Transmission Of The Virus
The highest risk of transmission is during the blister phase, although some virus may be present just before or after an outbreak. Get as informed as you can about the condition and become aware of symptoms such as tingling that indicate you’re about to have an attack. Abstain from sexual activity during an outbreak and consider using condoms and dental dams at other times for added protection.
Professor Colm O’Mahony, a consultant in sexual health at Chester Sexual Health, and a patron of the HVA, conducted a study that found that 70% of women with genital herpes had HSV-1.
“This indicates they are likely to have contracted the virus through receiving oral sex from a partner with a cold sore,” he explains. So it is also important to be aware of facial herpes outbreaks in the context of sexual health.
For most people who have been diagnosed, the risk of passing the virus on to someone else when they don’t have any visible symptoms is incredibly low, says O’Mahony.
“The issue with asymptomatic shedding has been blown out of all proportion. Some people will shed tiny amounts of virus in between outbreaks, but it’s very unlikely there’s enough present to cause an infection in somebody else.”
What If I Am Pregnant
It is important to tell your obstetrician that you or a partner have had genital herpes, so that they can monitor you for symptoms and manage your pregnancy safely. There is a risk you can pass the virus on to your baby if you have a vaginal delivery during a first attack of genital herpes. If this happens you may be recommended to have a caesarean delivery.
Talk To Your Doctor About Suppressive Therapy
Valacyclovir has been shown to lower the risk of herpes transmission to a virus-free partner by 50%. A daily regimen of 500 milligrams of valacyclovir has been effective for partners with a history of recurrent attacks. Its likely that a combination of suppressive valacyclovir and condoms provides greater protection than either method alone.
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Support And Advice For Genital Herpes
If you have just found out you have genital herpes, you may feel shocked and may have a lot of questions. It may help you to gather as much information as you can about herpes. This can help you to make fully informed decisions about your treatment, safe sex and preventing further recurrences. Talking to a counsellor about your concerns may also help.
Natural Supplement For Herpes
Herdox’s potent formula works to enhance immunological functioning helping to reduce HSV’s most troublesome symptoms and reducing the number of outbreaks you have. Herdox is your natural means for effective and long-term HSV suppression.
The formula allows you to manage your condition in the privacy and security of your own home. Progressive Health has taken years of clinical research and developed the most effective, multi-faceted HSV supplement to date. Based on the anti-herpes nutrient L-lysine, Herdox’s ingredients provide for significant improvements in immunological functioning.
A few ingredients in Herdox are:
Other remedies and drugs available for herpes:
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What You Need To Know
- Fifty percent to 80 percent of U.S. adults have oral herpes.
- Oral herpes can be spread through intimate contact with someone who is infected.
- Oral herpes can be difficult to diagnose. Often confused with many other infections, it can only be confirmed with a virus culture called PCR, blood test or biopsy. PCR is the preferred test for diagnosing herpes infections.
- The best treatment for oral herpes is antiviral oral medication. Symptomatic treatment may include antiviral ointment, over-the-counter topical anesthetics or over-the-counter anti-inflammatory agents.
Whether you call it a cold sore or a fever blister, oral herpes is a common infection of the mouth area that is caused by herpes simplex virus type 1 . Fifty percent to 80 percent of U.S. adults have oral herpes. According to the National Institutes of Health, about 90 percent of adults have been exposed to the virus by age 50.
Once infected, a person will have herpes simplex virus for the rest of his or her life. When inactive, the virus lies dormant in a group of nerve cells. While some people never develop any symptoms from the virus, others will have periodic outbreaks of infections.
Questions To Ask Your Doctor
- What is the best treatment for me?
- Are there any side effects to my treatment?
- Is it safe to have unprotected sex if I dont have any sores?
- Can I give myself genital herpes if I also have oral herpes?
- Can I give someone else herpes even if Im not having an outbreak?
- What is the best way to prevent herpes outbreaks?
- Can I live a normal life with herpes?
- Am I at risk of developing any other diseases?
- Are there any support groups in my area?
- If I give my baby herpes, what is the treatment?
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How Is Herpes Simplex Diagnosed
Healthcare providers may diagnose herpes simplex based on how the sores look. Your provider may take a sample from the sore. Laboratory analysis of the sample can confirm or rule out the herpes virus.
If you dont have sores, your healthcare provider can use a blood test to check for HSV-1 and HSV-2 antibody, a marker showing youve been exposed to the virus. The blood test doesnt show an active infection . But it informs your provider whether youve been exposed to the herpes virus in the past. If this is your first infection, you may not test positive for herpes if there hasnt been enough time for your body to develop antibodies. The HSV-1and HSV-2 antibody test may be repeated in eight to 12 weeks.
