Genital Herpes
11/18/2011 – Coldsores.com
Genital herpes is caused via the herpes simplex virus (HSV). The primary cause of contagion is through sexual contact. After the initial infection, the virus is latent in your body and can reactivate several times a year. However, an infected person can still be contagious, despite having no visible sores. Fortunately, without visible sores, the chance of acquiring genital herpes is very low, with the rates persisting around .25% (1 in 250 sexual acts of intercourse).
There is no absolute cure for genital herpes, but topical treatments and oral prescriptions can help with the symptoms and reduce risk of infections. Condoms are limited in preventing the transmission of the infection as it migrates via skin-to-skin contact. Genital herpes is classified as an very common sexually transmitted infection (STI) that is generally spread via skin to skin contact. However as the virus dies rapidly when outside of the flesh, it is impossible to get the infection via contact with objects used by an infected person.
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
How common is Genital Herpes?
Approximately 60 million Americans are estimated to have genital herpes, which constitutes over 20% of the population. It is noted that 1 out of every 4 or 5 Americans carries the sexual transmitted infection. More than 1 billion people worldwide are infected with the virus, making it one of the most common sexually transmitted infections in the world. In comparison, HSV-1 is present in 80% of American adults, which makes it the most common permanent skin infections in the country.
If you’ve been recently diagnosed with genital herpes, do not worry as you are certainly among the 20% of the American population.
How do I know I have genital herpes?
Most individuals affected with genital herpes have very minimal or no signs of symptoms of the infection. As genital herpes may be asymptomatic, many people go through their entire lives without knowing of their condition. The first reactions of herpes usually follows a regular course when the virus first appears:
Initial symptoms include:
1. Swollen glands
2. Fever
3. Headache
4. Pain during Urination
5. Muscle aches
These symptoms are often passed off as the flu or the fever. One or two of these may only be present for the initial 3 days to a week. The first initial breakouts are characterized by:
1. Inflammatory skin in the genital and anal region, which is followed by burning, itching and pain.
2. Small red bumps and white blistery sores resembling acne or cold sores appear on the sexual organs, which are extremely sensitive and painful to the touch.
3. Blisters and sores eventually rupture, oozing and bleeding, which leads to scabbing.
4. Healing stage.
The initial herpes outbreak can last up to several weeks. Otherwise, this can be limited through topical treatments such as our recommended herpes treatment, Zapster for cold sores . After the breakout, the virus becomes dormant within the nervous system until a body trigger activates the virus again.
How Often Do Genital Herpes Outbreaks Occur?
Genital herpes breakouts vary after its initial course. Typically, in most cases, they appear every few weeks or several months and can last up to a 2 weeks without treatment. However, with topical treatment formulated for cold sores or herpes, outbreaks can be reduced to 2-3 days or even less. On average, people infected with genital herpes experience about 5-6 infections a year. With time, the infections become less severe and shorter than the first outbreak episode of genital herpes. Although the virus will stay in the body, the number of breakouts decrease over time in several years after infection. Alternatively, outbreaks can occur continuously after the initial infection, and stay dormant for years or even decades. In other cases, genital herpes can become more frequent in individuals with weaker immune systems or lifestyles prone to stress or heavy alcoholic use.
What Triggers Genital Herpes?
Commonly reported triggers include:
1. Stress
2. Fever, illness
3. Recent surgeries
4. Menstruation cycles
5. High-calorie diets
6. Pregnancy
7. Excessive intake of Alcohol
8. Ultra-violet light in the genital region
9. Compromised Immune Systems
10. Fatigue
To avoid recurrences, the most important factor is to follow an healthy diet and lifestyle that does not put stress on your physical or mental state. This well-known fact cannot be repeated enough. Stress and fatigue leads to the compromising of your immune system which inevitably causes the reactivation of the herpes virus.
How Can You Diagnose Genital Herpes?
It is difficult for you to diagnose yourself due to the common symptoms genital herpes shares with many other infections. Many are asymptomatic to genital herpes and may carry it whilst never knowing they have it. Yeast infections are often mistaken for genital herpes by many people as well. For women, herpes can appear in all different shapes and sizes near the vaginal area and can be mistaken for a rash or other types of sexually transmitted infections. For women, genital sores can appear in the external genitals, anus, cervix, vaginal area and the buttocks. In men, herpes can appear anywhere from the thighs to inside of the penis, although most commonly in the anus and penis areas.
With that said, if you’ve experienced the following symptoms mentioned above, there is a high chance that you have genital herpes. However, only a medical professional can diagnose the infection properly. If you have an outbreak of small red bumps near the genital area, your doctor can diagnose it via visual inspection and taking a swab for laboratory testing. Viral culturing only works for the limited time the sores are present on your skin. It is the quickest way to find out if you have genital herpes or not. Unfortunately, the swab test is inconsistent in its results and has a high rate of false positives and false negatives. You can be diagnosed as positive for HSV-2, when in fact, you are simply carrying HSV-1 antibodies (which is present in 80% of the American population).
