Scientists are still searching for a true genital herpes cure. Like many other viruses, symptomatic treatment is often the best road to go down, and the terrible symptoms can indeed by significantly reduced by a natural remedy.

What is Genital Herpes?

Genital Herpes is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the herpes simplex virus. Symptoms usually appear as blisters around the genital area and/or rectum. The blisters break, leaving painful ulcers or tender sores which can take up to a month to heal. Often, sufferers will then get further outbreaks.

Although embarrassment can sometimes prevent people from going to their doctors, many millions worldwide will seek a genital herpes cure during any given year. In America alone, it is estimated that 45 million adults have genital herpes, with around 1 million people becoming infected each year.

The infection can stay in the body forever, although attacks may decrease over time. Genital herpes can be passed to someone else even when you experience no symptoms yourself.

Symptoms of Genital Herpes

Symptoms vary from person to person and often begin 2 weeks after having sexual contact with an infected person and can include:

    * Burning and itching in the genital or anal area
    * Fever/flu like symptoms
    * Pain in the genitals, legs or buttocks
    * A feeling of pressure below the stomach
    * Blisters or sores around the genital area
    * Swollen glands
    * Aching muscles
    * Pain on urinating caused by urine touching the sores

Sometimes, people may have only minor symptoms and may be completely unaware that they are infected. However, they can still spread herpes. Small sores or red bumps may be mistaken for something completely different, such as insect bites.

Can I get Genital Herpes again?

As there is no formal genital herpes cure, the virus stays in the nerve cells even after all the symptoms have gone. The virus can become active at any time. Some people are more prone to attacks than others and this may be due to lowered immune systems or possibly being under stress.

How can I tell if I have Genital Herpes?

Doctors can usually diagnose an attack by the appearance of the sores. To confirm, they will usually take a sample for testing.

If there is no Genital Herpes Cure, what is the treatment?

As with many other viruses, there is to genital herpes cure. However, some doctors will prescribe antiviral drugs which may shorten infections or make them less severe.

There is a very effective natural herpes treatment which has been shown to safely and effectively relieve the symptoms of genital herpes.

It is very different to other treatments as it comes in the form of a liquid oral spray which is very quickly absorbed into the bloodstream. This means that your symptoms will start to ease very quickly so you can resume your normal activities.

For many decades, homeopathic doctors have been successfully using the ingredients in this remedy separately with the aim of treating the individual symptoms. However, it has been proven that by combining several ingredients, many symptoms can be dealt with in one convenient treatment.

It is very safe, with no side-effects and will not make you drowsy

Self Help Tips

The following will help speed healing and prevent the outbreak being passed on:

    * Keep the area dry and clean
    * Wash hands after contact with the sores/blisters
    * Try not to touch the area any more than is necessary
    * Avoid sexual contact until the sores have gone

Many people have heard about the Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV). But very few people know what causes it. There are several kinds of herpes strains. We will talk about the Genital herpes in this article.

Herpes Simplex Virus 2 (HSV2) is also known as genital herpes because it affects the genital area. Common areas of infection are the cervix, labia, vagina, inner thighs, and anus of female and the shaft of the penis, scrotum, inner thighs and anus for men. As per the recent research approximately 86 million people worldwide are affected by this disease. The main cause of transmission of genital herpes is through sexual contact.

Getting Diagnosed

Think you have genital herpes? See your doctor for testing and treatment right away. Doctors can diagnose genital herpes by looking at visible sores or by taking a sample from the sore for testing in a lab. Blood tests can also be done to detect HSV-1 or HSV-2.Follow your doctor’s advice and finish all the medicine that you are given. It is very important to finish all the medicine even if the symptoms go away.

If you are not affected with genital herpes then abstinence from sex is the surest way to avoid getting genital herpes. The next way is to limit sex to one uninfected partner who only has sex with you. If you have a partner with genital herpes, do not have sex – even with a condom – when he or she is affected with an outbreak.

Cure and Precautions

Unfortunately there is no cure for this disease; the virus will always be in the infected body. Certain drugs such as acyclovir, valacyclovir, and famciclovir can decrease the outbreaks, or stop them from happening. Your doctor can give you proper advice/medicine to cure the outbreaks and stop them from affecting you in future.

Always follow the following steps to stop frequent outcomes of the virus and to stop the transmission to another person.

1. Do not touch the sores with hands or with a cloth, in severe conditions one can use cotton, which can be thrown after use.

2. Wash hands after contact.

3. Clean the infected area and keep it dry.

4. Avoid sexual contact until the herpes are healed.

5. Avoid having any sexual activity while you have any symptoms of an outbreak. Be sure to tell your sexual partners, so they can also be tested. Genital herpes is a life long virus, which cannot be cured, get advice from your doctor in order to prevent the outbreak to happen and to prevent spreading of disease to any other person.

During an outbreak, there are different ways to relieve pain.

- Take warm bath. After bathing, carefully dry affected areas gently with cotton.

- Wear loose cotton clothes.

- Keep the area dry.

- Hold ice packs to the sores a few minutes, several times.

- Take aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen or doctors prescribed medicine to relieve pain and fever.

