Genital Herpes - Do You Have It Or Not? | UniqueArticleDirectory.com

Genital Herpes - Do You Have It Or Not?

by Elizabeth Campbell

As we all know, genital herpes is a very widely spread disease of the genital area. Infection caused by it is messy and highly contagious. It affects both women and men, and it is transmitted usually through sexual contact, as well as through other ways.

It can be contracted from touching contaminated items like towels, underwear and toilet seats. One can also get it through kissing and in rare cases through oral sex.

This is such because the herpes simplex virus can survive outside the human body for several minutes, so extra caution should be exercised when using public facilities, such as restrooms.

A large number of the infected individuals do not show any indications of the infection at all, which makes it doubly dangerous. The person unknowingly becomes a living and breathing carrier of the disease, infecting everyone that he comes in contact with. This is how a large number of people get the disease year after year. It is either the person ignores the symptoms or none appear at all.

The virus could develop within three to seven days after exposure. The first attack of the infection could be grievous with extended incubation period; but then there could also be no apparent signs of the disease, depending on the general condition of the individual’s immune system.

Manifestations of genital herpes appear in the genital area, which start with small red bumps that progress into watery blisters, then develop further into open sores. When scratched, the sores could burst open and secrete blood and pus. Before all these, the person will first feel a burning and itching sensation.

After several days, the blisters will break and become open, throbbing sores. The wounds can expand and then become like boils covered with a skin layer and develop to cover a large area of the skin.

As we mentioned, this infection affects both women and men, no matter what type of sexual activity they develop. People who practice anal sex can get lesions at the anus level. Women however can experience a great amount of pain if the virus is located at the urethra level. Stinging and burning feelings will definitely bother the infected woman, and this condition shall need immediate treatment.

A few of the symptoms of the infection are colds, fever, and headache. The sores could sometimes also spread to the upper thigh, hip and buttocks. Antiviral medications could be taken to control the recurrence of the virus and to clear up the sores.

It is sad to note that to this date, no treatment has been developed to completely eradicate the virus from the human body. As it is, the virus can only be controlled.

Extended treatment in time has proven to be effective for preventing the frequency of the recurrence of the genital herpes, as well as for reducing the infection level. The anti-viral treatment must be proceeded for up to fourteen days, and if the lesions of the skin do not heal after this period of time, the treatment can be extended for seven more days.

What really counts is seeing a doctor in the matter and not leaving the condition unattended, and, most important thing of all, protection for preventing the contamination.

About the Author:

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