What is Herpes?
Herpes is a common viral infection. It causes oral herpes - cold sores or fever blisters,
and genital herpes - genital sores or sores usually below the waist.
There are two herpes simplex viruses:
•
Herpes Simplex Type 1 (HSV-1)
•
Herpes Simplex Type 2 (HSV-2)
These viruses look identical under the microscope, and either type can infect the mouth or genitals. Most commonly, however, HSV-1 occurs above the waist, and HSV-2 below.
The body's natural defense system is called the "Immune Responses". Whenever herpes attacks the immune system, the body fights back against this menace. As the battle grows more intense, there are heavy losses by both the herpes virus and the immune system. This causes the body to be less able to defend itself from attacks by other viruses. For those very reasons, a herpes patient should try to keep the herpes virus under control at all times.
There are two widespread attitudes about herpes:
Herpes does not effect any other part of the body.
There is nothing I can do to keep from having an outbreak.
Both attitudes are wrong!
Remember...
You are not alone. Herpes is estimated to affect some 80 million people in America. At least one in five adults in the United States has genital herpes.
At least one in four teenage American girls between 14 - 19 years of age has a sexually transmitted disease, suggests a CDC study that startled some adolescent-health experts. 2% have herpes.
In the study mentioned above, only about half of the teenage girls admitted to having sex. Some teens defined sex as intercourse only, not including other types of intimate behavior such as oral sex, which can also spread diseases, herpes included. An alarming 40% of those who admitted to having sex, had an STD!
Get more information. The better informed you are about herpes, the easier it will be to manage.
Give yourself the best possible chance to limit recurrences by maintaining general good health and keeping stress to a minimum.
Take care of the affected skin area. Keep the area dry and clean during outbreaks to help healing.
Avoid physical contact with the area from the time of the first symptoms (tingling, itching, burning) until all sores are completely healed, not just scabbed-over. Also be aware of possible shedding or "asymptomatic transmission", even after the sores have healed.
Use Condoms! When properly used, latex condoms help reduce your risk of spreading or getting herpes.
Prevent self-infection to other areas of your body. Wash your hands with soap and water if you touch a sore. Better yet, don't touch the sores.
Prospective parents: If either mother or father has genital herpes, or any of the mother's or father's previous sexual partners had genital herpes, tell your doctor about it.
Women with genital herpes: Don't skip your annual Pap smear.
Inform yourself about herpes. For many, diagnosis with herpes can mean a time of confusion, anger, fear and frustration. For many, it seems there is no place to turn for help in dealing with the sensitive aspects of herpes infection. There is help available.
Increase your intake of L-Lysine and decrease the amount of arginine in your diet.
Herpes may play a role in the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Herpes can make people more susceptible to HIV infection, and it can make HIV-infected individuals more infectious.
