Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease (STD). It is mainly caused by the herpes simplex viruss type 1 and type 2. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 out of 5 American teenagers and adults are infected with HSV-2. Women are more commonly infected than men.

Once a person gets genital herpes, it stays in the body for life. In some people, symptoms come and go. When symptoms appear, it is called a "herpes outbreak."

Causes

Herpes is a virus that can be passed through sexual contact. You can get genital herpes by having sex with someone who has open sores and when someone has no sores. However, herpes is most contagious when a person has open sores. People with herpes should not have sexual activity when sores or other symptoms of herpes are present. HSV-1 can cause genital herpes, but it more commonly causes infections of the mouth and lips or fever blisters.

Condoms can lower the chances of getting herpes. Along with condoms, Valtrex, a drug used to treat herpes, can help lower the chances of passing the virus during vaginal sex.

Symptoms

Most people infected with HSV-2 are not aware of their infection. However, if signs and symptoms occur during the first outbreak, they can be quite pronounced. The first outbreak usually occurs within two weeks after the virus is transmitted, and the sores typically heal within two to four weeks.

Hey also can occur inside the vagina and on the cervix in women, or in the urinary passage of women and men. Small red bumps appear first, develop into small blisters, and then become itchy, painful sores that might develop a crust and will heal without leaving a scar.

The entire genital area may feel very painful, and the individual may have flu-like symptoms including fever and swollen lymph nodes. If a person has an outbreak in the future, the outbreaks will tend to be less severe and shorter in 3 to 4 days.

Treatment

There is no cure for genital herpes. The medications that reduce the frequency and duration of outbreaks and have few side effects in most people are very rare and take several times.

Accurate diagnosis of genital herpes is made most easily and correctly at the time of an active herpes infection, preferably the initial symptomatic infection. Diagnosis involves the doctor taking a medical history, performing a physical examination and taking a swab to detect presence of the virus.

People who have very frequent episodes of the disease can take oral acyclovir daily for up to one year to suppress the virus activity and prevent most recurrences. Acyclovir does not cure herpes, but it interferes with the virus ability to reproduce itself. Other new drugs famciclovir and valacyclovir now on the market work in a similar manner.