Just a quick thank you from The STD Project to the individual who shared this story – participating in the STD Interviews is one of the best ways to help others facing similar circumstances and will go a long way toward breaking the stigma!!
It is also very difficult to do – sharing a personal experience, one which is still fresh/ongoing, and often creates polar responses is challenging, to say the very least. It takes courage.
One story at a time, we’ll erode the misconceptions, but in the meantime, each of these stories is helping others to heal – the individuals putting their thoughts on paper as well as the ones reading the stories.
Much <3 from The STD Project to all of you! 
1. How old are you?
I am 27 years old.
2. What do you do for a living?
I am a teacher.
3. What STD do you have/have you had?
I have molluscum contagiosum.
I have had BV and yeast infections, but I’m not sure they were sexually transmitted in nature.
4. How long have you had or known you have an STD?
I was diagnosed about 6 weeks ago.
5. Do you know how you contracted this STD?
I have my ideas, but I don’t know for sure.
It showed up about two weeks after I had a new sexual partner, but he and my other partners all deny having it.
It’s interesting how I could have gotten it from a number of people that don’t have it; so, someone isn’t telling the whole truth, or doesn’t know they’ve got it yet.
6. How has your life changed since you contracted an STD?
I have become pretty paranoid.
Every time a bump or mosquito bite shows up on my body, I’m afraid it’s another molluscum lesion.
I haven’t been able to have sexual intercourse with my boyfriend, since condoms don’t protect against it. When we fool around, he wears a vinyl glove to touch me. I now use a glove to wash the area of my body that is affected.
It’s been an emotional experience for me. I still feel shame, and wonder if I would have been ‘more careful’ or ‘less promiscuous’ if I would still be facing this situation.
I was pretty upset at the nurse practitioners who diagnosed me and treated me at first. They kept telling me that it ‘wasn’t a big deal.’ One even discouraged me from getting treatment. I don’t know if she thought telling me that would make me feel better about it, but it definitely did NOT. She said it would probably go away on its own in 6 months.
No sex for 6 months? No thank you! Are you kidding me? Sex was a big part of my life! It is a VERY big deal.
I’m grateful that I don’t have an STD that’s untreatable or incurable, but still, it has affected me, and I didn’t want to feel dismissed for feeling the way I did about it.
7. Do the people who know you have an STD treat you differently than they treated you before they knew?
I used to have multiple partners, including the person I think gave this to me.
Having molluscum contagiosum (MC) really brings to light who wants you for you, and who wants you for your body. Most of my partners have kind of faded away.
My primary boyfriend, who I love and who loves me very much, has been very understanding, but sometimes admits that he doesn’t know what to say to me or how to help me.
My friends have been very kind, well, the ones that know. There are a number I’m afraid to tell for fear they’ll see me in a negative light.
8. Are you currently under treatment for your STD? If so, please share whether you have explored prescription medication, over-the-counter medication, or holistic and natural approaches.
I’m currently going every 2 weeks to a public health clinic to get lesions frozen off (cryotherapy). It seems to be going well, but every time I’ve gone there have been new lesions, in spite of how careful I am being. I am crossing my fingers for the appointment next week, that finally, I will be cleared of having it.
My primary boyfriend is in pharmacy school, and we read on the CDC website that salycylic acid can help make the lesions go away, so he is going to help me get some (over the counter, but behind the pharmacy counter) and apply it to the lesions.
I have done some work just trying to get/stay healthy overall, like exercising and eating lots of healthy vegetables, as having a healthy immune system helps your body fight the lesions faster. Part of me wants to get some echinacea or some other supplement that help boost immunity to help my body fight the virus on its own.
9. Has having an STD hindered past relationships?
I’ve lost partners after telling them I had it, which, is sad. They weren’t serious or anything, but it didn’t seem like they wanted to have much to do with me after finding out about it, at least, while it was still affecting me.
The man who I think gave it to me said he wanted to continue seeing me, but has failed to do so.
10. Do you have a significant other? If so, how has this STD affected your partner?
I have a primary boyfriend I have been seeing for almost 8 years. It has not made him love me any less! It has changed our sex lives, however, as I mentioned above.
He is seeing another girl, and has sexual intercourse only with her, which, makes me a little sad. I understand that for now, it has to be this way, and I’m glad that he still gets to enjoy sex, even if it’s not with me. It doesn’t bother me that he has sex with her, just that he can’t with me, and I get a little green-eyed about the whole situation.
He does not have molluscum, and I am very grateful that is the case.
Before I was diagnosed, I thought the lesions were just shaving irritations, and he and I definitely had sexual intercourse with a LOT of skin to skin contact in the area I have lesions. I’m so glad I didn’t pass it to him, or my other partners.
We got lucky, and I’m very happy about that.
11. Have you been sexually active with someone since contracting an STD whom you did not tell you had an STD?
Another (new) partner wanted to masturbate me, and I kept telling him no, but he kept pushing. I ended up letting him, telling myself that if he didn’t touch the place I had the lesion, he would be okay. I feel pretty bad about it, but he washed his hands well immediately afterwards, so, I’m hoping he will be okay.
If I could have gone back and done it again, I would have been more firm about my ‘no’.
12. How have you changed as a result of contracting an STD?
I have a much different view of casual sex.
People will lie to get what they want, and you may have to pay the price.
Trust has become a bigger part of sex for me. I have to know a person much better before I will consider having sex with them. I would like to limit the amount of partners I have, and be better at talking about STD’s before having sexual contact.
