When an outbreak of genital herpes occurs, the pain suffered from blisters tends to vary from person to person. Some people tend to have just a bump or a small tear in their skin. Some people will have painful blisters and will have them over their genital area, making it painful for them to shower or urinate. This area is called a prodome, which occurs when the area where the lesion is going to appear burns, tingles or stings. Genital herpes can also be confused with genital warts, thrush and razor burn. Herpes are usually white blisters or they initiate sores which come up to the skin, which then burst and go away. Most doctors can’t tell whether you have herpes just by looking at it, and so they should carry out a test to check that you have the disease. Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) which is caused by the HSV-1 or HSV-2 virus. Typically another outbreak will appear weeks or months after the first, but is almost always less severe and shorter than the first outbreak. Although the infection can remain in the body indefinitely, the number of outbreaks tends to decrease over a number of years. Genital herpes is quite common, with recent research showing that one in six people aged 14 to 49 in America have the disease. Generally, people can only get herpes when in sexual contact with someone who has the HSV-2 virus. HSV-1 can cause genital herpes, but it more commonly causes infections of the mouths and lips. Most people with the HSV-2 virus have no idea they have been infected. The first outbreak usually occurs within two weeks after the virus has been transmitted, and the sores will heal within two to four weeks. Fever and swollen glands are also potential symptoms.
