Is Herpes For Life

Is Herpes For Life

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Genital Herpes – CDC Basic Fact Sheet
People who are sexually active can get genital herpes, a common sexually transmitted disease (STD). This fact sheet answers basic questions about genital herpes.

Genital Herpes - CDC Detailed Fact Sheet
Primary Prevention Methods (Condoms)

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Genital herpes is an STD caused by two types of viruses – herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2).
HSV-1 often causes oral herpes, which can result in cold sores or fever blisters on or around the mouth. However, most people with oral herpes do not have any symptoms. Most people with oral herpes get it during childhood or young adulthood from non-sexual contact with saliva.
Yes. Oral herpes caused by HSV-1 can spread from the mouth to the genitals through oral sex . This is why some cases of genital herpes are due to HSV-1.
Genital herpes is common in the United States. In 2018, CDC estimates show there were 572,000 new genital herpes infections in the United States among people aged 14 to 49. 1
You can get genital herpes by having vaginal, anal, or oral sex with someone who has the infection. You can get herpes if you have contact with:
You also can get genital herpes from a sex partner who does not have a visible sore or is unaware of their infection. It is also possible to get genital herpes if you receive oral sex from a partner with oral herpes.
You will not get herpes from toilet seats, bedding, or swimming pools. You also will not get it from touching objects, such as silverware, soap, or towels.
If you have more questions about herpes, consider discussing your concerns with a healthcare provider.
Most people with genital herpes have no symptoms or have very mild symptoms. Mild symptoms may go unnoticed or be mistaken for other skin conditions like a pimple or ingrown hair. Because of this, most people do not know they have a herpes infection.
Herpes sores usually appear as one or more blisters on or around the genitals, rectum or mouth. This is known as having an “outbreak”. The blisters break and leave painful sores that may take a week or more to heal. Flu-like symptoms (e.g., fever, body aches, or swollen glands) also may occur during the first outbreak.
People who experience an initial outbreak of herpes can have repeated outbreaks, especially if they have HSV-2. However, repeat outbreaks are usually shorter and less severe than the first outbreak. Although genital herpes is a lifelong infection, the number of outbreaks may decrease over time.
Ask a healthcare provider to examine you if:
STD symptoms can include an unusual sore, a smelly genital discharge, burning when peeing, or bleeding between periods (if you have a menstrual cycle).
Your healthcare provider may diagnose genital herpes by simply looking at any sores that are present. Providers can also take a sample from the sore(s) and test it. If sores are not present, a blood test may be used to look for HSV antibodies.
Have an honest and open talk with your healthcare provider about herpes testing and other STDs.
Please note: A herpes blood test can help determine if you have herpes infection. It cannot tell you who gave you the infection or when you got the infection.
The only way to completely avoid STDs is to not have vaginal, anal, or oral sex.
If you are sexually active, you can do the following things to lower your chances of getting genital herpes:
Be aware that not all herpes sores occur in areas that a condom can cover. Also, the skin can release the virus (shed) from areas that do not have a visible herpes sore. For these reasons, condoms may not fully protect you from getting herpes.
If your sex partner(s) has/have genital herpes, you can lower your risk of getting it if:
There is no cure for genital herpes. However, there are medicines that can prevent or shorten outbreaks. A daily anti-herpes medicine can make it less likely to pass the infection on to your sex partner(s).
Genital herpes can cause painful genital sores and can be severe in people with suppressed immune systems.
If you touch your sores or fluids from the sores, you may transfer herpes to another body part like your eyes. Do not touch the sores or fluids to avoid spreading herpes to another part of your body. If you do touch the sores or fluids, quickly wash your hands thoroughly to help avoid spreading the infection.
If you are pregnant, there can be problems for you and your unborn fetus, or newborn baby. See “ I’m pregnant. How could genital herpes affect my baby? ” for information about this.
If you are pregnant and have genital herpes, prenatal care visits are very important. Some research suggest that a genital herpes infection may lead to miscarriage or make it more likely to deliver your baby too early. You can pass herpes to your unborn child before birth, but it more commonly passes during delivery. This can lead to a deadly infection in your baby (called neonatal herpes). It is important that you avoid getting genital herpes during pregnancy. Tell your healthcare provider if you have ever had a genital herpes diagnosis or symptoms. Also tell them about any possible exposure to genital herpes.
