More and more (young) people have a sexually transmitted disease (STD). A common STD is genital herpes, an STD that will never go away. This article therefore focuses on this STD. Questions answered are: how do you recognize herpes? complaints of herpes, and the treatment of herpes.
This article focuses on the points below. Click on the link to jump directly to this chapter.
- What is herpes?
- How do you recognize herpes
- Complaints of herpes
- The treatment of herpes
What is herpes?
Herpes has two forms: herpes in the form of a cold sore, a common form, and herpes genitalis, herpes of the genitals. In this article we will discuss genital herpes. Herpes is a viral infection. Once you have herpes, in the form of a cold sore or genital herpes, herpes on the genitals, this virus will always be with you. This does not mean that you will always have blisters and experience pain. It actually works the same as a flu or a cold, including viruses. If you have reduced resistance, a lot of stress or an unhealthy lifestyle, this virus will reappear. You may not have been bothered by the virus for years, but some people suffer from this every month.
How do you recognize herpes
Genital herpes can actually be recognized in the same way as a cold sore, you get one or more blisters on or around the genitals. These blisters cause an itchy, burning sensation and are very contagious. When the blisters dry out, they often turn brown and fall off on their own, just like a cold sore. If you scratch a blister it is very contagious. If you touch your eye or a wound, there is a good chance that you will also get a blister there.
Complaints of herpes
Complaints of herpes include an itchy and burning sensation. This is often an omen. Subsequently, blisters will appear that are very itchy and irritated. These blisters can make urination very painful and your underwear very chafing. Because herpes is very contagious, you can easily transfer this virus to another place on the body. A common place is the eye.
The treatment of herpes
As already mentioned, herpes is a virus. The virus will always be present in your body and can appear when resistance is reduced. So you will never get rid of herpes completely. However, there are ways to quickly stop an attack.
First of all, it is important not to touch the blisters too much. When these open, healing takes longer and it is also very contagious. The key word in treatment is dehydration. The blisters must dry out. To speed up this process, zinc ointment or sudocreme is recommended. There are people who use toothpaste to dry out the blisters, but this does sting. Honey also works well against herpes. It is important to wear loose clothing and, if possible, not to wear underwear to avoid irritation.
If you suffer a lot from herpes you can get a treatment, this does not work for everyone and does not work forever. The doctor can also give you anesthetic ointment to reduce your pain.