Symptoms

• small blisters that burst to leave red, open sores around your genitals, anus, thighs or bottom
• tingling, burning or itching around your genitals
• pain when you pee
• in women, vaginal discharge that is not usual for you

These can be symptoms of genital herpes and you should see a doctor even if you have not had sex for a long time, as blisters can take months or years to appear. 

Diagnosis

The doctor at the hospital will:

• ask about your symptoms and your sexual partners
• use a small cotton bud (swab) to take some fluid from 1 of your blisters or sores for testing

The test cannot:

• be done if you do not have visible blisters or sores
• tell you how long you have had herpes or who you got it from

Symptoms might not appear for weeks or even years after you are infected with the herpes virus.

If you have genital herpes, your previous sexual partners should get tested.

The doctor at the hospital can discuss this with you and help you tell your partners without letting them know it is you who has the virus.

Causes

There are two types of herpes simplex virus infections that can cause genital herpes and they include; HSV-1 and HSV-2.

Genital herpes is very easy to pass on (contagious) from the first tingling or itching of a new outbreak (before any blisters appear) to when sores have fully healed. You may also be able to pass on the virus even if you do not have any symptoms.

You can get genital herpes:

• from skin-to-skin contact with the infected area (including vaginal, anal and oral sex)
• when there are no visible sores or blisters
• if a cold sore touches your genitals
• by transferring the infection on fingers from someone else to your genitals
• by sharing sex toys with someone who has herpes

Because the virus dies quickly outside of the body, it is nearly impossible to get the infection through contact with toilets, towels or other objects used by an infected person.

Prevention

You can reduce the chances of passing herpes on by:

• using a condom every time you have vaginal, anal or oral sex – but herpes can still be passed on if the condom does not cover the infected area
• avoiding vaginal, anal or oral sex if you or your partner has blisters or sores, or a tingle or itch that means an outbreak is coming
• not sharing sex toys – if you do, wash them and put a condom on them

Typical treatment

There is no cure. Symptoms clear up by themselves, but the blisters can come back (an outbreak or recurrence). 

Treatment the first time you have genital herpes

You may be prescribed antiviral medicine to stop the symptoms getting worse – you need to start taking this within 5 days of the symptoms appearing and apply cream for the pain. If you have had symptoms for more than 5 days before you go to a doctor, you can still get tested to find out the cause.

Treatment if the blisters come back

Go to a doctor if you have been diagnosed with genital herpes and need treatment for an outbreak. Antiviral medicine may help shorten an outbreak by 1 or 2 days if you start taking it as soon as symptoms appear. But outbreaks usually settle by themselves, so you may not need treatment. Recurrent outbreaks are usually milder than the first episode of genital herpes. Over time, outbreaks tend to happen less often and be less severe. Some people never have outbreaks. Some people who have more than 6 outbreaks in a year may benefit from taking antiviral medicine for 6 to 12 months. If you still have outbreaks of genital herpes during this time, you may be referred to a specialist.

Conclusion

The prognosis of genital herpes is variable: there is no cure, and the recurrent outbreaks may vary in frequency and severity. Genital herpes prevention is difficult. Condoms may prevent the disease spread during sex, but not in areas of skin not covered by a condom or during oral to genital contact.