What Is Herpes Simplex
Herpes simplex is a virus that causes skin infections. The infection lasts your lifetime, and it causes painful or itchy sores and blisters that come and go. Herpes simplex virus typically doesnt cause severe problems. But it can be dangerous in infants and people with weakened immune systems. There are two types of herpes simplex:
- Herpes simplex 1 tends to affect your mouth or face. It causes cold sores. HSV-1 spreads through contact with saliva .
- Herpes simplex 2 is a sexually transmitted disease . It causes sores on skin that comes in contact with the genitals of an infected person.
Sometimes a herpes infection can affect other parts of your body, such as your eyes or other parts of your skin.
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.
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Is There A Treatment For Genital Herpes
Several medicines can help. Acyclovir , famciclovir and valacyclovir can be used for genital herpes. Your doctor can prescribe one of these medicines for you. There are two ways to take the medicine: suppressive and episodic.
Suppressive treatment keeps herpes sores from coming back. You have to take one or more pills every day for a long time. This can be expensive. When you stop taking the pills, the sores might come back again. However, if you have many sores and they hurt a lot, ask your doctor about suppressive therapy.
With episodic treatment, you only take medicine when you start to get a sore. The medicine makes the sore hurt less and go away faster. This works best if you take the medicine within a few hours after the first signs that you are getting a sore. Episodic treatment doesn’t keep sores from coming back another time.
Take good care of yourself and eat a healthy diet, because the sores often come back when your resistance is weak.
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A Blood Test Can Determine If Someone Has Genital Herpes
To find out if you have genital herpes, a doctor can take a sample from a sore and test it in the laboratory. There is also a blood test that looks for antibodies to the virus that your immune system would have made. HSV-2 almost always infects the genitals, so if antibodies to HSV-2 are detected in your blood, you probably have genital herpes.
A blood test that shows antibodies to HSV-1 means you could have genital or oral herpes. Thats because oral herpes, typically caused by HSV-1, can be spread to the genitals during oral sex.
Genital Herpes Vs Oral Herpes
Genital herpes causes sores or blisters on your genital area. You may experience an outbreak. At this time, you can easily spread the infection to your sexual partner even through touch.
Oral herpes causes painful blisters or sores on the lips, around mouth, or on the gums. The sores are popularly known as cold sores.
You mustnt let sores and blisters hamper your sexual life. Arlington urgent care STD testing cost is affordable. Moreover, they offer anonymous testing. So, whats stopping you from undergoing a test, which can be a life savior?
Last but not the least, wear condoms while having sex. This is one of the best practices to reduce the risk of getting sexually transmitted diseases, as per doctors.
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Education Is An Integral Part Of Herpes Treatment
If you have genital herpes, its important for you to get educated about herpes and have the opportunity to ask questions in a supportive environment.
Becoming informed will help you learn to cope with the illness. It will also help you prevent sexual transmission of the illness, or transmission to an infant during a pregnancy.
Herpes has a tremendous psychosocial overlay. But knowledge about it and understanding about how well it can be managed can reduce that, says Handsfield.
Your doctor may be able to provide you with all the information you need, or you may choose to seek counseling from a mental health professional or at a clinic that specializes in sexual health, such as Planned Parenthood.
If you have a regular sexual partner, that person should also have the chance to learn about herpes and ask any questions they may have about it.
What Are The Signs Of Herpes In Men
In about two-thirds of cases, men will have no symptoms of herpes. Symptoms of herpes in men may include:
-Body aches
-Encephalitis
-Meningitis
It is unclear if genital herpes affects fertility in men because it affects such a large part of the population. However, a recent study found that herpes may lower the sperm count in men and may have an effect on mens ability to get pregnant with a partner.
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Acyclovir May Cause Side Effects Tell Your Doctor If Any Of These Symptoms Are Severe Or Do Not Go Away:
- numbness, burning, or tingling in the arms or legs
- temporary inability to move parts of your body
- shaking of a part of your body that you cannot control
- loss of consciousness
Acyclovir may cause other side effects. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while you are taking or using this medication.
If you experience a serious side effect, you or your doctor may send a report to the Food and Drug Administrationâs MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program online or by phone .
