught" sort of way. - - - - I'm not saying no one should date during the summer. I'm just saying that the glow of summer love might actually be an irritated epidermis, with pink bleeding into red where mosquito bites meet herpes, and that the carrier of this swollen flesh may be an insomniac with cognitive impairment and food poisoning. Sure, the risks are slight; but so is evidence supporting the "science" of summer love, so let's stop pretending that it's mating season. Unaccompanied slumber may be cold and lonely, but, hey, at least it's cold. Follow Scientific American on Twitter @SciAm and @SciamBlogs. Visit ScientificAmerican.com for the latest in science, health and technology news.
© 2013 ScientificAmerican.com. All rights reserved.

View the original article here

[Video] Growing through the yuck of having herpes

Guest author from our community: Ashley

It is easy to get sucked into the negative when you get a herpes diagnosis. I remember the day that I was diagnosed. I was at the health center at my university and I had the most horrific first herpes outbreak anyone could imagine. Two solid weeks of not being able to sit, lay down, use the bathroom, or shower without excruciating pain. Not to mention the accompanying nausea, fatigue, and general feelings of misery. The nurse gave me the diagnosis and I felt my heart hit the floor. Who would want me now since I have herpes? With shaking hands I dialed my then boyfriend’s cell phone number. “The rash I have? It’s herpes,” I said, cringing with every word. “I had a feeling that’s what it was,” he replied calmly. “Are you mad?” I asked. “No sweetie,” he said, “you’re still the same person you were an hour ago. It’s just herpes. It’s not life-threatening.”

“Healing is not a linear path. There are twists and turns, forks and loops. It took a lot of tears, many sleepless nights, and a lot of support to get me to where I am now.”I was shocked. I was expecting anger — even fury. I spread herpes to him unknowingly because I didn’t recognize the symptoms, and here he was reassuring me! Together we researched home remedies and information on herpes that was now a part of both of our lives. We supported each other through our first outbreak and subsequent herpes outbreaks, until we finally went our separate ways a few months later. It was wonderful to have someone who understood what I was going through. It was even more incredible to have a partner who cared about me and supported me through a period of pretty intense anger and self-loathing. I felt dirty. I felt unlovable. I felt unattractive. He helped me get through those feelings, at least temporarily.

It wasn’t until I attempted to get back into the dating scene that I realized that not everyone was so understanding. I was rejected countless times. It got to the point that I started disclosing on the first date just to get it over with. My reasoning was at least if (and when) he rejected me, at least we would have only wasted one date. All those feelings of inadequacy, self-loathing, and depression came flooding back. I became convinced that I was never going to find someone who would want to “deal with” my condition. I felt myself descending into what I have now termed, “the yuck.”

The yuck is a place of toxic feelings. It harbors the helpless victim mentality and feeds into feelings of anger, resentment, blame, and sorrow. It is easy to get trapped in the yuck. It’s like quicksand. One minute you’re doing okay and then as soon as you have a bad date, an outbreak, or even hear a herpes joke, you’re right back down in the pit of despair. I felt broken, worthless, and alone.

Gradually, I started to learn more about herpes. I learned about herpes transmission rates and ways to keep outbreaks under control. I learned that there were herpes dating sites and herpes support sites for people with herpes. I found a therapist and did some hard work with her, including letting go of my anger at the guy who raped me (which is how I ended up with herpes). I started to grow. I decided that I needed something to represent my new outlook on life. I’m a firm believer in body reclamation, and for me, that sometimes takes the form of tattoos.

The tattoo of the lotus flower on my right shoulder.

Halloween 2009, three months after my rape and one month after my herpes diagnosis, I decided to get a lotus tattoo on my right shoulder. The lotus flower grows in the mud in shallow water and does not bloom until it reaches the surface. While it’s growing, the flower petals are safe inside the blossom, which keeps them from getting stained by the mud. I always loved the symbolism of the lotus flower, but I didn’t realize how accurate the metaphor was for me until about two years later. I battled my anger, my resentment, and my self-consciousness many times over those two years. Healing is not a linear path. There are twists and turns, forks and loops. It took a lot of tears, many sleepless nights, and a lot of support to get me to where I am now.

Underneath the lotus is a Tibetan Buddhist mantra: “Om Mani Padme Hum.” This mantra is a devotion to Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. It serves as a daily reminder that I cannot know where someone else has been or what has led them to this point. It encourages me to show compassion to others as well as myself.

Thanks to Adrial and the Herpes Opportunity, I found the strength to “come out” about having herpes. I told my friends, family, and the internet. I have to say, I have never felt so free in my entire life. It feels wonderful to be able to speak openly about having herpes, instead of saying the word in hushed tones while constantly looking over my shoulder wondering who might be listening and judging. I look forward to talking about herpes during my weekly Skype call with Adrial. I get excited that other people will see our videos and hopefully crack a smile or giggle at our silliness. I feel genuine and authentic, which is a huge improvement over the way I felt when I was still “in the yuck.”

