Genital Herpes is something you may not discuss with your friends, however, it is a viral infection that is spreading very fast, with about one million new cases per year. In the US it is estimated that fifty million people are infected with genital herpes, making it a lot more common than most know it to be.
Receiving the diagnosis of genital herpes can be emotionally challenging with emotions of shame and isolation. And how does one date when having herpes?
Rest assured, that even though Herpes is a life long infection, you are far from alone.
Genital herpes infections occur in about one of every four women in the United States. Men have a slightly lower rate at approximately one in every five men. That means we have about 50 million individuals in the US with genital herpes. That number is rising quickly with an estimated one million new cases per year.
It is the most prevalent viral sexually transmitted disease. Of all these millions of cases, only about 20% are aware, or have been diagnosed with herpes. That means that 80% of those infected with the herpes virus are possibly infecting their partners.
It is a misconception that the disease is only infectious during an outbreak. While it is more contagious when blisters are present, the disease can be transmitted even when there are no symptoms at all.
After the initial episode, those infected with HSV-2 have an 80% rate of reoccurrence. Infections caused by HSV-1 have a lot lower risk of reoccurrence -about 50% will have a reoccurrence with 4-5 outbreaks per year being the average number.
While it can be tempting to self diagnose, using pictures found on the internet as a comparison, Herpes should be diagnosed by an experienced clinician utilizing proper testing.
Receiving the diagnosis of genital herpes can be emotionally challenging with emotions of shame and isolation. And how does one date when having herpes?
Rest assured, that even though Herpes is a life long infection, you are far from alone.
Genital herpes infections occur in about one of every four women in the United States. Men have a slightly lower rate at approximately one in every five men. That means we have about 50 million individuals in the US with genital herpes. That number is rising quickly with an estimated one million new cases per year.
It is the most prevalent viral sexually transmitted disease. Of all these millions of cases, only about 20% are aware, or have been diagnosed with herpes. That means that 80% of those infected with the herpes virus are possibly infecting their partners.
It is a misconception that the disease is only infectious during an outbreak. While it is more contagious when blisters are present, the disease can be transmitted even when there are no symptoms at all.
After the initial episode, those infected with HSV-2 have an 80% rate of reoccurrence. Infections caused by HSV-1 have a lot lower risk of reoccurrence -about 50% will have a reoccurrence with 4-5 outbreaks per year being the average number.
While it can be tempting to self diagnose, using pictures found on the internet as a comparison, Herpes should be diagnosed by an experienced clinician utilizing proper testing.
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What Does Herpes Look Like in addition to Female Symptoms Herpes are some frequent queries about herpes. Find more information about Herpes by clicking the links.
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