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Can Valacyclovir Help Prevent Herpes Transmission
Valacyclovir , is an antiviral drug used to treat herpes. It is a prodrug, which means it is activated inside the body. Once activated, it inhibits viral DNA replication by the herpes simplex virus. It has been clinically proven to reduce the number of days and outbreaks of herpes.
However it can only help to prevent transmission if used daily. It is important to note that this drug does not cure herpes. It helps prevent outbreaks , and it helps to prevent transmission of the virus to others. It is also important to note that as with any medication, side effects have been associated with valtrex.
So can Valtrex protect you or your partner from transmitting genital herpes? As we know, the virus is spread by skin-to-skin contact, and that even if you have no symptoms, you can still spread the disease to your partner if you are infected. Read on to find out more.
What is Valtrex?
Valtrex is a treatment for herpes, a highly contagious infection. Herpes is an infection by the herpes simplex virus, HSV. There are two types of HSV: HSV-1 and HSV-2. Most infections are caused by HSV-2, which most often causes genital herpes. HSV-1 typically causes infections above the waist .
Valtrex works by inhibiting the DNA replication of HSV. It also helps reduce the duration and severity of outbreaks. Valtrex can also be used to treat chickenpox.
What’s the Likelihood of Spreading Herpes While Taking Valtrex?
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Should You Get Tested
Its a good idea for the partners of people with genital herpes to have a blood test for herpes antibodies. This can help them to decide whether to use antiviral medication as protection, for example. Both partners may already have the same virus type. Then theres no reason to take medication to protect each other.
If one of the partners has HSV-1 or cold sores and the other one has HSV-2 or genital herpes, they could infect one another with the other virus. If one partner has herpes viruses in their body and the other doesnt, condoms are one way to prevent infection.
Talk With Your Doctor About Herpes Medications
Its important to first talk with your doctor before using over-the-counter products like docosanol or other home remedies.
If this is the first time you have symptoms of HSV with blisters or sores, your doctor will first diagnose if you have HSV, the type and discuss options to manage your condition. They will tell you about prescription and nonprescription alternatives to treat your HSV infection.
Tell your doctor if you have any serious health conditions including if you have a weakened immune system.
Your doctor will also tell you what you can expect with an HSV infection, how long it may last, and what do to prevent spreading HSV to others while you have an active infection.
Here are answers to a few commonly asked questions about herpes simplex virus.
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Is Medication Necessary For Herpes
Medication can shorten herpes flare-ups, ease symptoms, and reduce a persons chance of passing herpes on to other people. As such, doctors typically recommend that a person with herpes get treated.
However, people with no or very mild symptoms may not feel it is necessary.
A person should talk with a doctor about the benefits of getting medication for herpes.
These Medicines Are To Be Taken Orally They Are:
In addition, patients suffering from severe infection or complications that arise of out herpes may need intravenous acyclovir, recommends CDC. They may have to be hospitalized.
It is found that people with mild symptoms of herpes can also develop severe complications, if they leave the disease untreated.
So, doctors advise to not delay anymore and walk in your nearest STD clinic immediately.
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Herpes And Moldy Food
Molds and other fungi produce substances called mycotoxins that can weaken the immune system and have other detrimental effects on human health.
Weakening of the immune system is a trigger for herpes outbreaks in people infected with the virus.
For this reason, one way to avoid the harmful effects of mycotoxins in nutrition is to avoid the ingestion of moldy food.
To avoid the ingestion of mycotoxins that could come from the consumption of meat and milk, more than 100 countries have joined the initiative to regulate the limits of mycotoxin content in animal feed.
The FDA has implemented several inspection programs for industries producing animal feed since 1985. Among the products that are subject to inspection are corn, tree nuts, cottonseed and peanuts.
Bread is very prone to mold if you place it in a plastic bag because this type of bag, besides preserving it, contributes to the growth of molds.
Remember that the diet for herpes sufferers has special requirements that, besides helping you avoid outbreaks, will help you to be healthy.
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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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Is There Any Resistance To Genital Herpes Medication
Resistance to drugs that treat genital herpes even after 20 years of use is very rare. Herpes medications may not work as well in patients who are very immunosuppressed and have been treated with these drugs for a long time. Each individuals response to treatment may vary. In some cases, patients may need more drugs to suppress their viral outbreaks than others.