If you have genital herpes, you may need to take anti-herpes medicine towards the end of your pregnancy. This medicine may reduce your risk of having signs or symptoms of genital herpes when you deliver. At the time of delivery, your healthcare provider should carefully examine you for herpes sores. If you have signs or symptoms of genital herpes at delivery, a ‘C-section’ is likely to occur.
If you have herpes, you should talk to your sex partner(s) about their risk. Using condoms may help lower this risk but it will not get rid of the risk completely. Having sores or other symptoms of herpes can increase your risk of spreading the disease. Even if you do not have any symptoms, you can still infect your sex partners.
You may have concerns about how genital herpes will impact your health, sex life, and relationships. While herpes is not curable, it is important to know that it is manageable with medicine. Daily suppressive therapy (i.e., daily use of antiviral medication) can lower your risk of spreading the virus to others. Talk to a healthcare provider about your concerns and treatment options.
A genital herpes diagnosis may affect how you will feel about current or future sexual relationships. Knowing how to talk to sexual partners about STDs is important.
Herpes infection can cause sores or breaks in the skin or lining of the mouth, vagina, and rectum. This provides a way for HIV to enter the body. Even without visible sores, herpes increases the number of immune cells in the lining of the genitals. HIV targets immune cells for entry into the body. Having both HIV and genital herpes increases the chance of spreading HIV to a HIV-negative partner during oral, vagina, or anal sex.
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Detailed fact sheets are intended for physicians and individuals with specific questions about sexually transmitted diseases. Detailed fact sheets include specific testing and treatment recommendations as well as citations so the reader can research the topic more in depth.
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Herpes is known as the Herpes Simplex Virus or HSV1 or HSV2. HSV1 is most commonly associated with oral herpes and HSV2 is most common in the genital region. Because herpes is a virus it means you will have herpes for the rest of your life. In other words, at this point, there is no cure for herpes. Sorry! When the virus is not active it will lie dormant along your nervous system until it wakes up and decides to rise to the surface of your skin and cause an outbreak. Think of it like a volcano, some are active some are dormant and some you just really don't know when they are going to explode. To read more go here
There are a couple of ways to know if you are herpes positive. Firstly, if you have sores on your mouth or in your genital region then I recommend you go get tested immediately. To get diagnosed now go to HerpAlert and use our promo code: lifewithherpes to get 10% off.
Typically when you are exposed to herpes the virus shows up within 2-14 days. Yes, it’s possible for the incubation period to be much longer but typically its with in the first 2 weeks. So if you have a new partner then most likely it's from them.
Yes and no. In order to have herpes show up in your blood test you would have had to come in contact with the herpes virus and be infected. Sometimes people can have really mild outbreaks (I’m so jealous if that’s you) and they can go unnoticed or be mistaken for other things such as ingrown hairs, pimples or a cut from shaving. So it can be a total surprise when test results come back and the results are positive for herpes.
Symptoms can vary from person to person but here are the most common in your genital region are; itchiness, tingling, hot spot, pain when touching, sore, and or open lesion. You can also experience flu like symptoms such as; sore throat, aches and pains, swollen lymph nodes, extreme fatigue and feeling of being run down. For more details you can go here .
Symptoms can vary but most commonly people experience pain on the lips and around the mouth, itching, blisters, flu like symptoms, fever, aches and pains, swollen lymph nodes. Go here for more.
There are two types of herpes, Herpes Simplex Virus 1 (HSV 1) and Herpes Simplex Virus 2 (HSV 2). HSV 1 is typically considered oral herpes and HSV 2 is normally considered genital herpes however they are interchangeable. Meaning you can have HSV 1 genitally and HSV 2 orally. To learn more on HSV 1 genitally go here .
Yes, it's herpes. Typically oral herpes is HSV 1. And remember that it's just as contagious as genital herpes.
All types of sex. This includes; vaginal sex, anal sex, oral sex and any other type of sex that you can come up with. To read more go here . And to learn more about sex toys go here .
Unfortunately it’s possible. It can be a combination of any location. Meaning you can have HSV 1 and HSV 2 both genitally or both orally. Or HSV 1 which is typically oral in your genital region or HSV 2 which is typically genital on your mouth.
