Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) - Symptoms, Causes and How To Deal With It?

Herpes Simplex Virus

Herpes Simplex Virus is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections today. There are many people who do not know much about this condition, despite the fact that it is one of the commonest STIs. In order to be protected from the disease, it is often a good idea that one tries to understand more about it. This way, they can then know how to behave in order to not contract it or to simply get the right kind of treatment.

 

Oral Herpes

How is the condition contracted?

There are two kinds of herpes: genital herpes and oral herpes. The latter mostly affects the lips and is manifested as cold sores. It is normally transmitted through activities such as kissing and is not a sexually transmitted infection. Genital herpes, on the other hand, is a condition that is transmitted by sexual interaction with someone who suffers from active disease. Both kinds of herpes are caused by a virus.

Characteristics of the herpes virus

In order to understand more about how herpes can affect you, it is a good idea to have some basic knowledge about how the virus works. When one gets infected by the virus, they normally display signs such as fever and chills a few days after the infection. In addition to that, one may also have painful sores over their genitals as well. Once the initial infection is healed, the virus then stays within the cells (mostly nerve cells) within the region, and do not get removed from one’s body for the rest of their lives.

The latter point is very important to appreciate. Unlike most other conditions, a lack of symptoms does not mean that one does not have herpes. In fact, a great proportion of the world may have the virus in their bodies, but the fact that the infection is silent means that they may not exhibit some of the signs mentioned above. If the infection is in remission, it also means that even if one has sexual contact with such an individual, they are unlikely to contract the disease. For the most part, the only way that one can contract the disease is by having contact with a person who is having active disease, not passive.

Once you have contracted herpes infection, it will stay latent in your body for the rest of your life. During this time, a number of triggers may induce the viruses to start being active again, and this normally leads to active disease. It has been proposed that conditions such as fever and stress can be part of the triggers that can cause activation.

The demographic group more susceptible to herpes

As is the case with most other medical conditions, there are certain groups that are more likely to be affected by herpes than the others. For one, studies show that women have a greater chance of getting the infection as compared to men. In addition to that, it has also come to light that sexual practices such as having unprotected anal sex can also lead to an increased incidence of the condition.

Methods of protecting people from herpes

There are many things that you can do to ensure that you protect yourself from herpes. Most of these are common sense. For instance, simply avoiding unprotected sex with high-risk groups such as people who have many other sexual partners can drastically reduce the risk of getting the infection. In addition to that, you will also find that using condoms can also reduce the chances of getting the infection.

The issue of condom use when it comes to protection from herpes is one that may not make sense to many. It has been shown that barrier methods such as the use of condoms can reduce the chances of an individual getting herpes infections, but only by 30%. By contrast, the chances of getting an infection such as HIV are much higher than this.

The reason for this disparity is the fact that with herpes, the lesions may not be covered by the condom. For instance, if the lesions are on the skin around the genital area, a condom won’t protect contact between such lesions and the skin of the healthy individual. It is, therefore, a good idea to note that using a condom will not give complete protection from contracting the condition, but will reduce the chances of doing so.