Genital herpes is a common infection that can cause painful blisters on the genitals and the surrounding areas. However, most people with herpes don't experience any symptoms when first infected and as a result, many people don't know they have the condition
Most common symptoms
Men and women – Most people with herpes don’t realise they have it and only 1 in 5 people know that they have it.
If you do get symptoms these can start with –
A swab taken from the skin when there is a blister or ulcer. If there are no obvious blisters or ulcers then there are no routine tests available
Genital herpes can clear up by themselves and severe outbreaks can be treated with antiviral tablets that can help to ease the pain and speed up the healing process.
Other things you can do to ease the pain are –
The virus then becomes inactive and remains in the body. In some people the virus can become active again from time to time, and cause further outbreaks of genital herpes – known as recurrent herpes.
First episode genital herpes will heal up even if you have no treatment. However, this will take longer than it would have done if you started treatment soon after developing sores
Genital herpes can also cause problems during pregnancy and can be more serious depending on whether you already have genital herpes, or develop it for the first time while pregnant.
Therefore it is recommended to go for a full health check up to avoid any complications if trying for a baby