The Symptoms of Herpes and Herpes Treatment
One of the most commonly sexually transmitted disease of today is genital herpes, which is caused by the herpes simplex virus. This is the same family of viruses that cause cold sores, shingles and chicken pox.
Genital herpes is caused by the virus called herpes simplex type II. The virus called herpes simplex type I causes cold sores on the nose and lip area. The mucous membranes of either the reproductive tract or lip/mouth area are equally attractive to the herpes virus and will happily reside in either region. It is important to understand that oral genital contact can transmit both virus types. In other words oral sex should be refrained from cold sores are present in the mouth area as it can transmit the virus to the genital area and vice versa. The blisters caused by the herpes viruses are virtually identical and hard to differentiate between.
What are the symptoms of genital herpes? Often is the case an individual will run fever and have body aches, typical of many viruses, upon the initial infection. However, that is not always true. Some people are unaware they are infected until they experience an outbreak of blisters in their genital area.
This occurrence is called an outbreak and is characteristic of the herpes virus acting in the body. There are periods of time when the virus lays dormant and there are no symptoms present. This will be followed by an outbreak at such time there will be blisters present on the genital area and may possibly extend into the anal area. Genital sores act in the same manner as a cold sore on your lips. You feel the initial tingling, it grows, spreads and eventually bursts leaving the ulceration that slowly heals on its own.
Men typically experience these blisters on or around the penis, and women experience the sores in the vagina and surrounding area.
Unfortunately the herpes virus is a life long virus, but the outbreaks will come and go. In fact the outbreaks will diminish over time with some cases resulting in no outbreaks at all.
Diagnosis of genital herpes should be done by a healthcare professional. People often are unaware they are affected until the first outbreak, and for others the symptoms are so mild they mistake it for a basic skin irritation. Diagnosis is usually done with an inspection of the infected area. In most cases a swab will taken of a blister to confirm the diagnosis.
While there is no cure for herpes, there is treatment available which will help control virus. Initially an anti-viral medication can be used to help fight the infection, and in some cases are used for a prolonged period of time if there are frequent outbreaks. Other common sense treatments that aid in the discomfort of outbreaks are wearing loose clothing, the use of cold compresses, and the use of soothing creams or ointments on the affected area.
A healthy immune system is key in reducing frequency of outbreaks. You should avoid smoking, drinking alcohol and drug use as it is an immune system drain and can increase the likely-hood of outbreaks. A great defense against outbreaks is just good clean living, including quality food and exercising.
Genital herpes is not known as a life threatening disease, especially for those with healthy immune systems. However, an exhausted immune system can make outbreaks more likely. When HIV, cancer or other immune system suppressers are present the virus does become more dangerous.
Should the virus be transmitted to other areas like the eyes or brain the complications can be severe. The direct transmission can happen in a number of ways, but most commonly occurs during the birthing process where unfortunately the baby can become infected from contact with the infected mothers vagina.
If you in any way believe you have contracted genital herpes make arrangements to see your doctor immediately. You should always practice safe sex with the use of a condom, even during oral sex. Your sexual partner should always be made aware of your infection as it is irresponsible to pass along genital herpes.
