Thursday, March 28, 2024

I Think I Have Genital Herpes

Genital Herpes And Pregnancy

How Common Is Herpes Really? | Report Card | RIOT

Women with herpes before pregnancy can usually expect to have a healthy baby and a vaginal delivery.

If you have genital herpes during pregnancy, there’s a risk your baby could develop a serious illness called neonatal herpes.

This can be fatal, but most babies recover with antiviral treatment.

The risk of your baby getting neonatal herpes is low if you have had genital herpes before.

It’s higher if you get genital herpes for the first time in pregnancy.

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Im Pregnant What Do I Need To Know

To get the best care, tell your doctor you have genital herpes, because it could make you more likely to have a miscarriage or give birth too soon.

Its possible to pass along the virus to your baby. For infants, it can be life-threatening. Your doctor can talk to you about how to lower the chances that this will happen.

If you have an outbreak while youre pregnant, your doctor can give you medicine to treat your symptoms and stop them sooner.

Your doctor may give you a drug to prevent an outbreak as your due date gets closer. This is because your baby could get herpes by passing through your birth canal if youre having an outbreak when you go into labor. If thats a possibility, your doctor will most likely want to do a C-section, which is surgery to deliver the baby.

Continued

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Can I Still Have Sex If I Have Herpes

If you have herpes, you should talk to your sex partner about their risk. Using condoms may help lower this risk but it will not get rid of the risk completely. Having sores or other symptoms of herpes can increase your risk of spreading the disease. Even if you do not have any symptoms, you can still infect your sex partners.

You may have concerns about how genital herpes will impact your health, sex life, and relationships. While herpes is not curable, it is important to know that it is manageable with medicine. Daily suppressive therapy can lower your risk of spreading the virus to others. Talk to a healthcare provider about your concerns and treatment options.

A genital herpes diagnosis may affect how you will feel about current or future sexual relationships. Knowing how to talk to sexual partners about STDs is important.

Where Do Symptoms Appear

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When a person has genital herpes, the virus lies dormant in the bundle of nerves at the base of the spine. When the virus reactivates , it travels nerve paths to the surface of the skin, sometimes causing an outbreak.

Genital herpes, regardless of whether it is HSV-1 or HSV-2, does not cause symptoms on the mouth or face. For more on oral-facial herpes, see the oral herpes page.

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Fever Blisters And Cold Sores Are Oral Herpes Too

Fever blisters and cold sores are just different names for oral herpes, and theyve been around for a very long time. Legend has it that in ancient Rome, the emperor Tiberius banned kissing at public events because of an outbreak of fever blisters. In other words, they even knew back then how contagious fever blisters are.

The best way to protect yourself is to avoid contact with a person who has a cold sore and refrain from sharing eating utensils, lip balm, and the like. Note that someone with oral herpes can give you genital herpes if they perform oral sex on you. Avoid kissing and oral sex when outbreaks are present.

There is no cure for fever blisters and no vaccine to prevent them, although research into preventing and treating them is ongoing. If you do get oral herpes, your doctor may recommend over-the-counter pain medication and topical anesthetics to relieve symptoms. Some people also choose to take antiviral medication to make cold sores go away faster.

Before You Judge Me Let Me Explain

Since being diagnosed with herpes about a year ago, Ive been torn between telling potential sexual partners about my status. All the advice out there seems to boil down to the sad, impossible truth: Given how low the risks of transmission are, how unlikely it is that youll have any symptoms if you do get it, and how manageable it is if you do have symptoms, you really shouldnt have to tell potential sexual partners. And yet, you just do. It is just the responsible and respectful thing to do. It seems that the reasons behind this heartbreaking conclusion are 1) you might transmit the virus to your partner, and even if they dont get any symptoms, they could pass it on to someone else, thus perpetuating the vicious life cycle of an STI and 2) even if youre not worried about passing it on, if you end up in a longer-term situation with someone youll have to disclose your herpes diagnosis at some point, right? Because not telling them would be dishonest. And a relationship built on lies is bound to fail, right? You couldnt deal with that level of deceit between you and a long-term romantic partner, could you? No. Best to tell them. It sucks that you have to and we wish we lived in a society where there wasnt this much stigma around genital herpes, but we do and therefore you are obliged to disclose your status.

How is this possible? Okay, are you ready for it? This is gonna flip your lid.

