Genital herpes look: preventing the scare

2007-03-08 10:33:40

( Pharmeceutical-Medical )



A large percentage of people infected with the Herpes simplex virus or HSV is unaware they have the disease. The reason for this is the tendency to ignore genital herpes symptoms or failure to recognize the signs of genital herpes when it appears.

Herpes simplex virus or HSV can affect both the mouth and genitals. HSV1 in the form of cold sores and blisters, mostly occurs on the lips while HSV2 or genital herpes, strikes the genitals. Once infected, it persists for life and those suffering from it experience irregular episodes of active herpes.

Symptoms of genital herpes
Genital herpes symptoms may vary in different individuals. Symptoms which appear during an initial attack of genital herpes may reappear within days after infection and last about 2 to 3 weeks. A precursor to the general herpes look, the first symptoms can consist of pain in the buttocks, genital area or legs, fullness or pressure in the abdominal area, vaginal discharges or
burning and itching sensations.

what does genital herpes look like?
A couple of days after the first symptoms,comes the dreaded genital herpes look, consisting of lesions or sores that break out within the infected area. These can happen on a woman's cervix, inside the vagina or in the urinary tract of both a women and men. The genital herpes look doesn't come about instantly. Initially looking like small red pimples, the lesions quickly form into painful blisters and open sores. The sores then become crusted after several days and disappear without scarring.

Diagnosing genital herpes
Although you may experience symptoms of genital herpes, it may take a laboratory test to determine whether the sores you have are caused by HSV. Viral culture is one of the most dependable methods for diagnosing genital herpes. A new lesion is scraped or swabbed and added to a laboratory culture that holds healthy cells. A day or two later, the cells are tested under a microscope which shows whether the cells were altered to indicate growth of the genital herpes virus.

Genital herpes prevention and treatment
Prevention of genital herpes is easier than treatment once it strikes. You can act now to reduce your chances of getting infected by practicing safe sex. There are no known vaccines to keep you from getting infected by genital herpes. However, there are antiviral medicines available in the market to prevent repeated occurrences of genital herpes as well as help to avoid endangering your partner with the disease. You should also take all the necessary precautions to avoid genital herpes when pregnant as the infection can be passed on to an infant during delivery and may cause serious complications.

There is no known cure but only drugs available for treatment of genital herpes. These medicines however, only help in cutting short the duration of first episodes and reducing the frequency and intensity of recurrent episodes.

You should check with a local hospital or clinic within your area for genital herpes information in order to avoid the dreaded genital herpes look.


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