STD Facts – Genital Herpes

People who are sexually active can get genital herpes, a common sexually transmitted disease (STD). This fact sheet answers basic questions about genital herpes.

What is genital herpes?

Genital herpes is an STD caused by two types of viruses – herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2).

What is oral herpes?

HSV-1 often causes oral herpes, which can result in cold sores or fever blisters on or around the mouth. However, most people with oral herpes do not have any symptoms. Most people with oral herpes get it during childhood or young adulthood from non-sexual contact with saliva.

Is there a link between genital herpes and oral herpes?

Yes. Oral herpes caused by HSV-1 can spread from the mouth to the genitals through oral sex. This is why some cases of genital herpes are due to HSV-1.

How common is genital herpes?

Genital herpes is common in the United States. In 2018, CDC estimates show there were 572,000 new genital herpes infections in the United States among people aged 14 to 49.¹

How is genital herpes spread?

You can get genital herpes by having vaginal, anal, or oral sex with someone who has the infection. You can get herpes if you have contact with:

• A herpes sore;
• Saliva from a partner with an oral herpes infection;
• Genital fluids from a partner with a genital herpes infection;
• Skin in the oral area of a partner with oral herpes; or
• Skin in the genital area of a partner with genital herpes.

You also can get genital herpes from a sex partner who does not have a visible sore or is unaware of their infection. It is also possible to get genital herpes if you receive oral sex from a partner with oral herpes.

You will not get herpes from toilet seats, bedding, or swimming pools. You also will not get it from touching objects, such as silverware, soap, or towels.

If you have more questions about herpes, consider discussing your concerns with a healthcare provider.

How do I know if I have genital herpes?

Most people with genital herpes have no symptoms or have very mild symptoms. Mild symptoms may go unnoticed or be mistaken for other skin conditions like a pimple or ingrown hair. Because of this, most people do not know they have a herpes infection.

Herpes sores usually appear as one or more blisters on or around the genitals, rectum or mouth. This is known as having an “outbreak”. The blisters break and leave painful sores that may take a week or more to heal. Flu-like symptoms (e.g., fever, body aches, or swollen glands) also may occur during the first outbreak.

People who experience an initial outbreak of herpes can have repeated outbreaks, especially if they have HSV-2. However, repeat outbreaks are usually shorter and less severe than the first outbreak. Although genital herpes is a lifelong infection, the number of outbreaks may decrease over time.

Ask a healthcare provider to examine you if:

• You notice any symptoms; or
• Your partner has an STD or symptoms of an STD.

STD symptoms can include an unusual sore, a smelly genital discharge, burning when peeing, or bleeding between periods (if you have a menstrual cycle).

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(s) 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.

How can I prevent genital herpes?

The only way to completely avoid STDs is to not have vaginal, anal, or oral sex.

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 (shed) 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(s) 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.
• You avoid having vaginal, anal, or oral sex when your partner has herpes symptoms (i.e., during an “outbreak”).

Is there a cure for genital herpes?

There is no cure for genital herpes. However, there are medicines that can prevent or shorten outbreaks. A daily anti-herpes medicine can make it less likely to pass the infection on to your sex partner(s).

What happens if I don’t 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 “I’m pregnant. How could genital herpes affect my baby?” for information about this.

I’m pregnant. How could genital herpes affect my baby?

If you are pregnant and have genital herpes, prenatal care visits are very important. Some research suggest that a genital herpes infection may lead to miscarriage or make it more likely to deliver your baby too early. You can pass herpes to your unborn child before birth, but it more commonly passes during delivery. This can lead to a deadly infection in your baby (called neonatal herpes). It is important that you avoid getting genital herpes during pregnancy. Tell your healthcare provider if you have ever had a genital herpes diagnosis or symptoms. Also tell them about any possible exposure to genital herpes.

If you have genital herpes, you may need to take anti-herpes medicine towards the end of your pregnancy. This medicine may reduce your risk of having signs or symptoms of genital herpes when you deliver. At the time of delivery, your healthcare provider should carefully examine you for herpes sores. If you have signs or symptoms of genital herpes at delivery, a ‘C-section’ is likely to occur.

Can I still have sex if I have herpes?

If you have herpes, you should talk to your sex partner(s) 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 (i.e., daily use of antiviral medication) 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.

What is the link between genital herpes and HIV?

Herpes infection can cause sores or breaks in the skin or lining of the mouth, vagina, and rectum. This provides a way for HIV to enter the body. Even without visible sores, herpes increases the number of immune cells in the lining of the genitals. HIV targets immune cells for entry into the body. Having both HIV and genital herpes increases the chance of spreading HIV to a HIV-negative partner during oral, vagina, or anal sex.

