What is the link between herpes and HIV?

[Hockey Girl]

How does having herpes make it more likely that you'll get HIV if you're exposed? Why would one have anything to do with the other?

[Victoria]

Herpes can increase your risk of other STDs - including HIV - a couple of ways. First, the sores caused by herpes are really broken skin, and this allows viruses and bacteria easier entry to your body. Think of it the way you put band-aids on your knee if you scrape it, to keep germs out until it heals.

The other thing is that the immune system's response to STDs includes an increase in certain types of cells, and this cells are often the ones that HIV likes to target.

For more on this topic go to http://www.prn.org/images/pdfs/299_balfour_henry.pdf. The info of interest is on page two, the second paragraph on the right side of the page.

[Erich Remarque]

Couple of things. First, herpes does not become, not does it cause, HIV. What can happen is when there's a herpes outbreak, the sores it causes are really like broken skin, so infections like HIV simply have an easier time getting into the bloodstream.

The other thing is that STDs provoke a response from your immune system, which is of course a good thing. It can be something of an issue with HIV in that the cells the immune system "revs up" to respond to an infection (like herpes) are ones that HIV tends to target.

So, that's the connection. Make sense? Let me know if not!

[Erich Remarque]

I should that chlamydia especially is also linked with increased risk of contracting HIV, if exposed, due to an inflammatory effect it causes and an increase in the target cells. Which is another reason why testing and treatment with chlamydia is so important!

[cyeo]

Another thing about HIV and herpes (and all std's, in general) is that sometimes they are linked together because of a lifestyle. Having one STD can be indicative of a certain behavior that might make that person more at risk. That's not to say that anyone with an STD automatically exhibits that behavior at all, but, purely statistically, that can be why they're linked together.

[Alpinegeist]

Another thing about HIV and herpes (and all std's, in general) is that sometimes they are linked together because of a lifestyle.

Social factors play a role, too, such as the "sexual networks" in which a person finds partners. If you live in a community that's high at risk for STDs, your risk for contracting an infection(s) is greater than someone with identical sexual practices (number of partners, condom use, etc.) in a lower-risk community/network.