If the mother has a genital herpes blister or sore at the time of labor and delivery, a cesarean section is usually done. Cesarean section may be recommended if a woman has tingling or pain suggesting an impending outbreak. Things that increase your risk of getting genital herpes include:. Having herpes, especially if you have open sores, also increases your risk for becoming infected with HIV if you are exposed to HIV.
Any child with genital herpes needs to be evaluated by a doctor to see if it is the result of sexual abuse. For more information, see the topic Child Abuse and Neglect. If you haven't been diagnosed with genital herpes, call your doctor if you have:. If you have been diagnosed with genital herpes, call your doctor if you are having frequent outbreaks or if you can't pass urine or are constipated. If you are pregnant and have genital herpes, or if you think you have genital herpes, tell your doctor.
Watchful waiting is a wait-and-see approach. If you have only occasional outbreaks of genital herpes and are comfortable with home treatment, watchful waiting may be all you need. Your doctor may be able to diagnose genital herpes from your medical history and a physical exam, especially if the herpes sores are typical in appearance. Your doctor may ask you the following questions:. If this is your first outbreak of suspected genital herpes, further testing may be done to confirm the diagnosis.
Treatment can't cure genital herpes. But it can provide relief from the discomfort of herpes sores and can speed up healing. Treatment works best if it is started as soon as possible after an outbreak begins. You can take steps to help keep from getting genital herpes—or any other sexually transmitted infection.
You can also take steps to keep from giving herpes to your sex partner s. Preventing a sexually transmitted infection STI is easier than treating an infection after it occurs. For more information, see the topic Safer Sex.
Using condoms lowers your chances of getting or spreading herpes and other STIs, even if you are already using another birth control method to prevent pregnancy. Condoms must be in place before the start of sexual contact.
Use condoms with a new partner until you are certain that he or she doesn't have an STI. You can use either male condoms or female condoms. Don't have sex, even with condoms, while you're having herpes symptoms. Taking daily valacyclovir, an antiviral medicine, can prevent spread of genital herpes to your sexual partner even when you do not have an active outbreak. A woman who gets genital herpes while she is pregnant could pass the infection to her baby during delivery.
Herpes can make newborns seriously ill. Antiviral medicine can be used safely in pregnancy to reduce the risk of an outbreak at the time of delivery. This lower risk, in turn, makes it less likely that delivery by cesarean section will be needed. If you are having a genital herpes outbreak, wash your hands after using the bathroom or having any contact with blisters or sores. This is especially important for people who are caring for babies.
Ask your doctor if you can take nonprescription medicines , such as acetaminophen Tylenol and ibuprofen Advil. They may reduce the pain and fever from genital herpes. To lower the risk of recurrent outbreaks, reduce or avoid things that trigger outbreaks, such as fatigue, stress, overexposure to sun, and irritation of the genital area. Finding out that you have genital herpes may cause you to have negative thoughts or feelings about yourself or about sex, such as:.
A counselor or support groups for people with herpes may be helpful. Antiviral medicines are the recommended treatment for genital herpes. They can relieve the pain and discomfort of blisters and sores and speed healing. These medicines also decrease the number of days you can spread the virus are contagious. Antiviral medicines work best when they are taken as soon as symptoms are noticed.
For that reason, people with herpes should keep a supply of the medicine on hand. If you have 6 or more outbreaks a year or have severe outbreaks, you may benefit from taking antiviral medicine every day. It may reduce the number of outbreaks by about 1 or 2 episodes a year. If you take antiviral medicine every day, you may want to talk to your doctor about not taking the medicine for a short period each year. This can show whether your outbreaks are starting to occur less frequently.
Then you can decide whether to keep taking the medicine. People with impaired immune systems may be more likely to:. Kiley MD - Obstetrics and Gynecology. Author: Healthwise Staff.
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Learn how we develop our content. To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.
Skip Navigation. Top of the page. Topic Overview What is genital herpes? What causes genital herpes? What are the symptoms? How is genital herpes diagnosed? How is it treated? Can genital herpes be prevented?
