Can You Get Hiv From Herpes

Get Tested And Treated For Stis

Herpes Spreads, Even Without Symptoms

If you are sexually active, getting tested for STIs is one of the most important things you can do to protect your health and your partners health. Make sure you have an open and honest conversation about your sexual history and STI testing with your health care provider and ask whether you should be tested for STIs.

Depending on your symptoms and sexual activities, the provider may perform a three-site test of your throat, genitals, and rectum. Dont be embarrassed to get tested for an STI. Your health care provider is used to discussing sexual health. Besides, CDC estimates that there are more than 20 million new STI infections every year. So you are not alone and arent the only person talking to your health care provider about an STI.

Encourage your partner to get tested too. You or your partner might have an STI without having symptoms. You and your partner should determine what sexual behaviors and prevention practices are going to be used in your relationshipand outside of it if you are not exclusive. The goal of this communication is to keep you BOTH healthy and free from new infections. Here are some great tips on talking with your partner.

If you test positive, know that getting an STI is not the end! Many STIs are curable and all are treatable. If either you or your partner is infected with an STI that can be cured, both of you need to start treatment immediately to avoid getting re-infected.

Topics

What Are The Treatment Options For Shingles

Treatment for shingles is the same regardless of whether a person has HIV. Treatment includes the following:

getting started on an antiviral medication as quickly as possible to ease symptoms and potentially shorten the duration of the illness
taking an over-the-counter or prescription pain reliever, depending on how severe the pain is
using an OTC lotion to relieve itching, being sure to avoid lotions that contain cortisone
applying a cool compress

Eye drops that contain corticosteroids can treat inflammation in cases of shingles of the eye.

Lesions should be examined by a healthcare professional right away.

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Special Considerations During Pregnancy

Laboratory testing to diagnose mucocutaneous HSV infections is the same for pregnant women as for non-pregnant women. Episodic therapy for first-episode HSV disease and for recurrences can be offered during pregnancy. Visceral disease following HSV acquisition is more likely to occur during pregnancy and can be fatal. Acyclovir is the antiviral drug with the most reported experience in pregnancy and appears to be safe, particularly during the second and third trimesters .51 One recent caseâcontrol study suggested a higher risk of gastroschisis associated with both genital herpes and acyclovir use during the first trimester of pregnancy.52 The use of valacyclovir and famciclovir during pregnancy has been described, and the antiviral drugs also appear to be safe and well tolerated during the third trimester.53 Given its simplified dosing schedule valacyclovir is an option for treatment and suppressive therapy during pregnancy .

Key: ART = antiretroviral therapy HSV = herpes simplex virus IV = intravenously PO = orally

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Can Kissing Your Dog Give You Herpes

Approximately half of all human patients with Herpes Simplex Virus 1 develop cold sores or fever blisters. OPTIONAL EARRING AND RESAPPEARING their feces is also the easiest way to transmit the virus! If you KISS them, then give them permission to bite something in their mouth, thats usually what they do!

What Is The Outlook

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No cure exists for either HIV or HPV at this time.

Most of the time, however, HPV causes no long-term health problems. The overall outlook depends on any conditions that result from HPV and screening frequency.

With current treatments, HIV can be managed and viral loads made undetectable. Effective medications and treatment now dramatically extend life expectancy.

A vaccine for HPV is available for both men and women.

People should get the HPV vaccine at age 11 or 12. People who receive the vaccine

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Treatment If The Blisters Come Back

Go to a GP or sexual health clinic if you have been diagnosed with genital herpes and need treatment for an outbreak.

Antiviral medicine may help shorten an outbreak by 1 or 2 days if you start taking it as soon as symptoms appear.

But outbreaks usually settle by themselves, so you may not need treatment.

Recurrent outbreaks are usually milder than the first episode of genital herpes.

Over time, outbreaks tend to happen less often and be less severe. Some people never have outbreaks.

Some people who have more than 6 outbreaks in a year may benefit from taking antiviral medicine for 6 to 12 months.

If you still have outbreaks of genital herpes during this time, you may be referred to a specialist.

You’re More Likely To Get Hiv If Your Partner Has Hiv And An Std

People with both HIV and an STD have more HIV in their semen or vaginal fluid. This makes it easier for a person with an STD or HIV to give the virus to others when having sex without a condom.

