Question

What is genital herpes?

Answer 1

The term sexually transmitted disease or STD is used to define a condition transmitted from one person to another via sexual contact. A person can get an STD by having vaginal, anal, or oral sex without any protection with someone who has the STD. An STD may also be called a sexually transmitted infection (STI) or venereal disease (VD).

Complete answer:
The herpes simplex virus, also referred to as HSV, is an infectious microorganism that causes herpes. Herpes can affect the different parts of the body, but mostly on the genital region or mouth.
Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted infection (STI). This STI causes herpetic blisters (fluid-filled bumps) or sores, which are painful in nature and can break open and give off fluid.
An STI not only spreads by only having unprotected sexual contact with the infected person but depending on the particular type of STD, infections may also be transmitted through sharing needles and breastfeeding. About 16 percent of the population between the ages of 14 and 49 years old have this disease.
The causes of genital herpes includes two types of herpes simplex virus that cause genital herpes:
(i) HSV-1 - usually causes cold sores.
(ii) HSV-2 - which usually is responsible for causing genital herpes.
The viruses enter into the body through mucous membranes. The mucous membranes are the thin layers of tissue that borders the openings of the body. They can be found in the nose, mouth, and genitals. Once the viruses are inside the body, they attach themselves with the cells of the body and then remain in the nerve cells of the pelvis. Viruses are supposed to reproduce or adjust according to their environments very easily, which makes treating them difficult.
HSV-1 or HSV-2 can be found in people’s bodily fluids like saliva, semen, and/or vaginal secretions.
Recognizing the symptoms of genital herpes is very important. The appearance of blisters is referred to as an outbreak. The first outbreak will appear as early as 2 days after getting the virus or as late as 30 days after that. The general symptoms in males include blisters on the penis, scrotum, buttocks, near or around the anus. General symptoms in females include blisters around or near the vagina, anus, and/or buttocks.
The medications include Antiviral drugs that may help increase the healing time of the sores and reduce pain. Medications may be taken at the initial signs of an outbreak i.e., tingling, itching, and other symptoms, to help lower the symptoms.

Note:
The herpes simplex virus is an infectious virus that can be transferred from one person to another via direct contact. Children will often get HSV-1 from contact with an adult who has an infection. They can carry the virus with them for the rest of their lives.