Stages of Herpes – Everything You Need to Know!

Herpes is a condition that causes painful sores and blisters. A kind of herpes called herpes simplex causes cold sores around the mouth and around the genital parts. On the other hand, herpes zoster causes shingles and chicken pox.

Genital herpes can be transmitted easily through breaks in the skin as well as the skin of the mouth, vagina, penis, cervix, anus and urinary tract opening. It can be spread any time even when an infected person has no symptoms of herpes.

Usually, genital herpes is transmitted from one individual to another through having sex, which includes oral sex. In addition, herpes can be spread from one part of the body to another such as from genitals to fingers, to eyes and to other parts of the body. Herpes is also possible to be transmitted from a mother to the baby when giving birth.

It is best to see a doctor as soon as you feel that you have herpes. The virus is a lot easier to recognize when there are blisters and sores. This way, you can begin with the treatment as soon as possible to prevent pain due to the infection.

When you are infected with the virus, you will experience different stages of herpes. These stages of herpes include primary, latent, shedding stages of herpes and recurrences of herpes outbreaks.

Primary stages of herpes commonly start two to eight days after the beginning of the infection. Most of the time, the virus infection can cause groups of small and painful blisters with cloudy or clear fluid inside. The areas beneath the blisters are red in color. These blisters open easily, which result to open sores. Aside from having tender sores or blisters in the genital area, difficulty in urinating may be experienced. Fever and other flu-like signs are also symptoms of herpes. Some people can have painful primary stage of herpes while others do not have symptoms, which is why some people may not know they are infected.

During the latent stages of herpes, there will be no sores, blisters and other symptoms. The latent stage is when the virus travels from the skin to the nerves close to the spine.

Shedding stages of herpes is when the virus multiplies in the nerves, where it can get into the body fluids including saliva, vaginal fluids or semen. During this stage, there are no symptoms involved but herpes virus can easily spread at this time.

Most people may experience sores and blisters that can come back after the initial herpes attack disappears. This is known as the recurrence of herpes, where the symptoms are not as bad as the signs during the initial attack.

The feeling of being tired or being sick and stressed is the beginning of a recurrence. Having a menstrual period or being in the sun can cause recurrence. A person may know when a recurrence is going to happen when a feeling of tingling, pain or itching is experienced in the parts of the body that are infected first.

During the first outbreak of herpes, you the doctor may recommend certain medications to be taken for extended time especially if the symptoms are severe.