How Do You Know You Have Genital Herpes?

When you have genital herpes, the virus lies dormant in the nerve cell until it is triggered by either fatigue, menstruation, psychological stress, tiredness or injury to the affected area.
Usually the virus gets into your nerve cell through a broken skin or mucous membrane. Once triggered, it forms a blister.This could be the woman's cervix, vagina, penis or the anal area. It could easily be mistaken for an insect bite or a skin problem.

You may also experience itching around the infected area. Passing of urine also becomes painful once you get infected with genital herpes. You will notice a blister below the waist.
When the blister gets pricked, could be accidentally by something sharp, it leaves a tender ulcer. This heals without a scar within 7-14 days.

During the initial stage, you may experience the following;
- Headache
- Muscle ache
- Feeling some pressure below the stomach
- Vaginal discharge
- Swollen glands
- Pain in the legs
The above symptoms normally comes about two weeks after sexual intercourse with an infected partner.

You may seek medical attention though genital herpes has no cure. Your doctor should be able to advice you on the best cream to use in order to manage it.
It is IMPORTANT that you abstain from sexual intercourse if you know that you are infected. Once the infection is cleared, you can continue enjoying safe sex.

To avoid genital herpes, it is important that you stick to one faithful partner. Abstinence would be the best solution though!
Avoid sharing of bath towels and inner wear as this could also very quickly spread the virus. -Mercy Maranga