Types of Herpes
When the term “herpes” is used, most people think of genital herpes, the sexually transmitted type. This article addresses Herpes Simplex 2, the STD form of herpes. Yet it is important to know that there are other types of herpes infections. All herpes infections have inflammation by which is meant heat, redness, and swelling. All herpes infections have crops of small vesicles. Vesicles are small fluid filled bubbles on the skin or mucous membranes. All herpes viruses remain in the body, sometimes to recur as repeated infection, sometimes never to recur again. Herpes Zoster is commonly known as chickenpox; which can reoccur as shingles. Fever blisters on the lip, which can occur with stress, are from a different type, called Herpes Simplex 1. This same virus causes wrestler’s herpes-sores that enter the skin when a wrestler has floor burns or been rubbed raw from pushing and twisting.
Herpes Simplex 1 and 2
Herpes Simplex 2 is the usual viral cause of genital herpes. 1 in 5 adults has this type of herpes. Many times a patient will come in long after genital symptoms have subsided or perhaps after minimal signs later raised questions, was it genital herpes? There is a blood test which measures if someone has had Herpes Simplex and whether they have Herpes Simplex 1 or 2. Unfortunately, the results of this test don’t always provide a clear answer; cold sores on the mouth are infrequently caused by Herpes Simplex 2 (genital type) and sporadically genital herpes are caused by Herpes Simplex 1( cold sore type).
What Are The Symptoms of Genital Herpes?
If this is truly your first infection, symptoms tend to be dramatic. Nonetheless, early warning signs are often confusing and often point doctors and patients to the wrong conclusion. Fever, muscle aches, fatigue: Your body reacts to a first infection by fighting the virus as hard as it can. You feel achy, exhausted, your joints and muscles hurt. Painful Urination: It may be hard to get your bladder to start emptying or you may notice burning during or after you finish urinating. Your health care provider will rightly check for a bladder infection but this can be an early sign of herpes. Soreness, tingling, or stabbing pain around the labia (opening lips of vagina) in women and penis and scrotum in men Itching: Some women assume they have a yeast infection and use over the counter yeast medication which will in this disease. Men may believe they have jock itch and try and treat accordingly. Mild vaginal or penile discharge
Could You Have Genital Herpes?
Once the characteristic rash of crops of tiny fluid filled blisters appear, the diagnosis is clear. Your health care provider can obtain a culture from one of the blisters to confirm the answer: is it herpes? For women, sometimes the herpes blisters are only on the cervix, visible only on internal exam, so it is critical to get in as soon as symptoms suggest this disease. Consider the possibility not only when you have a new sexual partner but also your current partner could have had herpes in the past and now passing it on to you. Surprisingly, someone who has had herpes can shed the virus even when they have no active rash, blisters or any other sign of disease. Seeing your doctor or nurse practitioner right away is important because there is medicine to treat this infection. The medication cuts short the active disease, as well as halting your painful symptoms, though it is unable to eradicate the disease from your body. The treatment cannot get at the virus when it goes into a