Before you start a sexual relationship, talk with your partner about STIs. Find out whether he or she is at risk for them. Remember that a person can be infected without knowing it. If you have symptoms of an STI, don't have sex. Don't have sex with anyone who has symptoms or who may have been exposed to an STI. Don't have more than one sexual relationship at a time.
Having several sex partners increases your risk for infection. Use condoms. Condom use lowers the risk of spreading or becoming infected with an STI. Don't receive oral sex from partners who have cold sores. How herpes is spread You get infected when the virus enters your body through a break in the skin or through moist areas mucous membranes such as the mouth, anus, and vagina.
Symptoms Most people never have any symptoms or have ones that are so mild they don't recognize them. Symptoms of the first outbreak may include: Flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache, and muscle aches. These symptoms usually get better within a week. Tingling, burning, itching, and redness at the site where an outbreak is about to occur.
Painful, itchy blisters on the penis, on the vulva, or inside the vagina. Blisters may also appear on the anus, buttocks, thighs, or scrotum, either alone or in clusters. Its presence causes an extremely itchy rash that resembles little pimples , creating flushed, scaly areas on the skin. Doctors use a class of drugs called scabicides to treat these infestations.
These drugs are only available with a prescription. There are two types of HSV that cause herpes. Although these types are closely related and both spread through bodily fluids and human contact, they transmit in different ways. Sexual contact tends to be how HSV-2 spreads. HSV-1 can also cause genital herpes, and it can spread in saliva during oral sex.
HSV-2 can also pass to an infant during childbirth. Both forms of the virus enter the nerve cells of the body, where they will remain for life. The virus tends to lie dormant, or asleep, in the cells until something activates it and causes an outbreak of symptoms.
There is currently no cure for herpes, but the sores will usually clear up on their own within a few weeks. If a person experiences frequent outbreaks, their doctor may recommend taking a pill every day as a means of prevention. This treatment is known as prophylaxis. Antiviral creams or ointments can relieve the burning, itching, or tingling. Antiviral pills can help speed up the healing process. Both types of medication tend to contain the same active ingredients.
They include:. People can get herpes medication from a doctor or pharmacist. Over-the-counter options are also available online. For otherwise healthy people, a herpes skin rash is not usually anything to worry about. The sores can be painful and uncomfortable, but they typically go away by themselves.
Medications to treat them are available from drugstores. The virus can cause complications in some people. Anyone with a long-term health condition or weakened immune system who thinks that they may have herpes should speak to their doctor. People with cancer , HIV , or AIDS and anyone who has recently had an organ transplant should seek urgent medical attention if they think that they may have herpes.
Anyone who suspects that something other than herpes — such as dermatitis, shingles, or scabies — is causing their rash can talk to their doctor about diagnosis. Herpes is a common virus that can cause a rash of blistering sores on the skin. These tend to develop around the mouth or genitals but can appear almost anywhere on the body.
There is currently no cure for the virus, and carriers tend to experience symptom outbreaks at various times throughout their life. The clusters of fluid filled blisters may be painful, but they are usually harmless. Antiviral treatments that can help ease the symptoms and shorten the duration of an outbreak are available in many drugstores.
Herpes can cause painful blisters and sores to the mouth and genitals. Learn about treatments and when to get tested here. Overview Genital herpes is a common sexually transmitted infection caused by the herpes simplex virus HSV. Genital herpes Open pop-up dialog box Close. Genital herpes Sores associated with genital herpes can be small red bumps, blisters or open sores.
Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic. More Information Genital herpes: Can you get it from a toilet seat? Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references Genital herpes: CDC detailed fact sheet. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed Jan. Klausner JD, et al. Genital herpes. New York, N. Albrecht MA. Epidemiology, clinical manifestations and diagnosis of genital herpes simplex virus infection.
Longo DL, et al. Herpes simplex virus infections. In: Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. Frequently asked questions.
0コメント