I Had Lesions When I Was Evaluated But My Culture Was Negative Does This Mean That I Dont Have Herpes
Not necessarily. Although lesions can be caused by something other than herpes, false negative herpes tests can occur if the samples are not taken appropriately, if there is a long transport time between the clinic and the laboratory, or if cultures were taken late in the course of the lesions. Lesions that occur early in the course of a herpes outbreak are much more likely to have positive cultures than cultures taken after the lesions crust over.
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How Long After Herpes Outbreak Is It Still Contagious
For oral herpes, cold sores are usually contagious for up to 15 days and are generally no longer contagious once all symptoms have cleared, which includes the blister itself and any scabbing.
Someone carrying genital herpes should wait until 7 days after the sore heals to begin engaging in sexual activity, as the herpes virus can spread from sores not covered by a condom.
Herpes And Processed Foods
The list of foods to avoid by herpes sufferers is not complete without processed foods which include canned meats, precooked foods, snacks and bottled beverages.
These foods, in addition to having a low nutritional level, contain artificial ingredients that can be harmful to health and therefore should not be included in the diet for herpes sufferers.
One of these artificial ingredients is sulfite which is added as a preservative. The U.S. FDA declared that safe sulfiting agents are sodium sulfite, sodium and potassium metabisulfite, sodium and potassium bisulfite and sulfur dioxide.
Sulfites can cause adverse reactions, sometimes serious, in asthmatic persons and also in persons without allergic history. The most common symptoms are hives, diarrhea, nauseas, tightness in the chest, flushing and weakness.
The diet for herpes sufferers should be based primarily on foods free of artificial components.
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Who Might Get Herpes Simplex
People of any age can contract herpes simplex. You are more likely to get the virus if you:
- Were assigned female at birth.
- Have had multiple sex partners.
- Started having sex at a young age.
- Have a history of any sexually transmitted infection .
- Have a weakened immune system.
- Dont use condoms for intercourse and dental dams for oral sex.
Who gets HSV-1, commonly known as oral herpes?
Anyone can get HSV-1. Most people contract HSV-1 during childhood. It spreads when an adult who has the virus has close contact with a child, such as when a family member kisses a child.
Who gets HSV-2, commonly known as 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 or dental dams.
People assigned female at birth are more at risk. Delicate vaginal tissue can tear, making it easier for the infection to get in. Black people who were AFAB are especially vulnerable, with an estimated 1 in 2 people AFAB between the ages of 14 and 49 infected with HSV-2.
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Drug Treatment For Genital Herpes
If you are infected with genital herpes, your doctor may prescribe oral antiviral drugs to help ease your symptoms during both a first episode and recurrent episodes. Your doctor may also suggest taking antiviral drugs daily as a suppressive therapy to reduce symptoms and protect partners.
Remember, though, that antiviral drugs do not wipe out the virus completely. It continues to live in your body, so if you stop taking the drugs that suppress it, you may have more frequent or more intense symptom outbreaks, and the risk of your transmitting the virus to others rises.
Three antiviral drugs, all taken by mouth, are used to treat genital herpes:
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If Someone With Herpes Has No Sores Can It Still Be Passed On
If someone has herpes but no sores, can it still be passed on to another person? Spence*
Yes. Even when no sores are present, the herpes is still active in the body and can spread to others.
If you or your partner has herpes, reduce the risk of spread by:
- using a condom every time you have sex . The herpes virus can live outside of the area that a condom covers, though, so a condom may not always prevent the spread.
- avoiding sex during outbreaks
- making sure the infected person takes antiviral medicine every day as prescribed by the health care provider
The only way to completely prevent herpes and other STDs is to not have sex .
- *Names have been changed to protect user privacy.
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Who Response To Herpes
As well as increasing awareness about HSV infection and its symptoms, improved access to antiviral medications and heightened HIV prevention efforts for those with genital HSV symptoms are needed globally.
In addition, development of better treatment and prevention interventions is needed, particularly HSV vaccines. WHO and partners are working to accelerate research to develop new strategies for prevention and control of genital and neonatal HSV-1 and HSV-2 infections. Such research includes the development of HSV vaccines and topical microbicides. Several candidate vaccines and microbicides are currently being studied.
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