Symptoms Of Herpes

Women are more susceptible than men to herpes infections.  Among women the first herpes outbreak, which usually comes about a month after infection, can lead to fevers, severe blisters, and problems with urination.   In extreme cases, women may need to be hospitalized and have catheters inserted into their bladders.  They may require food and medication to be administered through IV tubes.   This severe reaction is not common however.   Most of the time, patients during their first outbreak come to the emergency room or the doctor's office with blisters and red spots on their genitals.  If the blisters have broken already, they may have ulcers with scabs that will take 14 days to heal.  

During this outbreak, the patient is releasing billions of copies of HSV through her ulcers and blisters.  She can infect other people if their broken skin and body openings --the anus, vagina, urethra, eyes, esophagus, trachea, lungs, or mouth -- come into contact with the areas where she has an outbreak.   During a herpes outbreak, an infected person should avoid not only sex, but even more casual body contact, such as affectionate kisses on the nose. 
It can be very depressing for a patient to learn from a doctor that her most intimate body parts have been infected with an incurable virus.  The herpes diagnosis sometimes feels degrading.  In some victims it may trigger a sense of dirtiness, impurity, or sexual undesirability, and make them angry with the partner who may have infected them.  

Herpes, however, is a medical condition rather than a personality trait.   An infected person can take heart in the fact that she's in good company.   She is extremely likely to have friends, relatives and co-workers who've been infected too.  One fifth of the US population carries HSV-2.  Perhaps more comforting still is the fact that some other diseases such as diabetes or asthma, which are well known and supposedly widespread, are actually less common and more dangerous. They also have more side effects than genital herpes.    

In truth, genital herpes makes no one less attractive.  An occasional sore on the face or the genitals need not cause much alarm.  The sores go away, and if they ever come back, they are usually less visible or painful.   A charming young woman with herpes is still charming, her sweet face is still sweet, her eyes no less soulful than before. 

It is probably not a great idea to have sex during a herpes outbreak, and the sexual desire may not be there anyhow.     Sex isn't much fun when you have a cold either!   You may in the past have told your partner not to kiss you because you were sneezing or coughing, and you didn't want to make them sick.  A herpes outbreak is not all that different from a cold.  It need not kill you or your partner's sexual desire any more than a cold does.

Herpes-infected people sometimes need to take pills to ward off an outbreak.  There's nothing unusual about that either.  Around the world every one is taking pills, vitamins and supplements to stay healthy.  Medication for herpes can be part of a daily routine, like brushing teeth.  In any case, many people with herpes only have to take medicines during an outbreak of symptoms, and often the first outbreak of herpes is the most painful and perhaps the only one that demands medication. 

The anger that an infected person feels is normal, but given the nature of the disease, the feelings could be misplaced.  Most people with herpes are unaware of their infections and could have passed on the disease without wanting to or even realizing they were contagious.    Once you've found out you have herpes, it can also be hard to talk about with an existing partner, because the infection becomes a factor in sex and dating.    If it seems too difficult to talk about, then the patient may want to find a support group on the Internet or through a medical care provider.  It is worth repeating that herpes is usually a minor infection, which affects as much as 20% of the adult population.

There are some situations that may trigger an outbreak of symptoms-- the blisters, red spots, ulcers and so forth.  Not all infected people get outbreaks, however, nor do all of the following situations cause an outbreak. 

• During sexual intercourse, dryness can irritate the skin and cause blistering.   To avoid irritation, use water-based lubricants, but avoid oil-based lubricants and spermicides like nonoxynol 9, which can rip mucous membranes and weaken latex.   
• Sometimes, but not always, HSV-1-like cold sores break out in response to excessive sunlight or when a person has a head cold.  
• Menstruation and other hormonal changes can trigger herpes outbreaks. 
• People with weakened immunity or recent physical trauma  (such as surgery) may be more susceptible to herpes.  HIV-positive people, for example, tend to have more herpes outbreaks than people with strong immune systems. 

Antiviral drugs can reduce outbreaks for people who are infected, and also lower the risks of infecting sex partners through normal viral shedding.  However, there may be no need to take medicine if your outbreaks are infrequent.  Safe sex, with a latex condom, is the only treatment for herpes that is always highly recommended. 

*This article is based on the information at http://www.cdc.gov/std/herpes/STDFact-herpes.htm, http://health.yahoo.com/sexualhealth-overview/genital-herpes-topic-overview/healthwise--te3043.html, http://www.herpes.org/, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herpes_simplex, http://www.webmd.com/genital-herpes/default.htm