Friday, June 12, 2009

Managing Initial Genital Herpes Outbreaks

By Sandra Griggs

Genital herpes outbreaks can happen as an initial attack or as a recurrent condition. Here are the common symptoms associated with first genital herpes outbreaks.

First genital herpes outbreaks happen in people who have never shown previous exposure to the herpes simplex virus. The symptoms during a first attack are usually the most fatal because the body does not have any defense against the herpes virus.

In initial genital herpes outbreaks, the human body responds to an attack by sending antibodies to fight the virus. Specific immune cells and antibodies that are currently in the body are capable of pinpointing and regulating the virus. Sadly, the antibodies do not totally eliminate the virus from the immune system, which explains why the virus remains permanently in the body once infected.

When antibodies have been produced, you can relatively expect milder genital herpes outbreaks. As years continue to pass, you can expect gradual disappearance or no recurrences of outbreaks.

At the conclusion of initial exposure, the symptoms of genital herpes outbreaks will appear in 2 to 12 days. But it would take several days, weeks, years, or months for any symptom to manifest itself.

Since the duration and severity of genital herpes outbreaks may vary from one person to another, it is difficult to determine the time and the carrier of the virus. Some people may have mild manifestations of the STD. In other people, the outbreak can be severe while in others there may be zero manifestations at all.

You may feel the following symptoms during first genital herpes outbreaks:

* Flu, fever, muscle pains

* In an initial exposure, blisters are more likely to appear, particularly in women. They vary in size and may be located in various areas, such as genitals, thighs, buttocks, and around the anus.

* There is also tenderness, itchiness, and pain in the affected part.

* Swelling in the infected area which is normal because of the body's response to the virus.

* Swelling in the lymph nodes of the groin area, which is another normal reaction of the body to the virus.

* In women, there is cervical infection in 80% to 90% of initial outbreaks and there is likewise a vaginal discharge.

In the absence of treatment, initial genital herpes outbreaks can take up to 3 to 4 weeks but in most patients, the symptoms are gone in 2 to 12 days. If you think that there are symptoms of genital herpes outbreaks, see your doctor immediately.

Fortunately, new procedures have been developed for evaluating initial genital herpes outbreaks. At present, there is no evidence on the effectiveness of Famvir in treating genital herpes outbreaks.

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