What is genital herpes
The virus called Herpes simplex type I can affect not only the lips (cold sores) but also the genitals, the buttocks or the anal area. In these cases we speak of genital herpes, an infectious and contagious disease characterized by the appearance of painful blisters on the skin and mucous membranes of the genital area.
Herpes Simplex vesicles that, in the case of genital infection, typically localize on the vulvar or penile mucosa. See More Genital Herpes Photos
Although this type of herpes is often caused by another viral strain, called herpes simplex type II, herpes simplex type I can also affect the genital area.
Symptoms
To learn more: Genital Herpes Symptoms
The characteristic symptom of genital herpes is the appearance of small whitish bubbles in the genital area. The first episode, particularly annoying and painful, appears within fifteen days from the infection and can last even for several weeks.
The most commonly affected site is the genital site, but small bubbles can occasionally appear in other parts of the body where the virus has entered through small wounds.
The annoying vesicles can also develop inside the vagina, on the cervix and in the urethra both male and female and are often accompanied by the enlargement of the inguinal lymph nodes.
Symptoms of genital herpes in humans
In men, based on sexual orientation, acute manifestations of genital herpes usually appear on the scrotum, the tip and body of the penis or around the anus. Usually the rash in humans is limited to the appearance of six or ten bubbles.
These vesicles, like the feminine ones, contain many viral particles and are therefore particularly contagious. In particular, statistical studies have shown that genital herpes infection is more easily transmitted from man to woman.
Course and Complications
The course of the disease is similar to that of herpes labialis: the small and annoying bubbles burst, turning into shallow ulcerations, which heal without leaving obvious marks within two or three weeks. Local pain and itching may however persist even for a month after the disappearance of the vesicles.
Compared to herpes labialis, this type of infection is however more subject to complications, especially following the first episode that we have seen to be generally more acute and painful than the subsequent ones. Fever, headache, muscle pain, difficulty and pain when urinating can in fact accompany the first clinical manifestation of the disease.
Sometimes genital herpes can affect the eyes resulting in even more rare cases severe visual disturbances up to complete blindness. Women run a greater risk of suffering these complications than men who are also less prone to recurrent infections.
Chronic herpes
The episodes following the first are generally less intense and infrequent:
after the first massive infection the herpes virus is forced to take refuge in the nerve ganglia where antibodies and medicines cannot reach it. The virus remains so latent waiting for a decline in immune defenses. As soon as these are lowered the herpes comes out in the open unleashing a new attack.
Traveling through the peripheral nervous system, the virus will thus trigger a new acute manifestation in the vicinity of the area previously affected. This time, however, the immune system, although debilitated, will be more effective in fighting infection thanks to previously developed antibodies.
Symptoms
Symptoms of chronic manifestations include itching, pain and burning in the genital or anal area. Thanks to these occurrences the individual acquires a form of immunological resistance that will make him less and less susceptible to new episodes of genital herpes. Thanks to this adaptation process it can happen that the virus is reactivated without causing appreciable symptoms. In this case, small amounts of viruses can be found near the site of the first infection, in genital fluids or in small, barely visible wounds (often only a slight local redness can be seen). Asymptomatic infection is potentially dangerous because it considerably increases the risk of sexual infection.
Video
Genital Herpes - Video: Causes Symptoms Diagnosis Cures
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Genital herpes is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases. People with genital herpes can easily transmit the disease to their sexual partner.
The herpes simplex infection can occur through the exchange of organic fluids even in the asymptomatic phase of the disease, often unknown to the infected person.
This eventuality, even if possible, is quite rare and the infection is transmitted more easily through direct contact between the bubble and a mucous membrane that receives it. Infrequently, genital herpes infection can also be transmitted through the common use of items such as towels, sheets or toilets.
