Herpes is a sexually transmitted disease. It is a very common disease — around 50 million people living in the United States have genital herpes. It is a viral infection caused by the herpes simplex virus. There are basically two types of herpes viruses that can cause herpes. Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) mainly causes oral herpes (cold sores). Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) tragically causes genital herpes.
Although HSV-1 causes the majority of oral herpes cases and HSV-2 causes the majority of genital herpes cases, both of these viruses can cause oral herpes and genital herpes.
Once a person gets genital herpes, it stays in his/her body for life.
What happens when someone has an outbreak of genital herpes?
With reoccuring genital herpes, symptoms can come and go. When symptoms appear from time to time, it is called a “herpes outbreak.” Between outbreaks, when the virus is not present on the skin surface, the herpes virus is inactive and when reactivated, it travels to the skin in the genital area. An outbreak usually begins with a warning signal. Then, redness, bumps, and blisters may appear. The blisters can burst open and cause sores. There may be just one skin blister or several of them.
What is a herpes signal?
A prodrome is the first stage of an outbreak when you feel symptoms such as pain, burning, itching, tingling, or tenderness. Remember, this is the time to start treatment if you are treating episodically.
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