There is no cure for genital herpes. However, daily use of antiviral medications can prevent or shorten outbreaks. Antiviral medicines can also reduce your chance of infecting it to others. Fortunately, herpetic meningitis usually resolves after about a week without complications, although symptoms may return.
This refers to the unique characteristic pattern of all herpes viruses that crawl through local nerve pathways to nerve clusters at the end, where they remain inactive (latent) for varying periods of time. When a person experiences a prodrome and suspects that a recurrence will occur, they begin taking antiherpetic medications that reduce symptoms and shorten the duration of the outbreak. Patients who are infected with both herpes and HIV may also have a higher concentration of HIV virus in their body due to the interaction between the herpes virus and the HIV virus. Acyclovir (Zovirax) is also available in the form of an ointment, which can be used as an adjunct to the treatment of initial genital herpes.
While HSV-2 remains the primary cause of genital herpes, HSV-1 has increased significantly as a cause, most likely due to oral-genital sex. However, herpes can cause significant and widespread complications in people who don't have a fully functioning immune system. Lesions that appear in the early stages of a herpes outbreak are much more likely to have positive cultures than cultures removed after the lesion has formed a crust. Women are more susceptible to HSV-2 infection because herpes is more easily transmitted from men to women than from women to men.
Many new herpes infections occur by couples who transmit the virus asymptomatically, so condoms are strongly recommended. Genital herpes is a common sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV). Although lesions may be caused by something other than herpes, false-negative herpes tests can occur if the samples are not taken properly, if there is a long time of transportation between the clinic and the laboratory, or if the cultures were done at the end of the evolution of the lesions. It's almost impossible to defend yourself against the transmission of oral herpes, since it can be transmitted through very casual contact, including kissing.
A large study showed that if one partner has herpes and the other is not infected, treating the infected partner with suppressive therapy can prevent the transmission of symptomatic herpes in more than 90% of cases. A person with herpes who is transmitting the virus can be contagious even if they have no lesions or symptoms, which is why the patient population with genital herpes caused by HSV I is believed to be increasing.