How Often Do Herpes Outbreaks Occur
Outbreak frequency varies greatly from person to person. The average number of outbreaks for a person with the HSV-2 virus is four to five per year, while the average for HSV-1 is less than one outbreak per year. Usually, outbreaks are more common during the first year and become less frequent over time.
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How Do You Manage Herpes Long
Management with treatment:
- You may need to consider suppression treatment if you experience many outbreaks in a year
- You can buy antiviral creams for cold sores from a pharmacy, but should see your doctor if the sore lasts more than 5-7 days
- For genital herpes treatment, your doctor may refer you to a sexual health clinic
- Treatment of an acute short-term infection is simple and involves taking a course of antiviral tablets. There are different types of antiviral tablets which can be used. Some courses are higher strength and only need to be taken for 1 to 2 days, and some are taken for 5 days. You may need longer treatment if new symptoms develop during treatment or of your treatment doesnt completely heal your symptoms. You should speak to your doctor if this happens
Managing oral herpes :
- avoid direct physical contact with people
- avoid sharing items that can pass the virus on such as cups, cutlery, make up or lip balm. You can still use communal facilities such as showers, toilets or swimming pools.
- dont participate in oral sex or kissing
- wash your hands with soap and water thoroughly after applying antiviral cream or after touching the sore avoid touching the sore unless you need to apply treatment
Managing genital herpes don’t have sex during an outbreak of genital herpes or during the initial signs of an outbreak . The following preventative steps will reduce the risk of passing it to partners:
Telling a partner about herpes:
Emotional impact:
Use Protection Between Outbreaks
Although you are most contagious when you have sores, you can spread the virus even when there are no herpes symptoms through viral sheddingsmall amounts of the virus come to the surface of the skin. Shedding can happen at any time. One study found that 70% of cases were contracted when the sexual partner was symptom-free. Latex condoms used between outbreaks for genital-to-genital contact can reduce the risk of transmission. Although condoms dont cover all the potential sites of viral shedding, they are useful against the virus by protecting or covering the mucous membranes most likely to be infected.
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What Is Oral Herpes
More than half of American adults have oral herpes. Some estimates say up to 80% of American adults have oral herpes.
Oral herpes is primarily caused by HSV-1, although it is also possible to have an HSV-2 infection around the mouth.
A person with an oral herpes outbreak may first feel itching, burning, or tingling around the mouth, lips, or tongue. Later, cold sores or small blisters may develop in these areas or anywhere on the skin.
Roughly four to six days after these cold sores start leaking, they start healing by forming a crust. Outbreaks of oral herpes can last for two to three weeks, which can be shorter than the two to six weeks of a genital herpes outbreak.
People who develop symptoms of herpes may first experience tingling, itching, or burning, then notice sores or blisters forming around the mouth or genitals.
Symptoms tend to develop 220 days after exposure to the virus.
First And Subsequent Episodes
The first genital herpes outbreak will generally be worse than the ones that follow. During a first outbreak, the appearance of lesions will often be accompanied by:
- Pain or burning with urination
- Unusual vaginal discharge
Subsequent attacks tend to be shorter and less severe. They are often preceded by genital pain or shooting pain in the legs, hip, or buttocks several hours or days before the attack.
Over time, the number of outbreaks tends to decrease and become less severe.
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How Common Is Genital Herpes
Genital herpes infection is common in the United States. CDC estimated that there were 572,000 new genital herpes infections in the United States in a single year.1 Nationwide, 11.9 % of persons aged 14 to 49 years have HSV-2 infection .2 However, the prevalence of genital herpes infection is higher than that because an increasing number of genital herpes infections are caused by HSV-1. 3 Oral HSV-1 infection is typically acquired in childhood because the prevalence of oral HSV-1 infection has declined in recent decades, people may have become more susceptible to contracting a genital herpes infection from HSV-1. 4
HSV-2 infection is more common among women than among men the percentages of those infected during 2015-2016 were 15.9% versus 8.2% respectively, among 14 to 49 year olds. 2 This is possibly because genital infection is more easily transmitted from men to women than from women to men during penile-vaginal sex. 5 HSV-2 infection is more common among non-Hispanic blacks than among non-Hispanic whites . 2 A previous analysis found that these disparities, exist even among persons with similar numbers of lifetime sexual partners. Most infected persons may be unaware of their infection in the United States, an estimated 87.4% of 14 to 49 year olds infected with HSV-2 have never received a clinical diagnosis. 6
The age-adjusted percentage of persons in the United States infected with HSV-2 decreased from 18.0% in 19992000 to 12.1% in 2015-2016. 2
Is Herpes Simplex Related To Herpes Zoster
Herpes simplex and the varicella-zoster virus are related, but they arent the same. VZV causes chickenpox and shingles.