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Who Might Get Genital Herpes

Genital herpes affects sexually active teens and adults of all genders and races. It can spread if you have multiple sexual partners and dont use condoms, including dental dams.

Women are more at risk. Delicate vaginal tissue can tear, making it easier for the infection to get in. Black women are especially vulnerable. An estimated 1 in 2 Black women between the ages of 14 and 49 is infected with HSV-2, the virus that causes genital herpes.

What Else Should I Know

Herpes Spreads, Even Without Symptoms

Genital herpes is a lifelong condition, but there are ways to manage it. If you have genital herpes:

  • Take medicines to stop outbreaks or make them less frequent and less severe.
  • Help reduce the risk of spreading genital herpes to others by taking medicines, always using a condom during sex, and avoiding sex during outbreaks.

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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.

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Are Canker Sores Caused By The Herpes Virus

Canker sores, also called aphthous ulcers, are not caused by the herpes virus or any other virus. Canker sores typically appear as small, shallow lesions on the soft tissues in your mouth or at the base of your gums, according to the Mayo Clinic. They usually have a white or yellow center and a red border, and they typically occur on or under the tongue, inside the cheeks or lips, on the gums, or on the roof or back of the mouth.

Unlike cold sores, canker sores occur only inside the mouth, and they are not contagious.

Minor canker sores, which are the most common kind, are usually small and oval shaped with a red edge, and they heal in one to two weeks, without leaving scars, per the Mayo Clinic.

Major canker sores, which are less common, are larger and deeper than minor ones. They are typically round with defined borders, but they may have irregular edges when they are very large. Major canker sores can be very painful, and they may take up to six weeks to heal. They may also leave scars.

Herpetiform canker sores are uncommon. They are the size of a pinpoint and often occur in clusters of 10 to 100 sores, but they may merge into one large ulcer. These sores have irregular edges, and they heal without scarring in one to two weeks.

According to the Mayo Clinic, canker sores may be triggered by a variety of factors, including:

  • A faulty immune system

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Tingling Or Pain Before Blisters Form

If you know you’ve been exposed to herpes, you may want to watch for prodromal symptoms. “About 50% of people will have symptoms such as itching, tingling, or pain on genital skin before blisters or sores appear,” said Dr. Shim. Usually you’ll experience an outbreak later, but it’s possible to have this tingling or itching and have no sores emerge.

What Are Signs Of Genital Herpes In Women

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Women who have the herpes virus may have nooutbreaks or signs of infection. Many do not know theyhave the virus. Once you are infected, the virus staysin your nerve cells for life. When the virus is not active,there is no sign of infection. When the virus becomesactive, a herpes outbreak occurs. Some womenmay not have any outbreaks or may have only oneoutbreak, while others may have multiple outbreaks.

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How Can I Avoid Spreading Herpes To Others

Use latex condoms every time you have sex between outbreaks. While condoms do not provide 100% protection, they are the best prevention available for people who have sex. Condoms can also help prevent HIV and other STDs .

Talk to your partner about herpes before having sex. Discuss what you will do to help prevent spreading herpes. This might be a good time to talk about your sexual health and STD testing.

How Can Genital Herpes Be Prevented

There is not yet a vaccine to protect against the herpes virus. There are a number of things to consider which may reduce your risks of getting genital herpes or of passing it on to others. These include:

  • Consider the use of condoms always, even in settled relationships. This is because a person can carry the herpes virus for a very long time and pass it on without ever being aware of it. Condoms do not completely protect against herpes but they reduce the risk.
  • The more sexual partners you have, the more the risk of picking up any STI, including herpes. So avoiding having too many partners will cut down your risk.
  • Avoid having sex with somebody with an active genital herpes infection .
  • Also avoid intimate contact with a person who has a cold sore.
  • If you have an active herpes infection yourself, avoid having sex with anyone else in order to prevent passing it on.
  • If one partner finds out they have herpes, it is wise to tell the other. This can reduce transmission rates.
  • If a person knows they have recurrent herpes, taking a regular antiviral medicine can reduce the risk of passing on the virus.
  • In particular, a pregnant woman should avoid having sex with somebody with active herpes, because of the extra risk to the baby during delivery.

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How Will My Healthcare Provider Know If I Have Genital Herpes

Your healthcare provider may diagnose genital herpes by simply looking at any sores that are present. Providers can also take a sample from the sore and test it. If sores are not present, a blood test may be used to look for HSV antibodies.