It is very important for a pregnant woman that the outbreak of the herpes should be treated before giving birth. If the mother is affected by genital herpes while she is pregnant, she is more likely to pass the virus to her baby. If the outbreak is not the first one, the baby’s risk of getting the virus is very low. Babies born with herpes may be premature or may die, or they may have brain damage, severe rashes, or eye problems. Doctors may do a C-section to deliver a baby if the mother has herpes lesions near the birth canal to help prevent passing the virus. Also, acyclovir can help babies born with herpes if they are treated right away. It is not yet known if all genital herpes drugs are safe for pregnant women to take. Herpes is spread through contact with sores and can be dangerous to a newborn while breast-feeding if the sores are on sores on your nipple or areola. Breast-feeding should be stopped until the sores are healed.

Unfortunately, genital herpes is not curable, only symptomatically treatable. Many people don’t even know they have it. They may have only had one outbreak years ago and mistaken it for something else.

A friend of mine had a scare when a woman he had been seeing for several years (not exclusively) told me after he had had sex with her recently that she thought she was having a genital outbreak and he may have been exposed. She told him she had it years ago one time and took something like Valtrex and got rid of it and had never had a recurrence until recently. She was under the false impression that that meant she was no longer putting others at risk of passing it along.

Some quick facts on HSV (Herpes):

About 1 in 4 to 1 in 5 of those in the US over age 12 test positive for HSV 2 with a blood test that accurately distinguishes between HSV 1 and 2. The scary part is out of those who are positive, only 1 in 10 knew it before they were tested.

70% of new herpes infections are transmitted from someone showing no symptoms at the time they infected their partner.

For women, a negative pap smear for herpes doesn’t mean she isn’t infected.

The current test known as herpes select is a blood test that accurately distinguishes between types 1 and 2 and is available through the major labs Quest and Labcorp.

A positive test doesn’t indicate when you got it only that you do have it.

It’s also important to know it can take several months after exposure for you to test positive. So those who have multiple partners or move from partner to partner frequently are putting themselves and their partners at a much higher risk.

A study on risk produced the following facts:

The risk is about 10% per year that an infected male will transmit HSV 2 to an
uninfected female. That is, if 100 infected men were having one-on-one sex with 100
uninfected women, about 10 women would get infected per year. It’s a little less likely for a woman to pass it to a man – about 4 men out of 100 will get it.

This study was based on no condom use, no sex during herpes outbreaks and no use of daily herpes medications.

Talking about STDs can take all the spontaneity and romance out of sex. Talk about a mood killer. But rather you kill the mood than get something that’ll kill you. Or better yet, get all this unpleasant talk out of the way long before getting physical with somebody.

If you’ve been having your fun and have managed to avoid catching it, don’t forget, the next new partner you hook up with may be carrying it and pass it to you without knowing it until after the fact.

When you are out there whether it’s on dating sites or where ever you are meeting a sexual partner, many people claim they are STD free and tested regularly. While that may be true, what most people don’t realize is that it usually only means they get tested for HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea and maybe warts (which are easy to spot). Unless you specifically request a herpes test, you most likely didn’t get tested for it. This is something that should really be addressed in the public health arena.

A majority of the population has HSV 1 known as the cold sore virus. This can passed orally to give someone genital herpes type HSV 1. HSV 2 can’t be passed genitally to oral, only genital to genital. A person can have one and not the other, or they can have both. However, HSV 1 doesn’t turn into HSV 2 or visa versa. Having one type doesn’t make you immune to getting the other.

So, to summarize, HSV 1 can be transferred orally to genital or genital to genital. HSV 2 is only transferred genital to genital.

***UPDATE***I recently discussed this with a dermatologist who informed me that we’re still not for sure on whether HSV 2 can be transmitted from genital to oral. So it looks like things aren’t figured out yet. Your best bet is to keep your immune system strong though healthy lifestyle choices and being careful out there. Sorry spontaneity is exciting, but it can also result in some unfortunate consequences.

Herpes testing should be made mandatory as part of your annual blood work testing if you are sexually active – not just hiv. although hsv isn’t fatal, it still carries a social stigma with it.

· Genital herpes
· Oral herpes

While the seriousness of both is different in society, the outbreak and the fact that both are so common make them very close family.

Similarities

There are many similarities to both types.

· Both are contagious and can spread as easily as a common cold
· Both can be spread to any surface and can lay dormant on towels or sheets
· Both have the ability to migrate to parts of the body where they are not supposed to go
· The virus that causes both look identical under a microscope
· Both types infect mucuosal areas of the body such as the genitals and the mouth
· You can have either type and not know you have herpes
· Both genital herpes and oral herpes travel along the nerves so oral herpes can break out anywhere along the face while genital herpes can appear anywhere in the upper area of the legs
· There is no cure to completely rid yourself of either form of herpes

Differences

Here are the differences.

· Oral herpes unlike genital herpes is a skin rash, or cold sore contracted by about 80% of adults from when they were children
· HSV-1 (oral herpes) likes to settle in a group of merve cells by the ears and when there is an outbreak the virus has traveled to the area around the mouth
· HSV-2 (genital herpes) likes to establish itself at the base of the spine and when this breaks out it has traveled to the genital region
· The social stigma is the opposite to genital herpes
· The treatments to each are different and must be treated differently

Testing

Although testing for both genital herpes and oral herpes is grouped under testing for STD’s, the testing for herpes is not automatic with STD tests. Always ask your doctor about the following when being treated for STD:

· Know what you are being tested for
· Know what you are not being tested for
· Know what you can be tested for

Both genital herpes and oral herpes are very common and cause more embarrassment than pain. If there is one outbreak, there will be others. Once you have an outbreak of either form, consult your doctor about treatment options and be sure to inform those closest to you so it does not spread.