Thank you for stopping by to check out Monobie.org (pronounced Mon-ō-bee). We are the proud parent website of one of the coolest online Social Networking Communities on the Internet called Love, H Style. Here you will find a wealth of important information and support for people living with Genital Herpes, Oral Herpes, Genital Warts, and HPV (Human Papilloma Virus). Love, H Style is a website build specifically for people living with this virus. Our purpose is to give our members the opportunity to connect with, or provide resources to, clients, colleagues, family, and friends who share common interests only in a Herpes and HPV environment.

 In our social network, you can create a profile that describes you or your organization, and then invite people to join you as "friends" also allowing you to upload videos, photos, create a blog, download music, post events, join groups, and send messages. Love, H Style is a social networking website which is free, and provides a wide range from general to tailored for a specific demographic or interest area.

 Dating in today's world can be enough of a challenge on it's own. Having Herpes and HPV in addition to dating can be especially tough...but this is where our website takes over. Love, H Style was created for people who live with Herpes and HPV to try and help alleviate the uneasiness that comes from a person living with "H" who may have to tell someone their dating that they live with this virus.

 The Love, H Style website was also created as a unique resource for not only people living with HSV-1, HSV-2, and HPV; but also for their partners, families, support group members, managers, counselors, and medical professionals. Provided as a free service by The Monobie Network all information comes from reputable sources with Genital Herpes, Oral Herpes, and HPV expertise as noted. You will meet other people on our website who live with Herpes and HPV like yourself. Their advise is usually helpful and useful, but please know that no one affiliated with our website is a medical physician, nor under the control of Monobie.org or Love, H Style. So take what you read and learn accordingly.


What is Herpes?

 Herpes Simplex: Herpes Type 1 and 2
 Herpes simplex viruses -- more commonly known as herpes -- are categorized into two types: herpes type 1 (HSV-1, or oral herpes) and herpes type 2 (HSV-2, or genital herpes). Most commonly, herpes type 1 causes sores around the mouth and lips (sometimes called fever blisters or cold sores). HSV-1 can cause genital herpes, but most cases of genital herpes are caused by herpes type 2. In HSV-2, the infected person may have sores around the genitals or rectum. Although HSV-2 sores may occur in other locations, these sores usually are found below the waist.

 What Causes Herpes Infections and Outbreaks?
 Herpes simplex type 1, which is transmitted through oral secretions or sores on the skin, can be spread through kissing or sharing objects such as toothbrushes or eating utensils. In general, a person can only get Herpes type 2 infection during sexual contact with someone who has a genital HSV-2 infection. It is important to know that both HSV-1 and HSV-2 can be spread even if sores are not present.

 Pregnant women with genital herpes should talk to their doctor as genital herpes can be passed on to the baby during childbirth.

 For many people with the herpes virus, attacks (or outbreaks) of herpes can be brought on by the following conditions:

* General illness (from mild illnesses to serious conditions)
* Fatigue
* Physical or emotional stress
* Immunosuppression due to AIDS or such medications as chemotherapy or steroids
* Trauma to the affected area, including sexual activity
* Menstruation

 What Are the Symptoms of Herpes Simplex?
 Symptoms of herpes simplex virus typically appear as a blister or as multiple blisters on or around affected areas -- usually the mouth, genitals or rectum. The blisters break, leaving tender sores.

 How Is Herpes Simplex Diagnosed?
 Often, the appearance of herpes simplex virus is typical and no testing is needed to confirm the diagnosis. If a health care provider is uncertain, herpes simplex can be diagnosed with laboratory tests, including DNA tests and virus cultures.

 How Is Herpes Simplex Treated?
 Although there is no cure for herpes, treatments can relieve the symptoms. Medication can decrease the pain related to an outbreak and can shorten healing time. They can also decrease the total number of outbreaks. Drugs including Famvir, Zovirax and Valtrex are among the medications used to treat the symptoms of herpes. Warm baths may relieve the pain associated with genital sores.

 How Painful Is Herpes Simplex?
 Some people experience very mild genital herpes symptoms or no symptoms at all. Frequently, people infected with the virus don't even know they have it. However, when it causes symptoms, it can be described as extremely painful. This is especially true for the first outbreak, which is often the worse. Outbreaks are described as aches or pains in or around the genital area or burning, pain, or difficulty urinating. Some people experience discharge from the vagina or penis.

 Oral herpes lesions (cold sores) usually cause tingling and burning just prior to the breakout of the blisters. The blisters themselves can also be painful.

 Can Herpes Be Cured?
 There is no cure for herpes simplex. Once a person has the virus, it remains in the body. The virus lies inactive in the nerve cells until something triggers it to become active again.


 What is HPV?
 HPV is common and infects at least 50% of all people who have sex at some time in their lives. Often, people don't have any symptoms and the HPV infection goes away on its own. Some types of HPV can lead to cervical cancer or cancer of the anus or penis.

 Facts About HPV Virus
 HPV stands for human papillomavirus (pronounced pap ah LO mah), but there are actually more than 100 related viruses in this group. Each HPV virus is given a number or type. The term "papilloma" refers to a kind of wart that results from some HPV types.

 HPV viruses live in the body's epithelial cells. These are flat and thin cells found on the skin's surface and also on the surface of the vagina, anus, vulva, cervix, penis head, mouth, and throat.

 Of the 100 HPV types, about 60 types cause warts on areas such as the hands or feet. The other 40 or so types of HPV are sexually transmitted and are drawn to the body's mucous membranes, such as the moist layers around the anal and genital areas.

 How HPV Virus Spreads
 These sexually-transmitted HPV viruses are spread through contact with infected genital skin, mucous membranes, or bodily fluids, and can be passed through intercourse and oral sex. HPV can infect skin not normally covered by a condom, so using a condom does not fully protect you from the virus. Also, many people don't realize they're infected with HPV and may have no symptoms, so neither sexual partner may realize that the virus is being spread.

 High-Risk HPV, Low-Risk HPV
 Not all of the 40 sexually transmitted HPV viruses cause serious health problems. High-risk HPV viruses include HPV 16 and 18, which cause about 70% of cervical cancers. Other high-risk HPV viruses include 31, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 58 and a few others.

 Low-risk HPV viruses, such as HPV 6 and 11, cause about 90% of genital warts, which rarely develop into cancer. Genital warts can look like bumps or growths. Sometimes they are shaped like cauliflower. The warts can show up weeks or months after exposure to an infected sexual partner.

 How Widespread Is HPV?
 How common is HPV infection? About 20 million people in the U.S. are infected at any time, according to the CDC. And three-fourths of sexually active people between ages 15 and 49 have been infected at some point in their lives, according to estimates from the American Social Health Association.

You're more likely to get HPV if you:

* Have sex at an early age
* Have many sex partners
* Have a sex partner who has had multiple partners

 While many people think HPV is mostly a problem for teens or young adults, HPV virus can infect men and women of any age. In fact, a 2007 survey found that nearly 27% of U.S. women between the ages of 14 and 59 have HPV, according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The survey found that:

* 19% of women 50 to 59 were infected with HPV virus
* 27% of women 20 to 24 were infected with HPV virus
* 45% of women 14 to 19 were infected with HPV virus