5 Best Herpes Dating Sites & Apps for Someone Who Has HSV-1 & HSV-2
by John Santana
STDs and herpes seem to be taboo in the dating world. Once you have it, instantly it feels your options are limited.
You feel no one will accept you or date you. Well, that’s not true. You may feel this way because of the local pub you frequent. People you meet in your daily life are not the most accepting.
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The truth is, you haven’t been looking at the right place. If you know where to look, you will find herpes dating just as exciting as any other type of dating. Online dating is the best way for people to connect and find comfort from others going through the same. Intrigued to learn more?
Check out these online dating sites to uncover the magic of finding the right one.
Best Herpes Dating Sites
Here are the top dating sites to check out when you have herpes.
1. Adult FriendFinder
Pros
- 90 million users
- Members are open-minded and welcoming
- It has a community forum where you can ask for advice
Cons
- Ads are popping up unexpectedly
Adult FriendFinder has been around for nearly 30 years. It is currently serving its wide 90 million users from around the world. What makes it stand out from the crowd is how lenient the site and its members are towards those with herpes.
It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s a very common infection and it’s very treatable. Members are encouraged to talk about their struggles and hardship in the online dating world. How their condition has prevented them from seeking love, what is the best treatment, and how to come clean to your partner, etc.
No one should feel bad for having herpes, as bad as it already is. Some patients are too shy to reach out for help because of the stigma. On Adult FriendFinder, users are in a safe community with lots of love and support.
Join its community forum to ask for advice. Members are knowledgeable in different aspects. You will find supportive members recommending the best doctor in town. Herpes patients will find Adult FriendFinder a paradise.
While browsing on Adult FriendFinder, you should expect to see a lot of ads popping up unexpectedly. These ads are well-defined and don’t navigate you to suspicious sites. But the ads can pop up when you are scrolling down. There is no fixed position for the ads which can be quite annoying.
2. Ashley Madison
Pros
- Secret chat and payment method
- Users can be anonymous
- A safe place for people to share secrets
Cons
- Most members are looking for hookups only
Ashley Madison is a household name in the online dating world. The site was once created for those in a committed relationship to seek discreet affairs. Today, it has become so much more. Due to its secretive nature in the past, the site has invested much in keeping identity and personal information safe.
Once the ID is verified, everyone can choose to use an alias when browsing through the site. This lowers the chance of being found by someone you know in real life as most members on Ashley Madison tend to want to keep things private.
The site supports secret chats and anonymous payment methods. Your chat history will automatically be erased after a set period of time. This can be changed in the chat settings. Members will get notified if a match screenshots the chat or saves a photo.
You can post on how herpes is affecting your daily life. Everyone has a secret so no one will judge. They may not be able to offer you a solution but they are surely here to help.
As helpful as people on Ashley Madison are, you may get disappointed if you are looking for love. Long-term relationships are not what the site is here for.
Its past adultery nature makes the site a magnet for hookups. It is almost impossible to find someone willing to commit. If you are here for fun, you will love Ashley Madison. But if you are here to marry, it’s best to look elsewhere.
3. PositiveSingles
Pros
- A dating site exclusively for people with STDs and herpes
- With updated blog posts on the latest treatment and relevant information regarding sexual diseases
- Fast signup process
Cons
- Tons of fake profiles
As positive as it gets, both figuratively and literally, PositiveSingles is exclusively for those positive of STDs and herpes. It claims to be the largest STD dating site in 2023. Members get regular updates on the latest news about STDs and herpes.
The site publishes blog posts about various treatment methods and how to date while having herpes. It has a welcoming vibe and ignites hope in people. Members are all going through the same so you will find someone who understands instantly.
Users will find useful information as well as how to live with the condition. No one is alone in this. Navigating your new life living with herpes can be a nightmare. When you are struggling to sleep at night sweating and panting, know that there is a place where members are welcome to share the hardship they face.
The signup process to PositiveSingles is fast. You are good to go in 5 minutes. That is probably why the site is filled with fake profiles. There are lots of redundant profiles of the same photos but different names.
Likely scammers take advantage of the security leak to sign up multiple times. Users will have to be careful and manually screen each profile.
4. MPWH (Meet People With Herpes)
Pros
- Exclusively for herpes dating
- Fast matching with its automatic search based on personal preferences and compatibility
- Simple site navigation
Cons
- Few active members
Online dating can take a long time. For busy workers who often spend hours at work, online dating may just take up too much time. So, here comes MPWH. With its powerful automatic match feature, your true love is just one signup button away.