I got lucky this time – getting a disease that is curable. I know I just as easily could have gotten something that would have been a lot harder to deal with.
13. Why are you choosing to participate in this interview and/or is there anything else you would like to share with The STD Project?
Having an STD kind of makes me feel like a modern day leper.
I feel ashamed and stigmatized. I feel separated from other people.
I want other people who get STDs to know that they are not alone, and their worth as a person is not gone just because they got an STD. I want to feel that myself!
I think that having people talk about their experience with STDs will help put a human face/voice with a disease. Ultimately, it’s PEOPLE that are affected; mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, etc.
Before I had MC it was easy to write off people that contracted STDs and have an attitude of ‘It couldn’t happen to me, because I’m ________.’ No, it can.
If you have sex, it can happen to you.
I want people with STDs to be treated with kindness and compassion, and I hope sharing my experience can help us as a society to move in that direction.
Did you have a similar experience? How did this interview affect you? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
- Would you like to share your STD story?
- Would you like to read other STD Interviews?
- Are you looking for more information on Molluscum Contagiosum?
About Jenelle Marie
I believe this article is biased and ignorant. As a virus that goes away and easily medicated, it shouldn’t be treated as a “disease” and have a stigma. The girl is fine and should carry on with her life WITHOUT identifying with some kind of uncommon stigma. Jesus Christ.
Hi there, and thank you for your comment! Your opinion is quite interesting in that it’s incredibly thought provoking. I have some general questions for you to consider and for those reading your response to consider and then I will address them directly as well…
I’m sure you are aware this post is not an ‘article’ in the traditional sense as it is part of the STD interviews. As a result, this is how one person feels about contracting molluscum contagiosum and likely, is not how everyone feels about it. Because it highlights one person’s opinion, it is inherently going to be biased – hence it being an interview.
In so far as the interviewee being ignorant, I must disagree and challenge you to reconsider your opinion as well. Here’s why:
Molluscum, when contracted by adults is considered a sexually transmitted infection. The US National Library of Medicine, The American Social Health Association, Planned Parenthood, and MANY others all list it as such. It’s important to remember when visiting The STD Project that the information provided herein is gathered from multiple sources and is fact-checked against some of the sources already mentioned.
That being said, molluscum can take anywhere from a couple months to a couple years to clear the body and is said to be contagious until it has completely cleared from the body.
So, in summary, your suggestion for her to continue along with her normal everyday life as if nothing has happened is both reckless and impossible as she is receiving regular cryotherapy treatments, which are certainly not part of her everyday life.
Lastly, while you may have meant well referring to the stigma she is facing as virtually non-existent, The STD Project is presently reaching around 30 different countries. There’s no way to know if her culture regards molluscum as yours does…. Albeit, she may be happy to hear there are some people who do not regard it poorly!
Overall, thanks so much for your strong opinion – I am certain you are not alone in your sentiments and it provided an opportune environment to address them in aggregate!
All the best!
I was posting earlier from my mobile – here’s a link to molluscum contagiosum on The US National Library of Medicine, The American Social Health Association, Planned Parenthood, British Columbia’s Sexually Transmitted Infections link – a province in Canada, the UK’s Sexually Transmitted Diseases link, and an Australian Sexually Transmitted Infections link (each of these sites explains that molluscum can be transmitted sexually) – if the OP (original poster) came from any of these countries, it is likely she is facing stigma and further validates her interview.
Thank you again for your message – I’m sure others will find your response and my subsequent reply helpful!
Correction: We are in over 116 different countries now!!!
(Obviously, I hadn’t checked this in a while!)
To Anonymous on June 14th:
How would you define “easily medicated?” I would encourage you to do a little research and learn more about the treatments for this virus, and how long these treatments take to work.
There are several treatments, and only one I’ve read about is given orally — and the CDC website only mentions that it is prescribed to children. Often, people with limited access to healthcare are only given the less costly options. For example, the public health clinic in my city only offers cryotherapy as a treatment option; cryotherapy or nothing. Cryotherapy takes between 8 to 12 weeks on average to be complete, it could take more, and it could take less, and throughout that time, the infected individual is contagious by skin to skin contact. So having sex, even protected, with a condom, puts any partners at risk for it. Is that fair?
True, it goes away on its own. Different sources report different amounts of time that it takes a body to clear itself of molluscum. I’ve read 2-3 months, to 6 months, to 18 months, to 4 years. Unless of course a person has a compromised immune system for some reason, then it does not. HIV positive individuals take a lot more time to completely heal, if they ever are able to fight it off. It is difficult not to engage in sexual intercourse with a partner you love for that amount of time. It’s not fun.
Additionally, if Molluscum is “not a big deal” are you willing to have sex with someone who has it? Condoms will not protect you from this virus. Are you willing to have contagious bumps on your genital/oral area, or any other part of your skin that you could possibly touch during sexual contact for up to four years? The CDC website reports that some cases take up to 4 years to fully go away.
It’s very easy to judge when you haven’t gone though something, but I think the point of the STD project is to promote respect, understanding, and a place people infected with STD’s to come to feel supported.
Just in case anyone happens to be following this comment stream and doesn’t catch the latest addition to the STD Interviews – here’s a link to the newest submission I received about molluscum contagiosum with an emphasis on letting others know they are not alone: http://www.thestdproject.com/a-blessing-in-disguise-molluscum-contagiosum-std-interview/