A Simple Guide to Genital Herpes

A Simple Guide to Genital Herpes
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What is Genital Herpes?
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Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the herpes simplex viruses type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2).
Most genital herpes is caused by HSV-2.
Incubation peroid is 14 days to several weeks.

What are the symptoms of Genital Herpes?
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Most infected patients do not have any signs or symptoms from Genital herpes infection.
In the male, small blisters occur on the penis glans and on both of the scrotums.
If the urethra is involved. there may be discharge and pain on urination.

In the female, there may be one or more blisters on or around the genitals or rectum. The blisters normally break, leaving painful ulcers which may take two to four weeks to heal.

Typically, recurrence of the blisters may appear weeks or months after the first and is usually less severe and shorter than the first outbreak.

The infection can stay in the body indefinitely with the number of outbreaks decreasing over a period of years.

How is Genital Herpes spread?
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Genital herpes is usaully a sexually transmitted disease.
Genital HSV-2 infection is more common in women (25%) than in men (20%).
This may be due to male-to-female transmissions.

HSV-1 and HSV-2 viruses can be found in and released from the blisters and ulcers that the viruses cause.
They also are released between outbreaks from skin that does not appear to be broken or to have a sore.
Transmission can occur from an infected partner who does not have a visible sore and may not know that he or she is infected.

HSV-1 can also cause genital herpes.
It however causes more infections of the mouth and lips, so-called "cold sores."
HSV-1 infection of the genitals can be caused by oral-genital or genital-genital contact with a person who has HSV-1 infection.
Genital HSV-1 outbreaks does not recur as often as genital HSV-2 outbreaks.

How do you diagnose Genital Herpes?
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The signs and symptoms of HSV-2 infection may be none to obvious.
Doctors can diagnose genital herpes by visual examination if the outbreak is typical and by taking a sample from the sores and testing it in a laboratory.
HSV infections can be difficult to diagnose between outbreaks.

The best way to confirm the presence of Genital herpes is to do a blood test for HSV1 and HSV2 viruses. The results however may not 100% accurate.
Most people infected with genital herpes do not know of their infection.

Once the virus is transmitted, an outbreak usually occurs within two weeks and the sores typically heal within two to four weeks.
During the primary episode, signs and symptoms may include a second episode of sores and sometimes fever and swollen glands.
Most individuals with HSV-2 infection do not have sores, or the sores may be so mild that they do not even notice.

Most people diagnosed with a first episode of genital herpes can expect to have several symptomatic recurrences within a year.
Usually these recurrences decrease in frequency.

What is the treatment of Genital Herpes?
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There is no treatment that can cure herpes but antiviral medications like acyclovir can shorten and prevent outbreaks during the period of time the person takes the medication.
In addition the medications can reduce transmission to partners.

How do you prevent Genital Herpes?
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1.abstainance from sexual contact, or to be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and is known to be uninfected from genital herpes.

2.protection using a latex condom during sexual contact. However since a condom may not cover all infected areas, even correct and consistent use of latex condoms cannot guarantee protection from genital herpes.

3.Persons with herpes should abstain from sexual activity with uninfected partners.
This is a very important moral responsibility.
Sex partners of infected persons should be advised that they may become infected.

Sex partners can seek testing to determine if they are infected with HSV.
A positive HSV-2 blood test most likely indicates a genital herpes infection.

What are the Complications of Genital herpes?
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1.In some cases, genital herpes can cause recurrent painful genital sores in many adults.

2.Herpes infection can be severe in people with suppressed immune systems eg. HIV.

3.psychological distress may occur in people who know they are infected because the herpes is not curable.

4.genital HSV can cause potentially fatal infections in babies.
If a woman has active genital herpes at delivery, a cesarean delivery is usually performed.
Infection of a baby from a woman with herpes infection fortunately is rare.

5.Herpes may play a role in the spread of HIV the virus that causes AIDS. Herpes can make people more susceptible to HIV infection, and it can make HIV-infected individuals more infectious to others.