Made exclusively for herpes dating, members on the site are either living with herpes or have previous experience dating someone with herpes. When you signup, the site will ask you a series of questions that help the search engine identify possible matches for you.
5. MeetPositives
Pros
- Status updates for members to share their treatment results
- Search results based on compatibility
- Anonymous payment method
Cons
- The user interface is rigid
Having herpes is not the end of the world. In fact, a lot of people are going through it. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. On MeetPositives, members are all positives of some kind of STDs or herpes.
When the outside world is full of stigma and hardship, members will find comfort on this herpes dating site. It allows members to post updates about their condition and share treatment results for support. Users can encourage each other and have each other’s back in their journey to recovery.
Second, the search results are based on compatibility. You are presented with possible matches that you can truly get along with in real life. You will have to answer several questions so the system understands your personality and can generate suitable matches for you.
Herpes dating is a sensitive topic. Therefore, MeetPositives provides a secure system for anonymous payment. You don’t have to worry about your family finding out you have been on dating sites.
Everyone should have the right to date freely and happily. Despite the keen effort, MeetPositives still lacks some quality work on its user interface. The whole site layout is rather outdated and seems like something from the early 2000s.
Although it doesn’t impact its actual function, the rigid user interface does take away users’ desire to roam around. The site will need to revamp its site design to attract more attention.
How to Date with Herpes?
Whether you are dating someone with herpes or you have it, there are things to consider when you date. First of all, people with herpes are people. They are no different than others. Everyone is entitled to love and date. No one should feel the need to hide because of a condition.
Inform your partner
That being said, when you date, the first thing you need to do is to inform your partner about your condition. It is absolutely outrageous for someone to hide a contagious condition from his date.
If your partner cannot accept it, it would be heartbreaking but you will have an honest answer. Do not resent others for rejection.
Try to educate them about herpes and how it should not be something horrendous. If the other person still refuses to accept it after you have explained everything, let them go. You do not want to beg for attention from someone full of judgment.
Keep herpes separate
Do not let your condition override your love life. Sometimes, your date will ask too many questions about herpes that it may make you feel uncomfortable.
Kindly sway away from the topic. You don’t owe anyone an explanation as to how you got it and how life is living with it. Only share what you want and leave the rest.
Take them to doctors appointments
Doctor’s appointments can be a nightmare because some people do not want their partner to see this side. They would rather go to treatment sessions alone.
This is not the healthiest way to go around it. If you are honest with your partner, she should also see this side of you. This is also a great way for her to understand more about herpes. Have the doctor answer all the concerns she has.
Date whoever you want
You don’t have to feel like you can only date others with herpes. You are free to love and date whoever you want. Herpes is not a reason to tie you down or stop you from loving. This mindset needs to change before you venture out into the online dating world. Too many people living with herpes think they will only ever date others with herpes because no one else will accept them.
There are so many love stories between someone with herpes and someone who doesn’t. There is no shortage of success stories on the herpes dating sites recommended above. Change your mindset so you can meet others as confident as ever.
Can You Have Sex with Herpes?
You can still have a fantastic sex life while having herpes. But here are a few things to consider.
Hold off during an outbreak
Never have sex with someone during a herpes outbreak. During a herpes outbreak, the virus volume is high. That is when herpes spreads the most easily. Having sex with someone, even if it’s protected sex, may lead to the other person being infected.
To be considerate, if you are experiencing an outbreak, take a break from your active sex life. This is also good for the outbreak as your body needs rest to recover. Some experts even suggest taking a pause from masturbation as the rubbing of skin will likely cause discomfort and worsen the symptoms.
Use protection
Herpes may still be active even if there is no symptom. Therefore, it’s essential to use a condom to protect your partner. Don’t underestimate the power of using protection. The virus content can still be high even when everything feels fine.
Condoms can only effectively protect certain parts of your genitals. They don’t fully prevent the spread of herpes as they cannot cover all the body fluids. That’s why you should avoid having sex when you are showing obvious symptoms.
Have regular health checks
Finally, you and your partner need to do regular body checks, especially if you are both having multiple sexual partners. However treatable herpes is, it is still highly contagious. Do not risk other people’s health. Body checks are always appreciated to keep your condition in check.
Summary
Millions of people are living with herpes. As technology advances, people living with this condition can enjoy a love life just like everyone else.
Although society is still not ready to accept this, people are finding online dating sites a blessing in finding dates. Join these welcoming dating sites to find yourself a hot date and possibly the love of your life tonight.
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