Genital Herpes Outbreaks – Herpes Infection Does Not Necessarily Result in Herpes Inflammation

Many people who contract genital herpes report that the initial herpes outbreak is the worst of all the genital herpes outbreaks they ever experience. But for almost as many people who get genital herpes, first outbreak symptoms are light or completely unnoticeable. These are the people who can infect their partners through unprotected sex without ever knowing they have the disease. If you want to be able to answer the question "Do I have genital herpes?" with confidence, here are three things you absolutely have to know.

  1. If you have ever had cold sores, you may not notice genital herpes infection.

    2. There are two common kinds of herpesvirus infections, HSV-1, which is more common in the mouth and on the lips, and HSV-2, which is more common as genital herpes. Actually, either virus can attack either part of the body. If you have ever had an infection with HSV-1, however, such as cold sores that started when you were a kid, then your body has some immune resistance to HSV-2.

    You're likely to have enough immune resistance to keep from having symptoms, but not enough immune resistance to keep from getting infected. You might just feel a tingle "down there" and have a headache or a mild fever, without ever breaking out in blisters.

    Even if this is the worst infection you ever have, you can still pass the virus on to sex partners, and you won't know when you are infectious. If you ever have to have chemotherapy, or have to take steroids, then your immune system may be weakened enough that herpes breaks out in full force. But this can be up to 50 years after you get the virus.

  2. If you have awful genital sores, you may not have herpes.

    3. Herpes infections tend to follow the paths of nerves. If you start with a genital herpes infection, you may develop blisters in a line follow the path of the nerves from your lower back to your thighs. Essentially anyplace that would be covered by boxer shorts can develop blisters.

    Herpes is not the only infection that causes blistering and sores on the genitals. Syphilis, for example, causes one or two large round sores on the tip of a man's penis or the outer parts of a woman's vulva. These sores don't hurt, and they may form scars. Weeks to years later, there may be a rash and eventually damage to the central nervous system, if the condition is never treated.

    Chancroid infections, on the other hand, also cause large, round external sores, but they usually hurt a lot. Chancroid infections are almost always transmitted through penile-vaginal intercourse.

    Yeast infections start with an itch and a tingle, like herpes outbreaks. The initial appearance of yeast-infected mucous membranes, however, is white, while the initial appearance of a herpes outbreak is red. Yeast infections can spread all over the body, whereas you are unlikely to have spreading herpes infections unless part of the scab gets into an open break of your skin elsewhere on your body.

    And sometimes irritation of the genitals is not caused by infection at all. If you are prone to contact dermatitis, wearing tight undergarments or sweating beneath your undergarments can cause blistering. If you are have a latex allergy, the elastic bands in underwear may cause blistering. Laundry soap and detergents that are not rinsed out of undergarments can cause dryness, chafing, and blisters.

  3. If you want to limit herpes outbreak duration, seek medical treatment.

    4. Many people who have genital herpes find that if they take antiviral medications at the first sign of an outbreak, they can prevent blisters from forming at all. Confirming that you have genital herpes and not some other problem and then prescribing the medication that will work best for you has to be done by a doctor. If you find that your infection is becoming to resistant to the medications you are prescribed, however, go to a natural products store and get a lemon balm cream to use in addition to your regular medications.

Selected Reference:

Rabella N, Otegui M, Labeaga R, et al. Antiviral susceptibility of Herpes simplex viruses and its clinical correlates: a single center's experience. Clin Infect Dis. Apr 15 2002;34(8):1055-60.

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