Herpes in the Intimate Zone: Symptoms, Treatment and Consequences

Herpes is a fairly common viral disease that can affect almost all organ systems, often diagnosed and treatable with difficulty. Herpes in the intimate zone is very common, although many people prefer to silence this problem.

• Causes
• Symptoms
• Features of the current in women
• Peculiarities of the course in men
• Diagnostics
• Primary infection: what to do
• Treatment of herpes in the intimate area
• Medication
• Treatment at home with folk remedies
• Features of treatment during pregnancy
• Treatment of newborns
• Effects
• Probable consequences of herpes during pregnancy
• Prevention

Causes

Herpes is a contagious disease, most often it is transmitted from one person to another during unprotected sex. Transmission of infection is possible with any kind of sex, with oral, including if the infected partner has herpes rashes on the lips or in the mouth.

It is also possible to transfer the virus from your own lips affected by the disease, if you touch your genitals after touching or combing them.

There were cases of infection through contacts with discharge of patients, especially it is possible when visiting doctors - venereologists or gynecologists, inadequate level of processing of medical instruments.

To children at birth, herpes can be transmitted from the mother, often it becomes congenital, the person is persecuted for a lifetime by relapses of the disease.

Important!It is possible to get infected from a partner, even if the manifestations of the disease are invisible. The reasons for the occurrence of herpes on the lips can be found in our article.

Symptoms

Symptoms of herpes can be like the symptoms of other diseases, so when diagnosing it is important not to hide details about the possible infection.

With primary infection, symptoms are always more pronounced than with subsequent relapses of the disease. After infection within a week, there may be a general malaise, an increase in body temperature, may shiver.

A more typical symptom is a rash in the form of inflamed fluid-filled vesicles on the genitals, in exceptional cases - on the inside of the thighs or buttocks. After a short time, usually 3-4 days, the vesicles burst, there are merging sores. A man with sores is contagious for another two weeks.

Additional symptoms, sometimes interfering with correct diagnosis:

• edema, cracks in the mucous in intimate places;
• low back pain;
• unpleasant sensations in the back, in the lower abdomen;
• itching, foci of redness.

Often allergic reactions, too, interfere with the diagnosis.

Features of the current in women

Symptomatic of herpes in women is usually more pronounced. More noticeable symptoms of general malaise, the appearance of rashes accompanied by severe swelling and severity. Women often have itching.

During sexual intercourse, bleeding may appear, they become much more painful. In addition to the vulva, the vaginal mucosa, the cervix, the urethra, the surface of the hips and buttocks can be affected with herpes.

With the course of the disease, lymph nodes can become inflamed, problems with the bladder may appear.

Peculiarities of the course in men

In men, the average herpes is less painful than that of women. Rashes are localized on the penis, rarely go beyond it. Inflammatory processes are usually accompanied by difficulty urinating.

Important!If these symptoms occur, you should immediately consult a doctor.

Diagnostics

When diagnosing herpes, the description of external manifestations is not enough, it is necessary to conduct a number of studies, since similar symptoms occur in other viral infections and diseases.

Usually the following analysis is required:

• a swab from the genitals or rashes (if any);
• Carrying out PCR from materials obtained with the help of a smear.

The result of such an analysis is very precise, there is no reason to doubt it after it.

It is best to consult a doctor and take an analysis at the stage of rash formation, when the rash becomes a sore, additional expensive studies may be required.

Important!For a correct diagnosis, you should consult a doctor with the appearance of the first symptoms.

Primary infection: what to do

First of all, you need to see a doctor as soon as the first signs of infection appear. Women should go to the gynecologist, men - to the urologist or the venereologist.

It is best to start treatment before the appearance of serious rashes, run until the formation of ulcers is strictly not recommended. The emerging vesicles can not be combed and opened, this will only lead to the spread of infection.

Important!Treatment of herpes on the lips at home we described in another our article.

During the illness you need to carefully monitor your personal hygiene. After visiting the toilet and touching the genitals, you should definitely wash your hands, otherwise you can transfer the infection to your face, infect the mucous eye or mouth.

During the acute stage with the appearance of a rash and sores, it is necessary to exclude any sexual contacts, a period of at least 14-20 days. At this time, the virus is active and easily transmitted to partners.

In the acute period should avoid ultraviolet rays, so do not appear on the beach or in the solarium. It is better not to be exposed to excessive intense effects.

For better and speedy healing of sores, you should wear cotton underwear, allowing air and absorbing excreta.

Important!Failure to comply with the rules can seriously interfere with the recovery process.

Treatment of herpes in the intimate area

To treat herpes in the intimate zone is quite difficult, relapses can happen constantly, finally the virus is not excreted from the body. Therefore, after a single case, as a rule, you need to monitor yourself all your life.

Medication

Treatment for genital herpes is aimed at healing the formed rashes and sores, eliminating pain and reducing the frequency of recurrence of the disease. Most often, the following antiviral drugs interfere with the synthesis of viral DNA:

• Acyclovir (Vectavit, Cimeven);
• Famciclovir (Famir).