Like HSV-1 and HSV-2, shingles can cause a painful, blistering rash. The shingles rash usually shows up on the back, side, abdomen , neck and face. It is often only on half of your body, following the pattern of your nerves. See your healthcare provider if you have a new rash and suspect you may have shingles.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
Herpes simplex is a virus. Once you have herpes, its a lifelong condition. A herpes infection can lead to outbreaks , but youll also have times when you have no symptoms. The main sign of herpes is sores that appear on the infected skin. Some people choose not to treat herpes, especially if symptoms are mild. Others take antiviral medications to reduce the severity and frequency of outbreaks.
Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 05/17/2022.
References
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How Is Herpes Managed
Herpes isnt curableno viruses are. But there are medications to manage it and steps people can take to reduce the risk of spreading it to a partner or partners.
There are three medications that are FDA-approved for managing herpes: acyclovir, valacyclovir, and famciclovir. These medications can be used either as episodic therapy, meaning theyre taken at the first sign of a flare-up for a specified amount of time, or as suppressive therapy, meaning theyre taken daily in order to reduce the likelihood of a flare-up. Research has shown that taking the medication daily can reduce the number of flare-ups by at least 75 percent or even eliminate them all together. And suppressive therapy reduces the risk of passing herpes to others.
Additionally, people with herpes can use condoms and dental dams to further reduce the risk of passing on the virus to their partner or partners. And while using those barrier methods dont eliminate the risk, it does greatly reduce it.
Is There Research On Curing Herpes
Yes, there is ongoing research that aims to find a cure for herpes a cure may be available in the future, but this remains uncertain. Current research includes:
- Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering research into a genetic technique called gene-editing has shown some promise. It aims to deactivate the virus by affecting its DNA, which is essential for its survival. Results are currently inconclusive.
There is also ongoing research into some vaccines these teach the body to reject the virus. Examples are TheraVaxHSV-2 and GEN-003, which aim to treat genital herpes. Both have shown promising initial results for both strains of the virus, with GEN-003 being further along in its stage of clinical trial testing. Results are currently inconclusive, but the vaccines are still undergoing further clinical trials.
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Is There A Link Between Genital Herpes And Hiv
It is easier for a person with genital herpes to get or transmit HIV infection.
If a person with a herpes infection is genitally exposed to HIV, their risk of acquiring HIV is than someone without genital herpes. This is because genital herpes can cause breaks in the skin and make a person more vulnerable to HIV infection.
A person with HIV and genital herpes is more likely to transmit HIV to sex partners.
If It Doesnt Cure You What Does Herpes Medication Do
If herpes medication doesnt cure you, what does it do? antivirals are important in helping you to manage your herpes outbreaks. Although they dont cure herpes, they can reduce the time that an outbreak lasts for, and make it less severe. Antivirals work to stop the virus from multiplying by blocking the enzyme that it uses to copy itself and spread to other cells.
What does herpes medication involve? antivirals can be used to treat an acute herpes infection and also as a suppression treatment to prevent future outbreaks. They are taken as tablets swallowed with water.
Can medication stop you from developing symptoms? yes. If you suffer six or more outbreaks a year, then you may wish to consider suppression therapy to prevent future herpes outbreaks. There are also some possible triggers, which you can avoid to help control your herpes.
What medications are used for symptom-suppression treatment? The most common antivirals used are called aciclovir, valaciclovir, and famciclovir.
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What Are The Two Types Of Herpes
Herpes simplex 1, or HSV-1, is an extremely common type of virus. About 67 percent of people worldwide below the age of 50 which accounts for 3.7 billion people have HSV-1. This common virus causes cold sores. It spreads easily, even by sharing silverware or glasses.
Herpes simplex 2, or HSV-2, causes genital herpes. Its less common than HSV-1, and is spread only by sexual transmission.
However, most people dont know that they have genital herpes. Only about 10-20% of people know they have genital herpes. This makes it incredibly easy to spread to your partners without knowing it. Its also more than twice as common among women than men.
Is It Possible To Cure Herpes
Unfortunately, herpes has no cure as the virus invades your immune system once you are infected with the virus, you have it for life. This is the same for whether you have oral or genital herpes.
An infection doesnt mean symptoms are guaranteed most oral or genital infections dont cause any symptoms. Its very common for people to have come into contact with the virus at some point in their lives and carry the virus without ever having any symptoms. The virus lays dormant in your body after your initial infection and can reactivate several times a year or even months or years later. The time in which the virus reactivates varies from person to person. People do not spontaneously cure themselves of herpes.
Not everyone who has been infected with herpes goes on to show symptoms, or have outbreaks. The severity of outbreaks also varies from person to person and is hard to predict.
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