Usher, Herpes and Everything You Should Know About The Virus

Last night it was reported that the star Usher Raymond paid a former lover $1.1 million to settle a lawsuit after contracting herpes from the singer.

Legal documents show that Usher was diagnosed with the incurable STI back in 2009-2010 but still continued to have an intimate relationship without using protection, or even disclosing that he had the virus.

In California where Usher resides it’s illegal to infect someone when aware of having an STI.

The woman who caught the STI from Usher said she ‘feels that her health and body have been ruined ‘and she ‘has suffered severe emotional
distress and has been extremely depressed … knowing there is no cure.’

Usher has been married to Grace Miguel since 2015 and it has not been said as to whether or not she also has the virus.

Around the UK, there are about 35,000 cases of herpes per year, but exactly what is it? Genital herpes is a disease which infects the skin and mucous membranes of the genitals. The symptoms include blisters and a painful feeling when urinating.

The blisters can be painful for both men and women and bursts into small ulcers and later heals itself after a couple of weeks. However, this doesn’t mean that the infection has left your body. It can still return in a few weeks, months or years.

If you do have herpes or are dating someone with the virus this doesn’t mean your sex life has to come to a halt. Although it is stigmatised there are many ways around it. It’s important to get as much advice as you can from your sexual health nurse so you know what to expect and how to deal with it when the problem arises. It’s also important to remember that having a conversation with your sexual partner before sleeping with them is done as it’s unsafe and sexually irresponsible to sleep with someone without them knowing about your sexual health.

Using condoms is extremely vital even during oral sex (dental dams) so make sure you always carry them. This, of course, will also help prevent other STI’s and unwanted pregnancies and makes life a lot easier. Even when a blister doesn’t appear condoms should still be used as herpes is still contagious and harmful even when not visibly present. When you do get a break out or can even feel the blisters reappearing, never have sex.

We receive several dilemmas on Ask Oloni from young women who have been given the virus from either a sex buddy or someone they were exclusive with and now fear for their future. The truth is according to herpes.org.uk the STI is ‘Very common. By age 25, about six out of ten people in the UK carry type 1 and about one in ten carries type 2, more in the sexually active population. If this surprises you, it is because most people who have it don’t know that they do, because they have no symptoms or because they get it so mildly, they do not notice.’

Having herpes does not prevent you from having a normal life, you’re still able to have a baby, give blood (if you wanted) etc. You shouldn’t live in fear, but instead, honesty with sexual partners. A lot of people hear the word ‘herpes’ and assume it’s a death sentence. It isn’t. Although the STI comes with some negative sides, you’re still pretty much an average Joe.