Get to know Herpes

My attention was drawn to the old billboard near our place and read the only English word "Family Day". I was reminded of the photo below the first Family Day I ever attended here in Thailand. I was invited by a Thai friend with his family to join them because they treated me as their eldest. I came to knew them in the chirch where I fellowshipped before and most of the church members commented that we're like sisters-I'm the older version of Mona (that's the name of the girl next to me). That's the start of our acquaintance and friendship.

April 14 each year is observed as Family Day in Thailand. The observance has been part of the Songkran period since 1991. As Songkran Festival brings family members for reunions, the Thai government in 1990 decided to designate April 14 Family Day. The designation is meant to underline the importance of the family institution.

It was during this time that the speaker talk about the morality of Thai has gradually deteriorated. If my memory serves me right, she also mentioned that figures like-half of the general population actually have herpes. Only a third of the infected population show visible signs of herpes. The other two thirds with who have can only transmit the virus to other people. That sounds a bit much,but I'm only going by what I heard. Herpes is an infection that is caused by a herpes simplex virus (HSV). Oral herpes causes cold sores around the mouth or face. Genital herpes affects the genitals, buttocks or anal area. Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease (STD). You can get it from having sex, even oral sex. The virus can spread even when sores are not present. Mothers can also infect their babies during childbirth.

Some people have no symptoms. Others get sores near the area where the virus has entered the body. They turn into blisters, become itchy and painful, and then heal. The virus can be dangerous in newborn babies or in people with weak immune systems.

Most people have outbreaks several times a year. Over time, you get them less often. Medicines to help your body fight the virus can help lessen symptoms and decrease outbreaks. Correct usage of latex condoms can reduce, but not eliminate, the risk of catching or spreading herpes.

When I heard about this, I remembered that Kris Aquino once came out publicly with the fact that she has herpes (generally she was referring to Genital Herpes, a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the herpes simplex viruses type 1 (HSV-1) or type 2 (HSV-2). Most genital herpes is caused by HSV-2.)- a brave plight appreciated by all those affected HSV.

It's truly inspiring when someone in a position of influence makes the choice to stand up and be counted as a person infected with herpes.

Now listen up. There is nothing terrible about herpes. It is a medical condition that is treatable. I wish that more celebrities would speak out about their herpes condition someday because they could make a lot of young men and women feel more normal rather than stigmatized. And with attention comes education, and perhaps a few more people would get the treatment that is easily obtainable.

Here are some tips on dealing with herpes:

* Talk to your doctor if you think you may have herpes.
* Remember that you're not alone. Millions of people have herpes.
* Keep yourself healthy and limit your stress.
* Don't touch your sores.
* Tell your sex partner and use condoms.

Fun Family Vacations

This is not a paid post. It's simply written to earn more points for the $300 Coach Bag Contest I've recently joined.

We're excited for next week. We'll have 2-days holiday (26 July - Arsaraha Bucha Day. (Major Buddhist holiday, beginning of Buddhist lent) and 27 July - Civil servant holiday). We'll be going with our churchmates to Satun for rafting! Rafting or white water rafting is a challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. The development of this activity as a leisure sport has become popular since the mid-1970s. Unfortunately because we have a toddler, only hubby will join the rafting while I'll stay with our toddler. At least, we'll be together as a family during this break.

As a family, we haven't had any fun family vacations spent away from home. Now that we already have a toddler, it would be nice if once in a while we could have a family getaway . I read from Fun Family Vacations about the author's brief trip to Singapore Zoo as a family. It's interesting to know that only at this zoo that animals navigate around very openly, plus they do not stay inside their hutches like some other animal theme parks. If this is the case, I would love to take pictures of these adorable animals and Hyzyd would surely love to see them!

The author also talks about fun places to go here in Thailand. Though I live in Thailand, I didn't get a chance to explore this country yet. There are many interesting posts you'll find in this site like Fun Family Vacations with Cool Price as well as Top Travel Packages for Newlyweds. Check them out and you'll never regret your time spent in reading these articles. In case you have a vacation or perhaps a tip to reveal, the author is inviting all of us to simply send him an email and he'll be happy to post them for you.