|
Well I'm sure your familuar with the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words". The web is a great place to get questions like, "So what does herpes look like?", answered not only with descriptive words but with pictures also.
In fact there is a link to one such resource at the top of this article; a website designed to examine the question, "What does herpes look like", and many more questions that are on the minds of those who have contracted, or think they may have contracted, herpes.
Some studies suggest that your chances of contracting the herpes virus at some point in your life may be as high as 6:1. With the potential for 1 out of every 6 people living today at serious risk of contracting herpes, many people want to know just what does herpes look like? It might be helpful to first learn a little bit about the signs and symptoms of a herpes outbreak.
The first sign of an oral herpes outbreak is a tingling sensation followed by a reddening of the area. This then turns to a red spot or spots which become fluid filled blisters. Eventually these blisters break open and discharge a watery fluid. This fluid is teaming with millions of herpes virus cells consequently making this the most contagious period for passing the herpes virus on to others. You should avoid kissing if you or a loved one has an active herpes outbreak on the face or mouth.
Some of you may be thinking, "That's not herpes, it's just a cold sore!" Sorry to have to tell you this but a cold sore IS the herpes virus at work. Herpes Simplex Type 1 is the strain of the herpes virus that is generally known to infect the facial area of the body and is commonly refered to a cold sores.
In most cases, oral herpes or cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex 1 virus and genital herpes is caused by the herpes simplex 2 virus. However, you should be aware that oral herpes CAN be transferred to the genitals area and genital herpes CAN be transferred the mouth and facial area in rare cases.
Herpes sores found on the genitals and around the genital area are usually caused by the herpes simplex 2 type virus. There are specific Signs Symptoms of Genital Herpes but there are also a lot of differences in symptoms between individuals.
Most people realize something is definatly wrong the moment they have their first herpes outbreak. However, It is possible to have symptoms so mild that you don't even notice them at all unless they know exactly what to look for.
Before an outbreak, many people experience tingling, itchiness or burning in the genital area. Some experience nerve pain in the buttocks or down the leg. The actual sores associated with a herpes outbreak can be anywhere in size from 1 mm to greater than 2 cm in diameter. A specific location on the genitals may be raw, painful and or itchy.
Tiny blisters filled with a clear or whitish fluid that eventually burst, then scab over will usually appear very soon following the initial symptoms. These sores are not very deep but right on the skin’s surface.
Herpes Treatment
Although there is no know herpes treatments that are reconized by the medical community as an absolute 'cure' for either cold sores or genital herpes, some products DO hold more promise than others (And they are not always the ones put out buy the rich drug companies).
There are many over-the-counter topical treatments for cold sores and a handful of prescription drugs for treating genital herpes but all of them deliver mixed results at best.
To the best of my knowledge, there is only one non-prescription, topical treatment that has been reported to have good results in treating both cold sores and genital herpes alike with equal success.
I do not have time to go into a lot of details about herpes treatments in this article, but you can get more information about the topical treatment I mentioned above at their website, Choraphor.ws
We will be looking deeper into herpes treatments in future articles.
|
|