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Herpes Simplex (HSV-1 & HSV-2) Virus: Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

• What Causes Herpes Infections and Outbreaks?
• What Are the Symptoms of Herpes Simplex?
• How Is Herpes Simplex Diagnosed?
• How Is Herpes Simplex Treated?
• How Painful Is Herpes Simplex?
• Can Herpes Be Cured?
• More

Herpes simplex viruses — more commonly known as herpes — are categorized into two types: herpes type 1 (HSV-1, or oral herpes) and herpes type 2 (HSV-2, or genital herpes). Most commonly, herpes type 1 causes sores around the mouth and lips (sometimes called fever blisters or cold sores). HSV-1 can cause genital herpes, but most cases of genital herpes are caused by herpes type 2. In HSV-2, the infected person may have sores around the genitals or rectum. Although HSV-2 sores may occur in other locations, these sores usually are found below the waist.

Herpes simplex type 1, which is transmitted through oral secretions or sores on the skin, can be spread through kissing or sharing objects such as toothbrushes or eating utensils. In general, a person can only get herpes type 2 infection during sexual contact with someone who has a genital HSV-2 infection. It is important to know that both HSV-1 and HSV-2 can be spread even if sores are not present.

Pregnant women with genital herpes should talk to their doctor, as genital herpes can be passed on to the baby during childbirth.

For many people with the herpes virus, which can go through periods of being dormant, attacks (or outbreaks) can be brought on by the following conditions:

• General illness (from mild illnesses to serious conditions)
• Fatigue
• Physical or emotional stress
• Immunosuppression due to AIDS or such medications as chemotherapy or steroids
• Trauma to the affected area, including sexual activity
• Menstruation

Symptoms of herpes simplex virus typically appear as a blister or as multiple blisters on or around affected areas — usually the mouth, genitals, or rectum. The blisters break, leaving tender sores.

Often, the appearance of herpes simplex virus is typical and no testing is needed to confirm the diagnosis. If a health care provider is uncertain, herpes simplex can be diagnosed with lab tests, including DNA — or PCR — tests and virus cultures.

Although there is no cure for herpes, treatments can relieve the symptoms. Medication can decrease the pain related to an outbreak and can shorten healing time. They can also decrease the total number of outbreaks. Drugs including Famvir, Zovirax, and Valtrex are among the drugs used to treat the symptoms of herpes. Warm baths may relieve the pain associated with genital sores.

Some people experience very mild genital herpes symptoms or no symptoms at all. Frequently, people infected with the virus don’t even know they have it. However, when it causes symptoms, it can be described as extremely painful. This is especially true for the first outbreak, which is often the worst. Outbreaks are described as aches or pains in or around the genital area or burning, pain, or difficulty urinating. Some people experience discharge from the vagina or penis.

Oral herpes lesions (cold sores) usually cause tingling and burning just prior to the breakout of the blisters. The blisters themselves can also be painful.

There is no cure for herpes simplex. Once a person has the virus, it remains in the body. The virus lies inactive in the nerve cells until something triggers it to become active again.

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Genital herpes | Dikul Center

Genital herpes is a common sexually transmitted infection caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV). The main way the virus spreads is through sexual contact. After infection, the virus can be in an inactive state in the body and reactivate periodically – several times a year.

Genital herpes can cause pain, itching and sores in the genital area. But in some people, the genital virus does not show any symptoms. But the absence of symptoms and external manifestations, such as sores, does not exclude the possibility of infecting another person.

There is no cure for genital herpes, but medications can relieve symptoms and reduce the risk of infecting others. Using a condom can also help block the spread of the genital herpes virus.

Symptoms

Most people who become infected with HSV may not know they are infected because they may not have signs or symptoms, or they may be very mild.

A person may become symptomatic about a few days after exposure to the virus. Symptoms of a genital virus may include:

• Pain, discomfort or itching in the genital area while the infection is active.
• Small red vesicles or small white blisters. These rashes may appear days or weeks after infection.
• Ulcers – may form after rupture of blisters. Ulcers may ooze or bleed and cause pain when urinating.
• Scabs. Ulcers may crust over and form scabs as they heal.
• During the initial outbreak of the virus, the patient may have signs of acute respiratory infections (flu), such as headache, muscle pain, fever, swollen lymph nodes.
• Differences in the location of symptoms
• Ulcers appear where the infection has entered the body. The infection can spread if a person scratches or rubs the primary lesion and then gets into various areas of the body, including the eyes, with their hands.

In men and women, ulcers may appear in the area of:

• Buttocks and thighs
• Anusa
• Mouth
• In the urethra

In women, ulcers may appear in:

• Vaginal areas
• In the vulva
• In the cervix

Men can also get ulcers:

• On the penis
• On the scrotum

Relapses occur quite often.

Genital herpes in each person proceed differently. Symptoms and external manifestations may appear intermittently over many years. Some people have multiple episodes each year, but for most, the recurrence rate decreases over time.

During a relapse, in the period before the appearance of ulcers, a person may feel:

• Burning, itching and tingling in the area where the infection has entered the body.
• Pain in the lumbar region, buttocks and legs

Typically, relapses are less symptomatic and ulcers heal faster than the initial outbreak.

