Aug 19, 2015 3 min read

Q. My nephew recently found out that he has genital herpes. He is a fine young man and had been dating the girl for a while. When they parted ways, neither of them knew she had a sexually transmitted disease.

Since finding this out, my nephew has become so depressed. He is convinced that no one will ever want him and that he will spend the rest of his life alone. We are worried about him and have looked around for support groups, but could not find any.

I am sure he cannot be the only person in this position. Could you ask your readers to send in some encouraging words or some advice for him? It would mean so much to him to know he is not alone and that there is hope for a future with someone. – A Concerned Aunt

A. We can assure you that your nephew is not alone. Roughly 1 in 6 people ages 14-49 in the U.S. have genital herpes, and many are unaware of it. While it is not curable, there is medication available to treat symptoms, control outbreaks and reduce the risk of transmission to a partner.

Please tell your nephew to check the website of the American Social Health Association at ashasexualhealth.org or their Herpes Hotline at 1-888-411-4377. They offer information, encouragement and support, along with relationship advice about how to tell one’s potential sexual partners about the infection.

Dear Annie: A year ago, I accepted a friend request on Facebook from an old boyfriend. (My first teenage crush from 35 years ago.) I was glad to see photos of his wife and children, and to chat with him about our lives.

Over time, he began sending me private messages, which eventually took a sharp turn toward flirtation and then became downright suggestive, to the point where he thought we should meet up. I stopped that in its tracks and told him in no uncertain terms that I had no interest in him as anything but an old friend. After a few months of no contact, he agreed that I was right, and we had several more chats, solely about family and life.

Yesterday, his son posted on his Facebook page that he had died. I was stunned and shed many tears for his family, plus a few for myself. Feeling sentimental, I opened up our chat page and started re-reading it, and lo and behold, saw all of those earlier conversations – the ones that would devastate his family. I deleted the entire conversation immediately. I only hope no one in his family saw it.

The best gift I could give to his grieving family was to leave them the loving husband and father they knew, with no stains on his character. Please remind people that these things stay online forever and that one never knows whether the next person looking at that page could be your spouse or child. – Another Distant Survivor

Dear Survivor: There have always been instances of surviving family members discovering evidence of inappropriate behavior (love letters in a desk drawer, receipts for hotels and gifts), but the Internet allows simple conversations to live forever. Thank you for reminding folks that Facebook pages can be accessed after death. Our condolences.

Email questions to anniesmailbox@creators.com, or write to: Annie’s Mailbox, c/o Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254