Genital Herpes Pictures

2007-04-17 10:41:55

( Pharmeceutical-Medical )



Genital herpes is an infectious disease occurring worldwide, affecting both men and women equally. You can acquire it if the skin or the mucosal surfaces of your genital area are exposed to the herpes simplex virus via sexual intercourse with an infected partner. The same virus can likewise affect your eyes, nervous system, and mouth, and is a risk factor for the transmission of HIV.

There are two types of HSV: HSV-1 usually presents as your typical mouth ulcer, while HSV-2 is the most common cause of genital herpes.

Genital herpes pictures typically show blisters or ulcers in your genital area. You can usually find the lesions on and around the penis in men, and inside the vagina in women. You may also see it in and around the anus (known as proctitis) in either sex. Genital herpes pictures showing proctitis are commonly obtained from patients co-infected with HIV.

Here is a checklist of symptoms of genital herpes:
• Painful ulcers, usually grouped, in the genital area
• Itching and discharge
• Painful urination
• Anal pain and discharge
• Fever
• Headache
• Muscle pains
• Swollen lymph nodes in the groin
• Constipation

However, you may still have the disease and be contagious even if you do not manifest with any of the symptoms. This occurs in as much as 70-80% of infected individuals.

Genital herpes is a recurrent infection in 80-90% of affected people. This is due to a condition called latency, which allows the virus to become dormant and repressed in your cells, and may subsequently be reactivated by various stimuli, including fever and sunlight. The initial outbreak is usually more painful than succeeding ones.

Your clinical signs and symptoms help in diagnosing genital herpes, but the presence of the disease is confirmed when you undergo laboratory tests, such as Tzanck smear, tissue culture, or PCR. Genital herpes pictures of histologic scrapings from an infected genital area show giant cells or intranuclear inclusions associated with the herpes simplex virus.

A few things you can do to alleviate the pain of genital herpes include using pain relievers, avoiding excessive heat and wearing loose clothing. It is not recommended that you use feminine deodorant or douches and anti-bacterial soaps. Treating genital herpes is not always possible; however, anti-viral agents available in the market, such as acyclovir, may aid in shortening the duration of your symptoms and lowering your recurrence rate. Consult your physician for the appropriate treatment.

Thus, given that genital herpes is recurrent, your most effective defense against the disease is still prevention. This can be achieved by using condoms and other barrier methods of contraception (e.g. diaphragm, cervical cup), and, of course, making sure that your partner does not have the disease.


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