Have an honest and open talk with your healthcare provider about herpes testing and other STDs.

Please note: A herpes blood test can help determine if you have herpes infection. It cannot tell you who gave you the infection or when you got the infection.

Testing For Genital Herpes

Herpes Simplex 1 & 2: Symptoms, Transmission and Treatment

If you think you may have genital herpes you should make an appointment with your GP or local sexual health services.

If there are symptoms present such as blisters, sores and ulcers, your doctor or nurse may be able to make a diagnosis straight away.

If you have visible blisters, your doctor or nurse may take a swab for testing, to check if this is herpes and what type. This swab can also test for another STI which causes blisters called syphilis.

The genital herpes swab tests are very reliable, though if the ulcer is too dry then it may be less likely to find a positive result.

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How Can I Prevent Genital Herpes

If you are sexually active, you can do the following things to lower your chances of getting genital herpes:

  • Being in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who does not have herpes.
  • Using condoms the right way every time you have sex.

Be aware that not all herpes sores occur in areas that a condom can cover. Also, the skin can release the virus from areas that do not have a visible herpes sore. For these reasons, condoms may not fully protect you from getting herpes.

If your sex partner has/have genital herpes, you can lower your risk of getting it if:

  • Your partner takes an anti-herpes medicine every day. This is something your partner should discuss with his or her healthcare provider.

What Happens If I Dont Receive Treatment

Genital herpes can cause painful genital sores and can be severe in people with suppressed immune systems.

If you touch your sores or fluids from the sores, you may transfer herpes to another body part like your eyes. Do not touch the sores or fluids to avoid spreading herpes to another part of your body. If you do touch the sores or fluids, quickly wash your hands thoroughly to help avoid spreading the infection.

If you are pregnant, there can be problems for you and your unborn fetus, or newborn baby. See Im pregnant. How could genital herpes affect my baby? for information about this.

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I Think I Might Have Genital Herpes What Should I Do

Hi I have a question I think I might have genital herpes

Doctor’s Assistant: The Urologist can help. Just a couple quick questions before I transfer you. How long have you been concerned about herpes? Are you sexually active?

Doctor’s Assistant: Are you experiencing any of the following: burning, pain, itchiness, or discharge?

Doctor’s Assistant: What are all the medications you’re currently using, either for herpes or anything else? How old are you?

Im 21 Im on no medications could it be herpes

Doctor’s Assistant: Anything else in your medical history you think the Doctor should know?

Um when I started feeling unwell months ago I was diagnosed with bv and a yeast infection after I took the medication everything cleared up but Im still unsure I took an std test bc Im hs I got cold sores but havent had any in a while my obgyn looked at the result and said its common but Im unsure if I have genital herpes

Do you have a copy of the results that your OBGyn looked at?

Did this recent sexual partner develop any sores?

There is no reason to be concerned about herpes if the only issue is that a recent partner had body aches and headache, but no sores.

Your blood test is positive for HSV1, which typically causes oral herpes, and is very common. Most adults are positive for HSV1. If you are not currently having any symptoms, then there is nothing to do about it.

Your OBGyn can examine the bumps and determine what is causing them.

How Common Herpes Really Is

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Enough people have herpes to make it a totally commonplace infection, even though we may not treat it as one.

Nearly 48 percent of people aged 14 to 49 in the United States were estimated to have HSV-1 between 2015 and 2016, according to the most recent data from the CDC. This high prevalence makes sense because many people actually get the virus from nonsexual contact as children, the CDC explains. This can happen when a parent greets a child with a kiss on the mouth or while a kid is playing with other little ones, since children arent exactly known for their respect of personal space. Remember: HSV-1 often presents as cold sores, but its possible that some people with HSV-1 actually have genital herpes.

So, about genital herpes. You may have heard that one in six people has this infection. Thats a little bit of an outdated figure, Christine Johnston, M.D., an associate professor and herpes researcher at the University of Washington School of Medicine, tells SELF. That number is related to national survey data released by the CDC in 2010 and based on the years 2005 through 2008. This nationally representative research, published in the CDCs 2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey , tested peoples blood samples for antibodies of HSV-1 and HSV-2, estimating that 16.2 percent of Americans aged 14 to 49 had HSV-2 between the years 2005 and 2008. Thats around one in six.

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