GENITAL HERPES

What is it?
It is a recurring skin condition caused by a virus. The virus causes sores on the mouth, vulva, penis, scrotum, anus, buttocks, or thighs.

How you get it
Genital herpes is passed from an infected person through direct skin-to-skin contact.

How you know you have it?
You can experience very mild or no symptoms and not realize that they have the virus. Others can get sores, blisters, cuts, pimples, bumps, or rashes that may itch, burn, or ooze. The symptoms can go away on their own, but the virus is still in the body. Some people might only ever get one outbreak of genital herpes, for other people sores may reappear throughout their life. It can affect both men and women.

How to test for it ?
Your doctor may be able to see genital herpes sores during an exam, but may also want to swab them to confirm that it is herpes. This test may be available at major laboratories e.g. AKUH.

How to treat it?
There is no cure for herpes. People can take medicines to help them heal faster and have fewer outbreaks. Even when the sores go away, you should still tell a doctor about it.

What it can do to you?
Most genital herpes infections do not cause long-term harm in either women or men. However, it does put people with herpes at an increased risk for contracting other STD infections, or skin sores.