Most sexually active people are well aware of the many sexually transmitted diseases present. However, it's surprising to find out that a lot of what people know about genital herpes or herpes simplex virus type-2 (HSV-2) infections are relayed information that usually turn out to be completely wrong. Here are some examples of the most common genital herpes misconceptions that sexually active people know about the disease:

* If someone has contracted herpes simplex virus type-2 infection (HSV-2), they would know.
This is not always the case. A lot of genital herpes cases are asymptomatic. This means that people may already be infected but are not manifesting any of the signs that people are aware of, such as sores and blister formation.

* Genital herpes causes sores and itching that will never go away.
Sores, blisters, the itching, and the other symptoms only manifests once an outbreak occurs, and they will gradually subside as the outbreak dies out. There are cases where people have recurrent outbreaks, making the symptoms appear to go on forever. But there are also people who experience outbreaks but show no symptoms.

* People can acquire genital herpes from a toilet seat.
HSV-2, unlike HSV-1, becomes vulnerable when exposed to air. This makes the possibility of the virus to survive outside the body long enough to infect the next person to use the toilet is highly unlikely.

* A person with genital herpes should never have sex again.
People infected with HSV-2 can still have sex, provided that they learn how to protect and prevent further spreading of the virus. It is important for people with genital herpes to avoid having sexual contact when they have an outbreak.

* Only people who've had a lot of sexual partners can get HSV-2 infection.
People who know how to protect themselves can have dozens of partners at a time and still be infection- free. You could have had only 1 or 2 partners in your lifetime but if you have unfortunately chanced upon having sexual contact with someone with genital herpes, then there's a possibility that you could contract the disease.

* Genital herpes is curable by taking antiviral drugs like Acyclovir.
Unfortunately, as much as everybody wants this myth to be true, it isn't. Genital herpes is one of the un-curable STDs. Acyclovir is merely a medication that helps prevent and shorten the duration of outbreaks.

There are still a lot of different genital herpes myths going around. Keep in mind that knowing very little about genital herpes is just about as good as knowing nothing about the disease. Read up and learn more about this STD to know how to protect yourself from it.