These drugs are used in the form of tablets, the intensive course lasts one to two weeks, depending on the severity of the lesion. Exact dates and dosages are selected by the doctor individually for each case.

If the recurrence of the virus happens very often, to strengthen the effects of drugs prescribed vaccine (Gerpovaks), it is administered on average once every six months.

The reception of tablets is usually accompanied by the use of external drugs (for example, Zovirax), agents for immunotherapy (Kagocel, Metiluratsil) and vitamins of group C.

Important!Prescribe drugs can only a specialist.

Treatment at home with folk remedies

Self-treatment with herpes is not recommended, without special medication a good result is not achieved. But home and folk remedies will help to increase immunity, improve the body's resistance and reduce pain, which will contribute to a speedy recovery.

They raise immunity and help recovery a variety of broths and infusions from medicinal plants. For example:

1. Infusion of echinacea. Sold in the pharmacy. With herpes you need to take no more than two teaspoons per glass of water, take once a day. The main thing is to see that there is no allergy to this plant.
2. Tincture of calendula. Calendula - marigold - a plant that helps alleviate the course of many skin diseases, has an anti-inflammatory effect. The tincture is prepared as follows: two tablespoons of flowers are poured with 100 grams of vodka and infused for two weeks. Take tincture of 20 drops a couple of times a day.
3. Tea from a chemist's daisy. You need to buy dried chamomile in ready-made bags, one should be brewed for a quarter of an hour. Drink a couple of times a day to maintain immunity.

In genital herpes it is better to refrain from using external folk remedies, since the mucosa is very sensitive to allergens and other irritants.

Important!When there is an allergy to medicinal herbs from folk treatment should be discarded.

Features of treatment during pregnancy

Treatment of herpes in pregnant women differs little from conventional treatment. The basic subtleties depend on whether there will be a relapse before the birth itself. If the presence of an active virus is established during the PCR test, then natural birth should be discarded and carried through the caesarean section.

Natural births with antiseptic treatment of the birth canal with iodine, vocadin or other substances are also possible, however, cesarean is preferable and safer for the child.

Treatment of newborns

If, during childbirth, the child still becomes infected from the mother, it should be urgently started therapy, as the newborn has a danger of getting a brain injury.

Symptoms of infection become apparent after 7-15 days after delivery. Newborns develop rashes in the form of vesicles on the mucous membranes, skin, conjunctiva, passing through the week.

Brain damage is possible, so treatment should be started as quickly as possible. Antibiotics, stimulants of the immune system (Cytotec), drugs that improve the nutrition of the brain (Actovegin) are prescribed.

With all the recommendations of a doctor, the probability of a successful outcome is great.

Effects

Herpes in any form never leaves the body completely, relapses will occur from time to time. Therefore, the main consequence is a constant control of one's own condition and periodically forced medication.

Also this disease greatly reduces immunity, which will negatively affect people with already low immunity, can provoke frequent illnesses.

Infection can be asymptomatic, especially for relapses of the disease, so a person can pass it on to their partners without even knowing it.

The greatest danger in terms of consequences is genital herpes in pregnant women.

Probable consequences of herpes during pregnancy

Herpes during pregnancy is a danger not only for women, but for her unborn child. During the period of gestation, the course of the disease should be constantly monitored. It is proved that a viral infection can lead to fetal deformities and other abnormalities.

Probable complications that are caused by herpes are not so many, but their consequences can be fatal.

1. Frozen pregnancy, when the fetus stops developing in the first trimester.
2. Miscarriage.
3. Birth before the term.
4. Stillbirth.

In the future child, maternal herpes can be affected as follows:

• heart defects;
• defeat of the central nervous system;
• delay in development;
• jaundice;
• blindness, deafness;
• micro- or hydrocephalus;
• epilepsy;
• other developmental anomalies.

It is worth considering that the probability of infection of a child in the womb is extremely small. Usually a newborn is infected with this viral disease during childbirth, passing through the birth canal and coming into contact with the genitals of the mother.

Even being sick with the herpes virus, many mothers give birth to quite healthy children. The most dangerous is only primary infection during pregnancy. If during the whole gestation to observe the doctor and observe all the prescriptions, the child will be born healthy, the virus will not affect it in any way.

Prevention

Prophylaxis of herpes in intimate places is simple, simple rules will help to protect yourself from unpleasant diagnosis and constant treatment.

1. The most important thing is protection. It has been proven that the use of condoms during sexual intercourse significantly reduces the risk of contracting herpes and other, even more serious infections.
2. If the partner has a recurrent herpes, for periods of exacerbations lasting about three weeks, you should give up sexual intercourse.
3. If the herpes has arisen on the lips or other parts of the body, after touching them, you must definitely wash your hands.

It is worth remembering that the probability of contracting herpes through towels or toilet seat is very small, the virus almost immediately dies in the external environment. Therefore, the main source of infection is direct contact with a sick person.