Ep 57 Herpes: Stop the STIgma

This Podcast Will Kill You

Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts

Health & Fitness, Science

4.8 • 17.7K Ratings

🗓️ 1 September 2020

⏱️ 87 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The harm caused by herpes simplex viruses (HSV) 1 & 2 often arises not from the pathology of the viruses themselves but rather from the stigma and shame associated with a positive diagnosis. In this episode, we attempt to lay a clear foundation for understanding not only how these viruses work but also what occurred to change the perception of them from “innocuous infection” to “dreaded disease”. Starting us off with his firsthand account is the incredible Courtney Brame, founder and host of Something Positive for Positive People, a non-profit organization and podcast that aims to provide community support, healing resources, and educational discussions around positive HSV and other STI diagnoses as well as larger issues in sexuality and physical and mental health. We then dive into the meat of the episode, tackling such questions as “how do these viruses hide out in your body?”, “what kind of treatment is available?”, “where did these viruses even come from?” and “why is there such a huge amount of stigma and what can we do about it?”. To help us address this last question is our other fantastic guest, Dr. Ina Park, Associate Professor, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine and Medical Consultant, Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We chat with Dr. Park about her new book, Strange Bedfellows, when to have “the talk” with your kids, and how we as individuals can break down some of the shame surrounding a positive STI diagnosis. To learn more about Something Positive for Positive People, head to the website spfpp.org or check out the SPFPP podcast wherever you get your podcasts! You can also follow Courtney on Instagram: @honmychest. And don’t forget to pre-order Dr. Ina Park’s upcoming book Strange Bedfellows: Adventures in the Science, History, and Surprising Secrets of STDs, expected February 2021. You can find out more about Dr. Park and her work on her website or by following her on Twitter: @InaParkMD or Facebook: Ina Park.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This is Justin from The Generation Y, and we're doing a four-part series on rambling the story of
0:05.0	Khalif Browder, a young boy falsely accused of stealing a backpack and held at Rikers Island for three
0:10.7	years without trial. This story is about a young life caught in the middle of the Justice System.
0:16.1	Listen to Generation Y on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.
0:21.2	My name is Courtney Brain. I am the founder, executive director of the nonprofit organization,
0:27.3	something positive for positive people that also has a podcast by the same name which I host
0:34.0	on this podcast. I interview people who are living with primarily herpes about their experiences
0:39.5	from their diagnosis to dating to disclosure. For me, I was diagnosed with General HSV2. I was
0:49.2	living with my grandmother at the time. I was just out of college probably 23, I believe. I'm 31 now,
0:56.1	so yes, it's been about eight years. At age 23, I wake up one morning and I was under the covers,
1:01.9	I got out of the covers and I was like, whoa, I'm really cold. Whoa, I'm really sweaty at the same time
1:06.9	and I get up to go to the restroom for the first time and I go to urinate and I look down at my
1:15.1	generals and I scream and an obscurity. Let's say that. My grandmother comes to the door, my grandmother's
1:24.7	in there so I need to be sure to include that part here. She goes, you okay, man? I was like,
1:30.2	we need to go to the emergency room or somewhere right now and my mom just happened to be over
1:35.5	this morning and so my mom drives me to a nursing care facility and we're in the waiting room. I'm
1:41.2	not sure what's going on at this point. Having an STD never caused my mind. So I get in there and the doctor
1:50.0	looks at me and he goes, all right, that looks like herpes. He gives me the swab test. He gives me
1:56.9	treatment for my belief gonorrhea and chlamydia and I get tested for the other common STIs
2:05.0	at that point and sends me on my way. I get a pamphlet that tells me a little bit about herpes and
2:12.4	the different statistics and I get home and I immediately start messaging, texting,
2:20.5	Facebook messaging, my most recent partners and just out of concern that I may have given it to them.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.