There is no cure for genital herpes. However, there are medications that can prevent or shorten outbreaks. A daily anti-herpetic medication may reduce your chances of transmitting the infection to your sexual partner (s). Genital herpes is probably the most dreaded and least known sexually transmitted infection (STI).
There is no cure, so people infected with herpes have it forever. While the virus is rarely life-threatening for most people who suffer from it, it is extremely dangerous for pregnant women. A virus outbreak during pregnancy increases your risk of premature birth and the fetus can get a fatal infection in the womb. Herpes isn't a virus that goes away.
Once you have it, it stays in your body forever. No medication can cure you completely, even though you can control it. Treatment can help with herpes symptoms, but the virus can't be cured and stays in the body for life. This means that the blisters usually come back from time to time.
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. Your doctor can provide advice on how to prevent transmission of the virus to sexual partners along with suggestions on how to openly discuss the topic of genital herpes. While there is no cure for herpes, the severity of the virus varies over the lifespan of an infected person. You may have herpes blisters on your penis, vagina, anus, throat, upper thighs, and buttocks.
While genital herpes rarely causes serious health problems, HSV-2 can be dangerous for pregnant women and the newborn, especially during the last trimester of pregnancy. If you are starting a new relationship and you know that you have a herpes simplex infection, you should let your partner tell you before having sex. Remember that herpes transmission can occur when there are symptoms (such as a sore or blister), but it can also occur even if there are no genital symptoms due to asymptomatic viral spread. Although they usually appear around the mouth or genitals, herpes sores can appear anywhere on the body.
Most people with genital herpes have no symptoms or have very mild symptoms that may be overlooked or confused with another skin condition. If you just found out that you have genital herpes, you might be surprised and have a lot of questions. Herpes infection can be transmitted to the baby during pregnancy and childbirth, which can lead to serious illness. Taking pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), the birth control pill, or any other type of contraceptive other than condoms will not protect you from herpes or other STIs.
Taking a small dose of anti-herpetic medicines every day can reduce the number of outbreaks by more than 90%. When HIV damages a person's immune system, the person is more likely to transmit the herpes simplex virus asymptomatically. Recurrent outbreaks are usually milder than the first episode of genital herpes and, over time, tend to occur less frequently. Many new herpes infections occur by couples who transmit the virus asymptomatically, so condoms are strongly recommended.
