Genital Herpes: How To Diagnose & Treat It

Genital Herpes: How To Diagnose & Treat It

Albert Fine
Page 1 of 2

It's believed that an estimated 50 million Americans have genital herpes, and about 1 million more become infected every year. If that's not bad enough, many people aren't even aware that they have the virus.

The crazy thing about the herpes virus is that because everyone may not experience the same symptoms, it's possible to dismiss genital itching and burning as nothing more than jock itch (perhaps a yeast infection in the case of women).


what is genital herpes?

If you've ever felt a burning, tingling or itchy feeling around your genital area, buttocks or thighs, or have noticed red open sores or bumps around the area, you may be one of the many people in the world who has herpes.

Genital herpes is an infection caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV). As aforementioned, there are two types of herpes:

HSV-1: Type 1 herpes usually leads to sores around the mouth (cold sores).
HSV-2: Type 2 herpes usually leads to sores occurring around the genital region of the body including the thighs and buttocks.

And although cold sores usually occur from HSV-1, and HSV-2 occurs on and around the genitalia, it is possible to transmit HSV-2 to the mouth and HSV-1 to the genitals.

As well, keep in mind that since herpes is a viral infection, it remains in the body's sensory nerves forever.

why does it recur?

The strange thing about herpes is that different people have different symptoms and therefore many people aren't even aware that they have the herpes virus.

Common symptoms, however, include:

  • Itching, tingling sensations in the genital or surrounding areas
  • Pressure in the abdomen
  • Flu-like symptoms (swollen glands, headache, fever)
  • Discharge from the penis or vagina
  • Burning sensations when urinating
  • Sores, lesions
  • Some, not all, people develop little lesions that develop into open sores. Eventually the sores crust over, and then they heal completely leaving no scars. The virus then reverts back to the sensory nerves at the end of the spinal cord and remains inside the nerve cells in a dormant state, lying inactive until the next outbreak, if there is one.

    Some people report having herpes outbreaks every few weeks, while others report having them only once in their lifetime or not at all; it varies depending on the individual.

    Even the severity of such outbreaks varies significantly. Some people develop clusters of red sores and lesions all over their genitals while others may only feel the symptoms and develop no sores at all. However, it is possible to have a herpes outbreak without sores and still pass the virus on to a sexual partner.

    How herpes gets diagnosed, how it gets transmitted and how to treat it...

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