Topic: Genital Herpes
Description
The herpes simplex virus causes genital herpes. There are many types of herpes viruses. Both herpes simplex type 1 (HSV 1) and herpes simplex type 2 (HSV 2) can infect the genital area.
HSV 1 commonly causes 'cold sores', and tends to occur in the upper half of the body, mainly around the lips and mouth. HSV 1 can also infect the genital area. HSV 2 is more commonly the cause of genital herpes. Both viruses are passed from one person to another by close body contact.
Tips
After the herpes virus has entered the body, it travels up nerve fibres and lives in nerve cells around the spinal cord in the lower back. Usually it lies dormant. It is not completely understood as to what causes the virus to reactivate and cause blisters. Some factors that may trigger an outbreak include menstruation (periods), emotional upset and sexual activity. Sunburn can trigger off a herpes episode (or cold sore) on the face or lips.
Apart from these factors, it is important to get enough sleep, have a healthy diet and to keep your stress levels at a manageable level.
Helpful Hints
Both viruses are passed from one person to another by close body contact. This means that:
- a cold sore on a lip could spread to the genital area of a sexual partner (on or around the sex organs) as a result of oral sex
- genital herpes may be passed on to the mouth of a sexual partner through oral sex, causing oral ‘cold sores’ – although this is not very common
- genital herpes can be spread through the rubbing of genital skin that occurs during sexual activity.
The risk of herpes spreading from person to person is high just before, during and for the week following an outbreak of herpes. However, the herpes virus can be passed from person to person without any active ulcer or blister being present. This means that even when a person is free of symptoms, the virus can still spread to another person, if the infected person happens to be ‘shedding’ herpes virus at the time of sexual intercourse.
Practical Advice
If you are exposed to HSV 1 or HSV 2 during sexual or intimate skin to skin contact, there are three possible outcomes:
- Most of the time, there will be no signs or symptoms. You will not know that you have the herpes virus and will never experience outbreaks of herpes blisters in your genital area. If this happens, you may pass on the virus to your sexual partner without knowing.
- The second possibility is that you will get what is called a primary episode of genital herpes. This can be painful and you may feel generally unwell. Sometimes people have fevers and pains in the joints (similar to the flu). Someone with a primary episode of genital herpes may have painful blisters in their genital area. The blisters then turn into ulcers and/or skin splits. This can involve the vaginal opening, anus or the penis and/or scrotum. It can be painful to pass urine or a bowel motion. In this situation, it may take more than three weeks for the blisters to heal and the other discomforts to completely subside. Fortunately, there are medications available that may help to reduce these symptoms. It is worthwhile to attend a sexual health clinic or your doctor as soon as possible if you notice any blisters around the genital area.
- Some people who are infected with the herpes virus will not experience the level of discomfort and illness of the primary episode described above. However, they will notice a smaller outbreak of blisters and and irritation in the genital area.
An outbreak of herpes usually occurs in several stages over seven to ten days. Usual stages are:
- a mild tingling or itching, which lasts 12 to 24 hours
- small blisters with swelling and redness around the blisters which may be irritating, painful and sore to touch
- after a couple of days, the blisters break and form shallow ulcers or skin splits
- the glands in the groin may become swollen and tender
- the ulcers heal, leaving a patch of red or peeling skin for a few days. Once the ulcer is completely healed there is no mark or scarring.
It isn’t possible to predict how often people will have outbreaks. Some people may only ever have one outbreak and others no more than two or three. Only a minority have frequent recurrences. Generally, as time passes. the frequency of outbreaks decrease.
The amount of time between each outbreak of the herpes virus will be different for each person. In general, after the initial outbreak of blisters, each recurrence is less severe and heals more rapidly. Usually a longer period of time passes before the next outbreak.
Other Resources
Queensland Health Sexual Health website
- Animated Movie - Herpes
Related Content
Can you have a sexual relationship when you have herpes? fact sheet
Genital Herpes and Pregnancy fact sheet
Last updated: 14th October, 2008
Review Date: 27th March, 2010
