Herpes

What is it?

Herpes Simplex is a virus estimated to affect 45 million people in the United States. One out of five adolescents has herpes infection.

How do you get it?

Spread by skin to skin contact or during vaginal, anal, and oral intercourse with someone who has herpes

[Note: In addition, oral herpes (cold sores on the mouth) can be spread by kissing or other casual contact. This virus can then be spread to the genitals during oral sex.]

Incubation period

Symptoms show up 2 – 30 days after having sex, with the average being 6 days. Some herpes infections are without symptoms.

Symptoms

Symptoms range from mild to severe. Symptoms include:

• Flu-like feelings; swollen lymph nodes in groin
• Itching or burning before the sores appear
• Small, painful sores on the sex organs or mouth
• Sores last an average of 10 days
• Sores go away, but herpes is still present and sores often reoccur

Diagnosis

To test for genital herpes, a clinician swabs some of the fluid and cells from the sore. The culture is then sent to a laboratory. Blood tests can detect antibodies to the herpes virus six weeks after exposure.

Treatment

There is no cure for herpes, but anti-viral medication can lessen the severity and duration of the first and subsequent outbreaks and may prevent the frequency of outbreaks in some people. Medication will not cure the disease.

What happens if you don’t get treated?

• You can give herpes to your sexual partner(s)
• A mother with herpes can give it to her baby during childbirth and therefore must have a cesarean section if she has an active sore at the time of labor

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