Wednesday, June 25, 2008

How Do I Know If I Have Genital Herpes?

Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease that is passed on from one person to another through sexual contact. As well, if a mother has genital lesions when giving birth, herpes can be passed down to her baby.

For the purposes of this article, I want to shed some light on some of the signs that usually come with genital herpes. It is important to note that there are no known cures for this disease, but only herpes treatments. Also, the disease is viral, meaning that it spread virally even when there are no outward manifestations of the disease.

Okay, let's get started. How do you know if you have herpes? Look for these warning signs:

* Your skin around the genitals are itchy or tingly.
* A number of blister-like sores show up around the genital areas, or any skin to skin contact area - rectum, genitals, nipples.
* These lesions and sores are fluid filled that break open and then crust over and usually last 1-3 weeks.
* When you urinate there is a burning sensation that causes discomfort.
* Your glands in the groin area are swollen and tender.
* Symptoms appear usually 2 days to 3 weeks after sexual contact with a person who has herpes, but may take weeks, months, or years to appear if the herpes is dormant.
* Flare ups of genital herpes can vary from person to person. It can be monthly for some people, yearly for others.

These symptoms can come and go. When a outbreak of lesions does occur, there are natural herpes treatments that can and will reduce the soreness of the lesions, and well as speed up the healing process.

It is also important to remember that stress, a poor diet, a lot of sun exposure, an illness, pregnancy, your menstrual cycle, can all cause the flare up of herpes.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

What Is The Best Herpes Treatment?

What is the best herpes treatment? Although there is no cure for herpes disease, there are treatments to reduce the flare ups and to manage the disease. What you will want to do is try different herpes treatments to see which one works best for you. The key is finding what works for your body and your disease. What works for one person may not work as good for you, and conversely, what works for you may not work for another person. What you will want is to find a solution that reduced the herpes symptoms and speeds up the healing.

During the initial outbreak your herpes seems to be at its worst. The symptoms tend to be less and time moves on. However, times of high stress or physical exhaustion can reduce your immune system and cause your outbreaks to be severe again.

There are two main categories of herpes treatment - conventional and natural remedies. Let's start with the first.

Conventional medicines are anti viral medications that are prescribed to reduce your symptoms and to prevent future flare ups. Valtrex is one such anti viral prescription. You can get your medication in a spray or cream that puts a topical cover over the lesion area. As well, over-the-counter pain medications can help during severe flare ups to offer you relief.

Natural remedies like the famous Herpeset offers a lot of benefits and the biggest one is that you don't get any of the side effects that you may get with medication. The use of nutritional products and supplements can also reduce your herpes symptoms and speed up the healing process.

One supplement to your diet that is used is amino acid lysine. Natural herbal therapies can boost the immune system to fight off your flare ups and to prevent you from further outbreaks.

Because a severe flare up can be so painful, it is important to keep your skin clean and dry. As well, you may want to soak the infected area in a salt bath. This will sooth the infected area. Also, putting ice to the lesion can numb the area and provide you with pain relief. If you do get a fever, drink plenty of water. As well, if your lesions are inside the urethra, drinking a lot of water can help reduce pain when you urine.

Both conventional and natural remedies should be sought after to see what works best for you. Scientists continue to search for a cure and vaccine. The key is maintaining a strong immune system by keeping your stress level low, eat a balanced diet with lots of nutrients, and get enough sleep.

Herpes - Herpes Treatment

Let us start off with Genital Herpes - What exactly is it?

Genital Herpes is one of five viruses from the herpesvirus group that are pathogenic to humans.

Simply, genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that is caused by the herpes virus. Because it is sexually transmitted, it is spread from person to person only by sexual contact. It may be spread orally, vaginally, or by anal. It is not transmitted by toilets, swimming pools, or breathing. The diseased is characterized by the outbreaks of fluid-filled painful blisters in the genital area.

The word "herpes" in the original greek, herpestes, means "creeping." This word refers to the creeping snake-like pattern that herpes forms and spreads.

Technically, virus type 2 of Herpes Simplex is the cause of genital herpes. Virus type 1 produces cold sores of herpes.

The bad news is that once you come into sexual contact with someone who has genital herpes and you get it, the virus will remain for the remainder of your life. The good news is that your herpes may be dormant for years without any outbreaks. When a flare up does occur, there are now medical treatments available to help. And, some people only get one flare up during their entire lifespan and herpes remains dormant for the rest of their life.

What To Do During A Genital Herpes Flare Up -

Because the initial flare up can be mild, many people do not even realize what is going on with their bodies and the herpes is completely ignored. The second flare up is usually much more severe and can happen days, months, or even years after the initial flare up. There are a number of symptoms and they include sores on the genitals, muscle ache, and fever. Women may also have genital sores inside the genitalia. When a severe outbreak of herpes does occur, it can be quite painful in the anal and genitals area.

Genital Herpes Treatment

It is important to follow your doctors advice with the anti viral medication. This medication will reduce the intensity of the outbreak, and will also reduce how long it lasts. This article is not meant to give medical advice, and it is best to always consult your doctor with any of your concerns.