Straight Talk About Herpes and How You Get It

You can get herpes in a variety of ways. It is silent, however, which means you could have herpes and not even know you have it. Herpes type 1 is oral herpes, which means that it turns into a cold sore. Cold sores are easy to treat give or take the method you use, such as topical anti-viral medication available over the counter. What you do not want to do is have oral sex with somebody who has a cold sore, which could mean that you can contract herpes from unprotected oral sex, without using a dental dam for protection with either gender.

Genital herpes comes from Herpes type 2. Genital herpes is where people have infections around the genitals or rectum. This herpes type is easily passed from person to person. Herpes simplex type 1 can be transmitted from one person to another by kissing the infected person, using their toothbrush, or sharing eating utensils. If a pregnant woman has herpes type 2, they can pass it on to the unborn baby at birth. What causes herpes simplex can be being ill, being tired, being under physical and emotional stress, having an illness such as HIV or AIDS which represses the immune system functions, and also chemotherapy can cause more cold sores to form. Also, having a cut on the skin where you get cold sores can lead to an outbreak. For women, menstruation can help foster an environment where cold sores can outbreak on your lip due to feeling run down. If you feel run down in general, this can lead to cold sore outbreaks of the kind on your lips. The presence of herpes simplex 1 can be determined by lab tests or cultures that can tell the physician if it is truly herpes of either kind.

There is no cure for herpes, which is why the use of condoms or dental dams is necessary. Warm baths may help the genital version of herpes but remember herpes type 2 is painful anyway you look at it. It is also easy to spread, particularly when there are no symptoms, although there can be. The first outbreak can be the most painful. Symptoms include painful genitals, burning around the genitals, pain in general, and difficulty urinating as well as for some sufferers, discharge around the vagina or penis.

The cold sore version of herpes can cause tingling before the outbreak around the lips, before the outbreak of the blisters. Herpes is annoying and painful for sufferers, especially because the virus lies sleeping in the body until something environmental or stress-related triggers an outbreak. Herpes can be spread through unprotected sex with the genitals or unprotected oral sex. Cold sore herpes can be spread through kissing an infected person as well as spread by sharing eating utensils. The virus might infect a person, but all the more terrifying is that it goes into a dormant state.

Cold sores can come on with fevers, having a cold, or being infected with the flu. Sunlight can cause herpes cold sores as well as stress influencing outbreaks along with the immune system losing its ability to function from HIV infection. Hormones can influence outbreaks as when menstruating. If you do have a herpes type 2 outbreak, the best thing that can be done is not to have sex until it goes away. Some people have certain symptoms that appear before the rise of a cold sore. Blisters can dry in a day at least but it is best to avoid all sexual types of contact with a person until it goes away.