On the other hand, a blood test would not be an effective choice if you have recently been infected. It takes anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months after infection for HSV-2 antibodies to appear in a blood test. However, it is much more accurate in its diagnosis, so it is better to wait and attend to this option in addition to the swab testing.
What Treatments Are There For Genital Herpes?
Current vaccines for a herpes cure are being researched to see their effectiveness in preventing or treating genital herpes for good. Such include Lupidon, an Italian-made treatment vaccine for those who have herpes genitalia and cold sores of both the HSV-1 and HSV-2 variety. In its current form, Lupidon does little more than having HSV-1 in preventing the acquisition of HSV-2 via skin contact. More research is coming from the Italian firm in the coming months in a study of Lupidon’s effectiveness among recently diagnosed patients. Other vaccines include Immunovex from the Biovex company, which has shown promising results in clinical studies for completely curing genital herpes of the HSV-2 variety. Their press release can be found here: Immunovex. If you are based in Europe, there have been attempts at creating vaccines in Bulgaria and the Czech republic, however, most have been considered ineffective and were for those who did not have either HSV-2 or HSV-1.
For now, topical ointments and oral antibiotics are the best way to “treat” genital herpes. We’ve done our own research into the herpes treatment market for the last decade, and a new product called Zapster for Cold Sores has been shown to be highly effective in rapidly treating outbreaks. The ingredients in Zapster make this treatment shine among the competition of powerplayers such as HBalm and others. The combination of anti-bacterial oils work amazingly well on the skin near the genital area, without causing side effects to one of our body’s most sensitive regions.
Amongst oral antibiotics, acyclovir and valaciclovir products are the clear leaders. As the ingredients are nearly the same in all the products released, the brands are nearly interchangeable in their use. You can take a look at our overview of both acyclovir and valaciclovir on the review pages here.
How Can I Protect Myself From Genital Herpes Infection?
Currently, there are three important ways to limit your exposure to the virus:
1. Always use an latex condom during sexual intercourse
2. Do not have sex with someone who has an open sore near the genital region. This may signify herpes.
3. Limit your number of sex partners.
Vaccines are rapidly being studied and tried clinically to find a way to cure herpes by scientists all over the world. Coldsores.com will be continuously updated with the latest news regarding possible herpes cures and vaccines.
Can Herpes Be Fatal?
Unfortunately, outbreaks of herpes during pregnancy have resulted in stillbirths and miscarriages amongst other calamities. Herpes infection during pregnancy can also cause blindness and brain injury to the babies. Approximately, 5,000 babies die annually from the HSV-2 virus as they acquire the genital herpes from mothers and fall victim to illness and brain damage. During pregnancy, it is best to keep the outbreaks under control with fast acting herpes topical treatment such as Zapster or your choice of ointment.
Oral prescriptions intended to treat herpes are not recommended during pregnancy due to the additional side effects it may cause such as physical and mental deformities.
What Are The Risk Factors I Should Know About Genital Herpes?
1) For women, it is best to know that the transmission rate from male to female is much higher than the reverse. Always insist on condom use if you are not closely familiar with your partner’s sexual background. Unfortunately, bareback sexual intercourse nearly guarantees herpes transmission one way or the other.
2) Having genital sores will increase the risk of transmitting or contracting sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV and other fatal infections.
3) Newborn babies born to mothers with herpes can be infected during birthing which may lead to blindness, brain damage or death.
4) As genital herpes can appear in the urethra and cause inflammation within the urinary tract, immense pain would follow in attempting to drain your bladder. The swelling could close the tract for several days, requiring catheter insertions for urination.
Bladder problems. In some cases, the sores associated with genital herpes can cause inflammation around the urethra, the tube that delivers urine from your bladder to the outside world. The swelling can close the urethra for several days, requiring the insertion of a catheter to drain your bladder.
5) In rare cases, HSV-2 infection can develop into Meningitis, causing inflammation of the membranes and damaging your brain and spinal cord.
6) For men who have sex with men, genital herpes breakouts near the rectum area can cause inflammation within the rectal lining, leading to possibly tears in the buttocks.
If you have more questions, please browse our treatment centers and news feed related to herpes incidents. To learn more, visit our cold sore treatments page
“Top-Rated” Herpes Treatment
#1. Zapster Gliding to the best of the best, Zapster has proven to be one of the most effective cold sores treatment on the market. Attaining the perfect balance between natural ingredients and effective enhancements, the medical grade and preservative-free product treat and heal sores rapidly. Additionally, we’ve tried it on genital herpes and was surprised by its effectiveness towards HSV-2 conditions as well. We suspect the tea tree oil and aloe vera combination works wonders for the product.
Conclusively, the feeling of the ointment is wonderful on the skin, and is refreshing like a cool breeze sweeping over. Even applying directly to the genitalia, we found the feeling to be fabulous and not at all painful to the sensitivity of the area. Quite a plus in our book!