I encourage everyone to take time to reflect on where they are in the growth process. Are you still in the yuck? Don’t worry, there are others there too and you can help each other grow. Are you growing but not quite at the surface? Reach out and let people help you. And to those who have blossomed: Share your beauty with the world. Don’t be afraid of your roots. Remember them; because they are a testament to your strength and perseverance throughout this journey.

Ashley Manta is a feminist sexuality educator, certified consulting hypnotist, and sex-positive pleasure advocate. She has given presentations on topics including sexual violence awareness, positive body image, and sexual empowerment. She is available for a variety of  workshops which you can find on her website or you can follow her on Twitter @ashleymanta.

______________

Added by Adrial:

Our herpes community forum member DrSuz emailed me this after watching the video:
“Adoring the Skype party with you and Ashley. Pure positivity! Here is a favorite poem very pertinent to topic of this video. Enjoy!”

Sweet Darkness

When your eyes are tired
the world is tired also.

When your vision has gone
no part of the world can find you.

Time to go into the dark
where the night has eyes
to recognize its own.

There you can be sure
you are not beyond love.

The dark will be your womb
tonight.

The night will give you a horizon
further than you can see.

You must learn one thing:
the world was made to be free in.

Give up all the other worlds
except the one to which you belong.

Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet
confinement of your aloneness
to learn

anything or anyone
that does not bring you alive

is too small for you.

— David Whyte
(House of Belonging)

View the original article here

Inventing herpes

From the Cracked article “5 Basic Facts of Life (Were Made Up by Marketing Campaigns)”

BSIP / UIG via Getty

No, we don’t mean that advertisers went into the lab and genetically engineered herpes in order to sell herpes medication. We mean they invented the idea that herpes was a thing that people should worry about.

Don’t worry, only 85 percent of people can expect to catch this.

Well, how can that be possible? After all, chances are that when you hear the word “herpes,” the first thing you think of isn’t cold sores. No, your mind immediately jumps to oozing, pulsating herpes sores all over your junk. On the list of places where itchy, nasty sores would be most inconvenient, your wang (or your lady wang) comes in second only to “all up in your asshole.” But it gets worse — not only are the sores disgusting, but you also have to deal with the negative social stigma of herpes that comes along with having the “crotch rot.” People with herpes live in constant fear of others knowing it, sometimes becoming depressed, joining herpes support groups, even contemplating freaking suicide. Of course we should all be worried about herpes, right? It’s a disease!

BUT it actually came from …

Back in 1975, Burroughs Wellcome developed a drug that helped herpes sufferers by relieving their symptoms. The good people at Wellcome had one problem, though: The world gave precisely zero fucks about their new drug.

“A little blue pill that doesn’t make my dick hard? No thanks.”

How is this possible, you ask? Didn’t people have herpes back then? Well, the disease has been around for freaking ever — 2,000 years, if we’re going by the first time someone scratched his balls and then decided to make note of it on official record — but the thing is that herpes, both oral and genital, was never really seen as anything more than a sore in an inconvenient place, no more embarrassing than a zit. Herpes was so insignificant that common medical textbooks of the day didn’t even mention it. Hence, when people came down with sores on their mouth or down where the sun don’t shine, they didn’t think twice about it, not even realizing that these sores had a special name.

Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
“I just covered up with a giant hippie bush and figured that was the end of it.”

But then Burroughs Wellcome had a bright idea for how to market their drug for a disease nobody had heard of or cared about: They launched an ad campaign educating people about the difference between a normal cold sore and a “stigmatized genital infection,” which would make others treat you as if you had come down with a case of radioactive crotch.

The ads worked wonders. People with herpes felt (and to this day continue to feel) ashamed that they’d come down with it. They bought the drug in droves — a drug which, by the way, obviously did not cure herpes. Burroughs Wellcome thus came to invent what’s known today as “disease mongering,” which is basically making you feel like a social dipshit because of a common physical illness — sadly, a move that likely doesn’t even break the top five list of douchiest moves by pharmaceutical companies.

Jupiterimages/Creatas/Getty Images
“We’re renaming acne ‘deathface murderplague.’ That should do the trick.”

View the original article here

[Video] Doctor answers questions about genital herpes (HSV) and HPV

Dr. Peter Leone (who has appeared in the New York Times and NPR’s Talk of the Nation) stopped by our monthly herpes support group on April 8, 2013, in Raleigh, NC, to give herpes facts and update us on the latest herpes statistics. He gave so much clarity around all the horribly misunderstood herpes information out there!

