Genital Herpes: What is it?
Genital herpes is caused by herpes
simplex 1 or 2 (HSV1/2). HSV1 is the most common but usually results in
cold sores. HSV2 usually causes genital herpes. Both are viruses
that cause an outbreak of blisters and both can be latent for
years before an outbreak.
Genital herpes is sexually transmittable and this includes oral
sex, which may even result in oral herpes and vice versa. It
is highly contagious during outbreaks but may also transmit
when there are no visible symptoms. It is possible, but rare,
to catch genital herpes without sexual activity.
Common Symptoms of Genital Herpes
The most common symptoms are blisters around the genital
area but
these may also be found on the inner thighs, on the rectum or anywhere
below the waist. You may also feel tingling, numbness or discomfort
in the affected area prior to the blisters forming. The symptoms may
vary and are sometimes mistaken for something else, or may be so
mild that there is no suspicion of herpes. It is estimated that
50-80 % of herpes cases are never diagnosed. The virus may also
be latent for years or never result in an outbreak. In short, it
is quite common to have herpes without knowing it.
Many people experience only one outbreak, but this does not mean that you
are cured. Typically, the first outbreak is the worst and you
may also experience:
- Fever
- Swollen glands
- Tiredness or
- Headaches
Very often an outbreak is triggered by:
- Another illness, such as the common cold or Flu
- Generally low immune system
- Stress
- Tiredness
As the above indicates, a healthy lifestyle may well be a factor to
keep outbreaks at a minimum.
Diagnoses & Treatment of Genital Herpes
If you suspect that you have genital herpes you should see a doctor,
preferably when you have the symptoms as this makes diagnosis easier. The
doctor may want to take a swab or a blood test to support the diagnosis.
There is no cure for genital herpes because the virus does not
leave the body once you've caught it. But it is possible to treat
genital herpes to relieve the symptoms, and it may even be possible
to eliminate these. Your doctor may choose to prescribe antiviral therapy
such as:
If you are diagnosed with genital herpes you must take precautions
to avoid passing it to your partner. The best way would be to not engage in sexual
activity at all, but this is obviously not a realistic solution.
Some of the precautions you might employ would include:
- Avoid your partner having contact with your genitals
during an outbreak - Note that you can have contact with your partner's
genitals, as long as it doesn't involve your genitals - Wash your hands after touching the infected area.
- Take antiviral medication regularly as this may lower
the risk of spreading herpes - Use a condom, this will also lower the risk
- Remember that none of the above will eliminate the
risk of spreading herpes, only that it will help reduce
that risk
Don't despair, life isn't over if you have contracted genital
herpes. There are plenty of support groups, counseling and other
types of help. The first step is to SEE A DOCTOR!
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herpes
if you was diagnosed once before and went to get a second opinion and was told you do not have any sexually transmitted disease. what does that mean?
misdiagnosed
If you was diagnosed once before and went to get a second opinion and was told you do not have any sexually transmitted disease. What does that mean?
Diagnoses
Hi, best bet is "better safe than sorry". Generally diagnosis is done on an active lesion. Well if your first "positive" diagnosis was done during an outbreak, then when there was no outbreak you were told you were clean (negative), that is because the disease was dorment. I have been infected for 11 years, since I average (over all those years) about 3 outbreaks a year at about 1 week a piece, I would have "tested" negative more than 90% of the time. This would have been a false negative, as having the disease means having the disease. I have herpes, I tested positive for it. If you tested positive you got lucky because they caught it, don't hold out hope that the negative was right, you were probably just not active. Watch out for lesions and practice responsible and safe sex. Life goes on and there are alot of us out there with the disease. You are not alone.
Mommy to be
herpes
my boyfriend just told me he had herpes. i havn't used protection with him for about six months. he said i can't get unless he has an outbreack is that ture.
A very uplifting insight-reply to mommy to be
I just had a yeast infection which i could not get rid of. I used the one a day monistat. I was concerned cuz like I got a lesion, dis-charge etc. The doctor said I was having a allergic reaction to the highly concentrated monistat which as a result I got raw down there and he said i doubt this is herpes but we'll swabb it and check it. Like 5 days later I had a voice mail from the doctors office saying they have my results and to come in the next day and the doctor wants to discuss my results with me. Anyway he told me i have herpes. So all i can think about is that the test was wrong and I need a second opinion which most likely will come up negative cuz i have no outbreak and then i would hung onto that result to be in denial and could infect someone esp. my boyfriend whom i adore. Your article, since i found out the day before halloween2005, has been so hopeful and informative for me and saved another person from being infected and made come out of my denial!
Confusion about Genital Herpes Symptoms or Outbreak
Okay i think i have genital herpes but not sure not too long ago i had a rash that was irritated near my genital area, it turned into a cluster so it lookd like of tiny blisters, but it went away like a week later, and it never scabbed up? I read in the forum that it does scab up so, could it still be genital herpes or is it something else? Im so afraid to go to the doctor and i dont have any heath insurance so im just tryin to figure this all out.
cure and treatments
i have had herpes for about 2 or 3 years and i'm not sure where and how i contracted it. It was dormant for a while then it went wild and i began to have outbreaks frequently. Lately i have being having outbreaks like once a month and don't know why its been happening so often.
i hate what i did
hey, i had a cold sore on my face. i havent had a cold sore in 5 year so i wasent sure if it was a cold sore. i really cant hanld what i did and im tears ever day. i was having sex with my girl freind who i love to death. and i had oral sex with her. i had no idea. i rally dident. and now she has genital herpes. she's 17!! im 19. i cant bealve or hanld i did this to her. i wannt die. there a chance i may have it too now. sence we had sex after that she we didnet know she had it. i dont even care if i do. i jsut cant handle what i did. is there out where that this happen to. and now her family has cut her off from me. i cant do this. i wish i had it and now her.
Hello
This is absolutely right!!!
contraction
Tinkx
I had been with my Partner for 2 years we then got married and have now been together for almost 3 years. We are only out of each others sight for a couple of hours a day working in separate offices but the rest of the time we have never spent a moment apart.
A month ago i became very sore in the Anal region and my GP advised me to go have it tested as it looked like Herpes. One week later i was admitted to hospital with a severe fever,shakes,vomitting and almighty pain in my lower back and down my legs, all sorts of tests were done but nothing could be found as the cause of such severe illness. (Tests proved that i did indeed have Herpes which has now spread forward also).I am now into my 4th week of this illness and still suffer the back/leg pain and vomiting-is it possible that this is due to the herpes(of which i am still suffering a long painfull first outbreak)?(I am on a second more powerful coarse of tablets to help this).
I am aware that herpes can remain un-detected for some time but does this sudden appearance in me mean that my husband WAS faithful and just a carrier and i never contraced it till now, does it mean that i was a carrier but have never had simptoms until now and amazingly never passed it to my husband, or does it mean that my husband has probably been unfaithful as the other two possibilities are too far fetched?
If you have the knowledge to help me then please do as at the moment i have very little of a life physically and am mentally distraught. Thank you