Causes

Two types of herpes simplex virus can cause genital herpes:

• HSV-1. This type of herpes virus causes rashes or blisters around the mouth. HSV-1 is usually transmitted by skin-to-skin contact, but can also spread to the genital area during oral sex. Relapses with this type of herpes occur much less frequently than with HSV-2 infection.
• HSV-2. This type of virus leads to the development of genital herpes. The virus is transmitted through sexual contact and skin contact. HSV-2 is highly contagious whether a person has an open sore or not.

However, given that the virus quickly dies outside the body, the risk of infection through contact with objects used by an infected person is almost impossible.

Risk factors

The risk of contracting genital herpes is higher:

• Women are more likely to get genital herpes than men. The virus is more easily transmitted through sexual intercourse to a woman than to a man.
• Having multiple sexual partners greatly increases the risk of contracting the virus that causes genital herpes.

Complications

Genital herpes can lead to the following complications:

• Genital ulcers significantly increase the risk of contracting other STDs, including the AIDS virus.
• Neonatal infection – Babies can become infected with the virus during childbirth. Infection with the virus can lead to damage to the central nervous system, visual impairment, and even lead to death of the newborn.
• Bladder dysfunction. In some cases, ulcers that are associated with genital herpes can lead to inflammation of the urethra. Inflammatory edema can even lead to obstruction of urine flow, which may require bladder catheterization.
• Meningitis. Quite rarely, HSV infection can lead to inflammation of the membranes of the brain and the development of meningitis
• Proctitis. Genital herpes, in some cases, leads to an inflammatory process in the mucous membrane of the rectum.

Prevention

The basic principles for preventing genital herpes are the same as those recommended to minimize the risk of contracting other sexually transmitted infections:

• Restriction of sexual intercourse to only one healthy person.
• Use of a latex condom with every sexual intercourse.
• Avoid sexual intercourse if the partner has herpes lesions in the genital area or elsewhere.

Precautions during pregnancy

If a woman has or is suspected of having genital herpes during pregnancy, a doctor should be consulted for an examination.

Your doctor may recommend taking antiviral drugs for herpes later in pregnancy to prevent the virus from reactivating during childbirth. If the activation of the virus occurred during labor, then a caesarean section may be recommended.

Diagnosis

A doctor can verify genital herpes based on a physical examination and certain laboratory tests:

• Viral culture is a diagnostic procedure in which a tissue sample or scraping of an ulcer is taken for examination in a laboratory.
• Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. PCR allows you to determine the presence of the virus and identify the type of HSV
• A blood test for the presence of antibodies to HSV, which allows you to determine the fact that a person has had a herpes infection.

Treatment

There are no drugs that can completely destroy the genital virus.

Antivirals help:

• Healing of ulcers after the initial outbreak.
• Reduce the severity of symptoms in relapses
• Reduce relapse rate
• Minimize the risk of transmitting the herpes virus to another

Antivirals used for genital herpes include:

• Acyclovir (zovirax)
• Valaciclovir (Valtrex)

Your doctor may recommend taking medications only when you have symptoms of activation or as a prevention of relapse. These antivirals are well tolerated and have few side effects.

Genital herpes: recurrent virus

Herpes is a well-known disease of a viral nature, which is characterized by damage to the skin and mucous membranes. It is caused by the herpes simplex virus, localization can be different, including on the genitals. In this case, herpes is called genital. We will talk about it in our article.

Herpes simplex viruses are divided into herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). It used to be thought that genital herpes was caused by a type 2 virus.

Contrary to popular belief, genital herpes can be caused by both HSV-2 and HSV-1; the clinical manifestations of these viruses are indistinguishable from each other.

The source of infection is a person – a sick person or a virus carrier, infection mainly occurs through direct contact.

The incubation period is usually 2 to 12 days. Then, at the site of infection, a rash appears in the form of small vesicles filled with liquid. In the future, the bubbles open, and in their place small erosions appear, which soon heal.

The appearance of herpetic eruptions is accompanied by intense itching and burning, swelling, inflammation of the affected area, causes severe discomfort, worries the patient very much and reduces his quality of life.

Herpes is a relapsing disease. Therefore, its clinical manifestations are usually classified as primary and recurrent herpes.

Primary herpes is the onset of the disease after the first contact with the virus. As a rule, clinical manifestations in primary herpes are more pronounced, its course is longer.

After the symptoms of primary herpes disappear, the virus passes into a latent, inactive form, in which it is located in the nerve ganglia. At this time, antibodies to the virus appear in the blood, but, despite their presence, relapses of the disease periodically occur – recurrent herpes. As a rule, recurrent herpes is localized in the same areas of the genitals as the primary one.

Under the influence of various provoking factors (for example, hypothermia, a cold, or even simple stress), relapses of a herpes infection occur, the intervals between which can range from several days to several years.

Genital herpes is especially dangerous in pregnant women, as it can lead to infection of the child. Infection can occur transplacentally, since the herpes virus is able to overcome the transplacental barrier, or through direct contact during childbirth. In this case, there is a high risk of developing a generalized form of herpes, when, in addition to the general symptoms of intoxication and profuse skin rashes, lesions of the mucous membranes of the mouth, intestines, eyes, liver, adrenal glands, central nervous system, bronchi and lungs occur.