Remember, many people who have HIV don’t know it. It can take many years for symptoms to show up. That is why it is so important to use condoms during sex, or not to have sex at all.

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What Happens At A Sexual Health Clinic

The doctor or nurse at the sexual health clinic will:

ask about your symptoms and your sexual partners
use a small cotton bud to take some fluid from 1 of your blisters or sores for testing

The test cannot:

be done if you do not have visible blisters or sores
tell you how long you have had herpes or who you got it from

Symptoms might not appear for weeks or even years after youre infected with the herpes virus.

If you have genital herpes, your previous sexual partners should get tested.

The doctor or nurse at the clinic can discuss this with you and help you tell your partners without letting them know its you who has the virus.

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How Has My Partner Caught Genital Herpes

Herpes Simplex

If your partner has only just been diagnosed with genital herpes, this does not necessarily mean that they have been unfaithful to you or sexually promiscuous in the past.

Your partner may have caught genital herpes from you. You can carry the virus without knowing you have it as some people have no symptoms.
It is also possible that your partner caught the virus from a cold sore on your mouth or face during oral sex. You can pass the virus on even if you dont have a cold sore at the time of contact.
Your partner may have contracted the virus from a previous sexual partner, even several years ago. The virus can remain inactive in your body for long periods.

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How Long Do Sores From Herpes Simplex Last

If youre infected with HSV-1, commonly known as oral herpes, you may notice tingling or burning around your mouth in the days before a cold sore appears. These blisters break open and ooze fluid before forming a crust. Usually, sores last for seven to 10 days.

If youre infected with HSV-2, commonly known as genital herpes, your first outbreak may last between two to four weeks. Recurrent outbreaks usually last between three to seven days.

Can Genital Herpes Be Treated

Your physician can prescribe different medications to help reduce your symptoms and speed up the healing of an outbreak. These medicines work best when you start them soon after an outbreak occurs.

To reduce pain during an outbreak:

Sit in warm water in a portable bath or bathtub for about 20 minutes. Avoid bubble baths.
Keep your genital area clean and dry, and avoid tight clothes.
Take over-the-counter medications, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Avoid aspirin.

Let your physician know if you are worried about your genital herpes. He or she can recommend a support group to help you cope with the virus.

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What You Need To Know

Herpes simplex virus , also known as genital herpes, is most likely to be spread when an infected person is having an outbreak, but it can also be transmitted without any symptoms being present.
Medications can help reduce your symptoms, speed up the healing of an outbreak and make you less contagious.
If you know you have genital herpes before becoming pregnant, your physician will monitor your condition throughout your pregnancy. If you have an active outbreak at the time of delivery, cesarean section may be recommended.

Can Herpes Be Prevented

It is difficult to prevent the spread of HSV. Partly this is because most infected people dont know that they carry HSV and can spread it. Even people who know they are infected with HSV may not realize they can transmit the infection even without an open herpes sore.

Condoms can reduce the rate of HSV transmission. However, they cannot prevent it. HSV infections can be transmitted to and from a larger genital area, such as that area covered by boxer shorts and also around the mouth. If people with herpes take valacyclovir every day, they can reduce the risk of transmitting herpes to others. Once-daily valacyclovir is approved for persons without HIV who have up to 9 outbreaks a year. However, once-daily therapy is less effective in people with HIV and others with very frequent episodes.

Drug companies are working on vaccines to prevent HSV. One vaccine showed good results against HSV2 in women, but not in men. No vaccines have been approved yet to prevent HSV infection, but research is ongoing in this area.

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Can Herpes Cause Hiv

Just because HIV and Herpes Simplex Virus have viruses at the end of their name it doesnt imply that these STDs can open the doors to one another. Also, these are completely different from HPV . All three types are completely different from one another. When you have Herpes and get engaged sexually with HIV infected, then and only then do you have a chance of acquiring HIV.

Whats The Difference Between Genital Herpes And Oral Herpes

Because there are 2 different kinds of herpes simplex viruses that can live on many body parts, lots of people are confused about what to call these infections. But its actually pretty simple:

When you get either HSV-1 or HSV-2 on or around your genitals , its called genital herpes.
When you get either HSV-1 or HSV-2 in or around your lips, mouth, and throat, its called oral herpes. Oral herpes sores are sometimes called cold sores or fever blisters.

