About us
Who writes this website
Contact us
How we help
How you can help us
Who's who
How the Herpes Viruses Association got started
Who writes this website
It is written by staff at the Herpes Viruses Association. They monitor
research into treatments and vaccines, worldwide surveys of infection
rates, and studies of the usefulness of complementary therapies. The HVA
is impartial and independent of all treatment manufacturers.
The "What's new" and "Media releases" are updated whenever necessary. This site was last reviewed 10/9/2003.
Contact us
Info@herpes.org.uk can only give
you short answers to any questions you have. Membership offers a wide
range of information and is really good value. Your subscription and/or
donation also helps us to continue the service – see subscription
form – or phone our helpline on 0845 123 2305 (local call rate) and be ready to take
down the time when the help volunteer is available.
How we help
The Herpes Viruses Association helps to improve life for people with herpes
simplex by:
- helping them to understand the condition and put it into its proper perspective as a common skin complaint;
- publishing a quarterly journal SPHERE which covers everything from research news to articles on stress management and our social events.
- running trials to ascertain the effectiveness of complementary treatments;
- publishing the results from our questionnaires about the experience of living with herpes simplex;
- supporting and encouraging local groups and meetings;
- training and supporting the volunteer helpliners.
On a wider front the Herpes Viruses Association is also concerned with:
- providing information and advice to those who have symptoms of herpes simplex, the public and the medical profession;
- fostering a calmer, less hysterical approach to what is usually a minor skin condition;
- correcting misleading coverage of herpes simplex in the media and promoting a more accurate public awareness of the condition;
Volunteer members:
- answer the helpline / advice line;
- organise local groups and social events - relaxed, informal get-togethers which have been attended by thousands of people over the years. Members who attend find them supportive, informative and enjoyable.
- staff our Executive Management Committee.
How you can help us
There are many ways to be involved.
- subscribe to SPHERE
- go to local events/socials
- help as a:
- volunteer in the office: have you experience in journalism, law or can you put things in envelopes for us?
- local contact
- helpliner
- committee member
- proof-reader
- translator of our leaflets into community languages
- volunteer to be a ‘case study’ for newspaper/magazine articles or radio/television programmes. Getting more people to talk about herpes simplex in public is an important part of our campaign to ‘normalise’ the virus and counter the stigma.
You will help us enormously by becoming a member, or sending us a donation if we have helped you - we never have enough money to set up all the services we are called upon to provide.
Do join us. You can download the subscription form. Alternatively, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope and we will send you details of our services, index of leaflets, list of treatment suggestions, etc.
Who's who?
Our office is staffed by three people
Marian Nicholson – who is often seen in magazines, on TV and
heard in radio interviews – caught herpes simplex in 1981.
Nigel Scott – who is the person members are most likely to
talk to – caught herpes simplex when he was 20.
Shelley Harrington – runs the membership systems as well as dealing with product orders.
We have eight patrons.
Five of them are doctors
who specialise in sexual health medicine:
Professor Michael W Adler CBE MD FRCP FFCM,
Dr David Barlow MA BM FRCP,
Dr Elizabeth Claydon MRCP MB ChB,
Dr Brian A Evans FRCP,
Dr Derek J Timmins MB ChB FRCP MRCGP MFFP.
Three of our patrons
are ‘media doctors’ who help us get our message out to the public:
Dr David Bull MBBS BSc,
Dr Phil Hammond MB BChir MRCGP,
Dr Miriam Stoppard MD FRCP.
There are currently eleven members of the Executive Management Committee. They are all members of our Association and none has a professional or commercial interest in herpes simplex (i.e. no doctors or pharmaceutical company representatives).
How the HVA got started
In 1981, people with herpes simplex got together to share information
and to help each other as a response to the many scary stories about herpes
simplex in the press. We formed the registered charity, the Herpes Viruses
Association in 1985. Since then we have dealt with over 100,000 enquiries
from patients and health professionals.
A core-funding grant from the Department of Health provides some security; however we rely on donations and subscriptions for two thirds of our budget.
If this website has helped you, please send us your subscription or a donation – just as you would to any cause that you thought was doing a good job. Thank you.
