Genital herpes is a type of sexually transmitted disease that is fairly common in the United States.
According to recent surveys, there are about 45 million people aged 12 and older who are infected with this virus.
Public health education and the latest developments in medicine have helped pull this number down over the past decade.
Interestingly, this infection is more prevalent in females than in males probably because there is a higher possibility of male-to-female transmission than the other way around.
How does one get it? The genital herpes virus can be transmitted through contact with the infected area as in the case of sexual intercourse.
The virus is usually released from the herpes sores or through outbreaks from the skin even when a sore is not present.
This is why there are many individuals who are not even aware that they have herpes and they are already spreading the virus around.
Signs and symptoms As earlier mentioned, there are many cases where in the individual is completely unaware that he is infected because herpes may not manifest physical symptoms.
But in cases where one experiences the symptoms during the first outbreak, these conditions can be quite pronounced and bring on a lot of discomfort.
The most common signs are the fever blisters that appear on the infected area.
Some also experience flu-like symptoms such as fever and swollen lymph nodes.
The gravity of the condition varies across different individuals, however.
Some are lucky enough to only experience milder symptoms such as minor rashes that are usually mistaken for insect bites.
Diagnosis Because the signs and symptoms can differ, it is a bit difficult to diagnose genital herpes through mere visual inspection.
The health care provider will probably need to examine a sample from the sore at a laboratory.
Blood tests may also be conducted for this purpose.