Topics covered:

View the original article here

[Video] Brenda (aka “Whoopsidaysi”) talks about her transformation

Guest author from our community: WhoopsiDaysi

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” — Anais Nin

I would be lying if I said getting herpes was the best thing to ever happen to me. Much like I would not say being divorced was the best thing to ever happen to me — three times. (But that is another blog altogether.) What was the best thing to happen to me though was what I learned from those experiences. As painful as they both were to deal with, and as much as I thought “my life is over” after each event, I realized that hidden within those experiences were lessons waiting for me to learn. I learned we are the masters of our destiny and also of our mind. We choose what we think, how we feel, what we believe, and how we are going to react in any given situation. The experience of having herpes is no different.

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” — Anais Nin

I remember getting the herpes diagnosis. It was on the heels of my son leaving home, which, to my surprise was a rather traumatic event for me. My reaction actually caught me off guard. As I was coming to terms with the ending of that part of my life, my marriage, my third and the one that I honestly thought was going to go the distance, dissolved before my eyes in a matter of two weeks. I was devastated and was at what I thought was my lowest point. I was to discover there was one point lower … At the end of November 2011 I noticed an irritation that just wouldn’t go away, no matter what I tried. I rationalized, bargained with God and prayed that it wasn’t what I feared it was. A herpes outbreak? You see, I had a partner 10 years previous who had herpes. My fears came to life on December 3, 2011 when I sat in the doctor’s office and I got the verdict: I have herpes. Welcome the bottom of the lowest point in my life. As I was considering my life of celibacy and rejection, I reached out via the internet. Low and behold, contrary to my belief, I was not the only “damned one” on this planet. There are many people with herpes. Thus began my unfolding and blossoming.

My journey had taken many twists and turns until one day I found myself sitting in a meeting room in Raleigh, North Carolina with a bunch of strangers who, after a few short days, would become part of my soul. When I first heard of the Herpes Opportunity, I was skeptical. I had no idea what it was about. I was in Canada on the other side of the country. Honestly, was I going to travel all the way to North Carolina for some herpes weekend? Turns out, yes — and I am so glad that I did. I got so much out of one short weekend. It is hard to describe what it is like but I’d love to share what I came away with …

The experience of the Herpes Opportunity weekend is something that is unique to each participant. It’s like listening to a song. It all depends on where you are in your life and the experiences you have had. The song may mean something different to you depending on what is going on in your life. The Herpes Opportunity weekend is like that. It all depends on where are you in your journey of healing, which makes it such a unique experience for each participant. This is not your typical workshop where you sit and listen to lectures. The weekend starts by you getting to know each other and developing a sense of trust and safety … and then the adventure begins.

I had so many takeaways from the weekend. For me, the biggest take away was learning to become more loving and accepting of myself and realizing that we all share so many of the same feelings, fears, insecurities, and false beliefs. When one person healed, we all healed. There is something about the group dynamic that is so amazing. I also realized there is something beautiful in just being with another person in their grief and pain. And when I realized how beautiful that was for someone else, I was able to extend that to myself. I have learned to sit with my emotions, whatever they are, and accept them as they are in that moment without judgment. By honoring my feelings, I can let them be expressed, heard and then pass.

After the weekend, I was so open to pushing my comfort zone to see what was possible. My heart was open and I was eager to try new experiences and to stretch myself to see what I was really capable of. Upon my return, I took a Nidra class, a tai chi class, a few kundalini yoga classes, attended a drumming circle and a chakra clearing meditation class. I have become more comfortable being uncomfortable and trying to see where my limits really are. I am now challenging my beliefs about “what is possible for me.” I am far more open in telling people I have herpes as well. I used to be afraid to have people know for fear they would judge me and reject me. Now I am doing YouTube interviews! If you would have asked me a year ago if I would do that sort of thing, it would be a definite “Are you insane?” Even now, it certainly pushes my comfort zone, but now I am open to it. I see my discomfort as more of a challenge than a limitation.

This herpes thing can be the worst thing to ever happen or it can be a blessing. The only person who can determine that for you is you. You can choose to be a victim or a victor. You can choose to see herpes as an opportunity or a limitation. It’s all in how you choose to look at it. If you are curious to see if maybe there is a way to loosen the hold that shame has on you around herpes, I would encourage you to push your comfort zone just a bit and come out to the Herpes Opportunity weekend. You can feel the fear and do it anyway, just like every single person who attended the last weekend in January did. Each of us was uncomfortable and unsure of what we were getting into, but we came anyway. And in our discomfort, we found healing, love and acceptance. Listen to that small, still voice within you. If this is an experience that both scares you and excites you all the same, then take that leap and see what is possible. You will be so glad you did.

“It’s impossible,” said pride
“It’s risky,” said experience
“It’s pointless,” said reason
“Give it a try,” whispered the heart
— Author unknown

View the original article here