Question:
I've never had an outbreak or any of the symptoms of herpes, but yesterday my doctor called me after me having a pap and said I have herpes type 1 and type 2. She didn't even give me any info and didn't say what I could do about it. I'm so confused. I had no clue, I have NONE of the symptoms. What's the difference between being a carrier and having full-on herpes?

Answer:
Unfortunately, there isn't much difference between being a carrier and showing the symptoms of herpes – you still have herpes. However, it might just mean that you're lucky enough to have a strong immune system that's not vulnerable to outbreaks. This basically means that although you'll still have to be careful about taking precautions with future sexual partners, at least you don't have to go through the misery and pain of outbreaks! This isn't to say that you will never have an outbreak, but if you keep up other healthy lifestyle choices, you could never have one.

When you are in a sexual relationship, outbreaks are the main time when you CANNOT have sex at all, so staying outbreak-free will also make things easier in that arena. However, I should remind you that even without outbreaks, you can still pass this on because of something called "viral shedding", so you'll have practice safe sex and consider telling all sexual partners.

(based on original question from user smm0309)