Medications may be used to control outbreaks. There is no cure for genital herpes. However, daily use of antiviral medications can prevent or shorten outbreaks. Antiviral medicines can also reduce your chance of infecting it to others.
There is no cure for genital herpes, but treatment can help. Self-care can ease symptoms and help sores heal. Medications can shorten an outbreak and also relieve symptoms. Oral herpes causes blisters, sometimes called febrile sores or cold sores, to form on or around the lips and mouth.
Although several clinical trials have tested vaccines against genital herpes, there is currently no vaccine available to prevent infection. Herpes can be transmitted when an infected person has lesions, blisters, and open sores on their body or when you don't have any symptoms. Research suggests that about 33% of people with oral herpes and 50% of those with genital herpes have recurring symptoms. Taking antiviral medications can help you reduce the risk of transmitting genital herpes to your sexual partners.
Taking these medications every day for longer periods of time can significantly reduce the risk of transmitting herpes to a partner, although it is still a possibility. When a person experiences a prodrome and suspects that a recurrence will occur, they begin taking antiherpetic medications that reduce symptoms and shorten the duration of the outbreak. Oral herpes is mainly caused by HSV-1, although it's also possible to have an HSV-2 infection around the mouth. Herpes medications may not work as well in patients who are very immunosuppressed and have been treated with these medications for a long time.
There is no cure for herpes, but treatment can help control symptoms and reduce the chance that outbreaks will recur and be transmitted to a partner. Pregnant women with genital herpes should discuss this with their antenatal care provider, as herpes infection can be transmitted to the baby during pregnancy and delivery and cause serious illness. Recurrent genital herpes is most common in the first year after the initial infection and decreases as time goes on. If you are starting a new relationship and you know that you have a herpes simplex infection, you should let your partner tell you before having sex.
Because a person may not have symptoms even if they have herpes, it can be difficult to know when to see a doctor for diagnosis and treatment. Remember that herpes transmission can occur when there are symptoms (such as a sore or blister), but it can also occur even if there are no genital symptoms due to asymptomatic viral spread. The herpes virus is transmitted through skin-to-skin contact and can be transmitted during vaginal, oral, or anal sex.