HSV-1 usually causes oral herpes, and HSV-2 usually causes genital herpes each strain prefers to live on its favorite area. But its totally possible for both types of herpes simplex to infect either area. For example, you can get HSV-1 on your genitals if someone with a cold sore on their lips gives you oral sex. And you can get HSV-2 in your mouth if you give oral sex to someone with HSV-2 on their genitals.

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Do Condoms Help Prevent The Spread Of Genital Herpes

Yes. To prevent transmission of herpes, we recommend that condoms be used 100% of the time. Many patients will shed the virus and be contagious when they dont have symptoms. Studies have shown that asymptomatic shedding occurs between 1% and 3% of the time in patients with HSV II genital infections. Many new herpes infections occur from partners who are shedding the virus asymptomatically, so condoms are highly recommended.

Condoms may not be an attractive option for monogamous couples or for couples who desire to become pregnant. Couples may opt to have serological tests to determine if either partner has an asymptomatic infection. In close monogamous relationships, the risks of transmission can be weighed against other relationship issues, such as intimacy and pregnancy.

Are Herpes And Hiv The Same Thing

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Both Herpes and HIV share similar symptoms and transmission ways but they are completely different. HIV is more of flu-like symptoms in the initial phases and followed by no symptoms and then final stages arrive with more severe signs like weight loss, diarrhea, and neurological symptoms, on the other hand, Herpes is painless and appears as warts around the genitals and the mouth which can lead to health complications like cancers.

Now, which is more common? Is it Herpes or HIV? Well, Herpes STD seems to be more common than HIV. According to research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , nearly every sexually active person having more than one sex partner will contract an STD like Herpes or HIV at least once in their lifetime.

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The Compound Effect Of Genital Herpes And Hiv

HIV and the genital herpes virus are a troublesome duo. One can worsen the effects of the other. Research shows that when the herpes virus is active, it may cause HIV to make more copies of itself than it would otherwise. The more HIV replicates, the more of the bodys infection-fighting cells it destroys, eventually leading to AIDS .

People infected with both HIV and the herpes virus may have longer-lasting, more frequent, and more severe outbreaks of herpes symptoms, because a weakened immune system cant keep the herpes virus under control as well as a healthy immune system can.

How Do You Avoid Getting Or Passing On Genital Herpes

If either you or your partner has a herpes outbreak , its best to wait until the symptoms have cleared up before having sex.

Using a new male or female condom or dental dam every time you have vaginal, or oral sex will reduce the risk of herpes being passed on.

Herpes can also be transmitted by sharing sex toys. To reduce your risk, either avoid sharing your sex toys or make sure that they are washed and covered with a new condom between each use.

Use a new dental dam or latex gloves for rimming and fingering or use latex gloves for fisting, especially if you get herpes on your hands.

Talking about your sexual health with your partners, and letting each other know about any infections that you have, can help you make decisions about safer sex together. Reducing your number of sexual partners can help you reduce your risk of getting sexually transmitted infections, like genital herpes. If you are having sex with multiple partners, its even more important to use condoms and to have regular STI checks.

Condoms are the best form of protection against STIs and pregnancy. Other contraceptives including the contraceptive pill will not prevent herpes, and neither will PrEP.

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Special Considerations With Regard To Starting Antiretroviral Therapy

Orolabial and genital HSV should not influence the decision on when to start ART in persons with HIV. Transient increases in HSV-2âassociated genital ulcers have been observed during the first 6 months after initiation of ART in HIV/HSV-2 coinfected persons. In such cases, suppressive anti-HSV therapy can be considered. The frequency and severity of clinical episodes of genital herpes is often reduced in individuals after immune reconstitution on ART. However, immune reconstitution does not reduce the frequency of genital HSV shedding.33

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How Can I Best Learn To Cope With Herpes Simplex

Some people feel distressed or embarrassed about their herpes simplex infection. Its important to understand that the herpes virus is common. For most people, herpes doesnt significantly interfere with daily life.

To cope with negative feelings, you may consider:

Connecting with others through support groups or online forums.
Sharing your feelings with a trusted friend or loved one.
Speaking with a therapist.