No, the only way you can get genital herpes is if you expose your genital region to the virus. Just because you have the herpes virus in your system it won’t pop up in other places. So if you have oral herpes you will continue to get oral outbreaks. If you have genital herpes you will continue to get genital outbreaks.
The herpes virus is transmitted skin to skin. When there is an outbreak the virus is most contagious as the open lesions contain fluid that can make it very easy to transmit the virus. However, the virus can also be transmitted without symptoms (I know this is a buzz kill) and this would be considered asymptomatic shedding. During the shedding process the virus rises to the skin without any signs or symptoms and can spread to a non infected person if they come in contact with it. Click here for more information on viral shedding.
Herpes is very common and it’s virtually impossible for anybody to go through life without coming into contact with it. 2 out of 3 people have HSV 1 and 1 out of 6 have HSV2. So statistically this means if you have kissed more than 3 people 2 of them have had oral herpes. And if you have had sex with more than 6 people 1 of them has had genital herpes. There are also more than 100 different types of herpes viruses out there. To learn more about the different herpes viruses go here . And to learn more about who has herpes go here .
To get tested for herpes you would need to go to your medical provider and ask for a herpes test. In the United States a herpes test is not included in the STD test, a herpes test needs to specifically be requested. We recommend using HerpAlert for your herpes diagnosis. Use the promo code: lifewithherpes to receive 10% off. Go here to get treated.
Yes, of course you can. Having herpes does not impact your fertility or a woman's ability to conceive. You can go here , here & here to read more about pregnancy and fertility. Something key to remember that if you do become pregnant you'll want to discuss having genital herpes with your doctor.
There are 4 best practice way's to prevent transmission to your partner; communicate, use latex protection, the daily antiviral and avoiding sex while you have an outbreak. To read more go here .
This toolkit will give you the knowledge, confidence and exactly what to say to your partner. It doesn't matter if it's something casual, if you want more or if you're already in a relationship. You'll get immediate access to 14 videos, scripts you can download and all the information you'll need so you can disclose to your partner.
This toolkit will point you in the right direction, back towards confidence, peace, comfort, and pain-free herpes outbreak living. It doesn’t matter if it's your first outbreak or if you’ve had herpes for years this toolkit is essential and will walk you through step-by-step. If it’s your first outbreak then these first days are so emotional and the best thing you can do is educate yourself on your herpes diagnosis. This Herpes Outbreak Toolkit is 7 days of hand holding that includes, daily videos, easy steps to managing your outbreak, ways to manage relief from pain and not to mention the embarrassment.
Being alone with a herpes diagnosis is the worst place to be. You feel alone, you feel dirty, you feel like you’ve done something wrong and worst of all you feel like your life is over. I was alone for a number of years and it took me 2 years of working through my diagnosis to get out from under that dark “herpes” cloud. I truly wish I had a community of people who just “got me”.
When there is a community the struggle to survive with herpes is no longer impossible. In the Secret Society there’s 24/7 support from people all over the world who are going through the same thing as you. We all have herpes and we all understand where you are on your journey with herpes.
There are times with a herpes diagnosis that freak out mode or meltdown mode happens and that is why you can schedule a call with me ASAP.
Sitting in your own worry or trying to google the answers to your herpes questions is not the best idea. Talking to someone who’s been through it, lives it and totally gets what you’re going through will take you from crisis mode to feeling in control and living life with herpes.
Submit a ticket and we'll get right to you. Go here .
These blog posts are our most popular and also have the best information to support you no matter where you are on your journey with herpes.
There are so many questions that pop up when it comes to a herpes diagnosis. Here's the 101 breakdown on what herpes is, isn't, and everything you need to know about your diagnosis.
There are some oils that are really helpful and beneficial when it comes to a herpes outbreak. These oils can do things like calm your nerves, help with swelling, the itching and even have antiviral properties.
There are many different reasons why we don't tell our partners about our herpes diagnosis. Here are 4 steps to help you know what to do next.
There are some lifestyle activities that cause herpes outbreaks. It's important to know what they are so you can learn to work around them and prevent outbreaks
Viral Shedding is a misunderstood sneaky thing when it comes to herpes. Because of this, the majority of transmissions occur without an outbreak. Understanding viral shedding can help prevent transmission to your partner.
A huge myth is that you can only get herpes from having sex and it's just not true. Here's a list of other sexual actives that can transmit herpes.
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