Genital herpes is an infectious disease of a viral nature. The disease has been known since antiquity and is fairly well understood. The causative agent is a virus with tropism and the ability to infect the skin with nearby nerve nodes (ganglia). The Latin name for the pathogen is HERPES ZOSTER, which roughly translates from Greek as “creeping”. And indeed, rashes characteristic of herpes, as it were, are spreading over the skin and mucous membranes of the body. There are two varieties of the virus: type 1 causes periodic rashes, mainly on the lips and upper half of the body, transmitted by airborne droplets. The virus of the second type, which causes genital herpes, is localized mainly on the genitals and has a sexual transmission path. Once infected, a person remains a carrier of infection for life. In an inactive form, the virus persists in the sacral nerve plexus. Under the influence of various adverse factors, such as overcooling, or vice versa, overheating of the body, decreased immunity, colds, the virus activates and causes an exacerbation of the process, characterized by rashes of small vesicles filled with watery contents. Bubbles soon burst and in their place, especially in the folds of the skin of the inguinal region, painful sores form.
Genital herpes in itself is not a life-threatening disease, but can cause a lot of trouble, especially for women. The fact is that genital herpes is very dangerous during pregnancy. Doctors have proven that in half the cases of the formed phenomenon of “habitual miscarriage”, when a woman cannot endure pregnancy and quickly loses her fetus, genital herpes is the culprit.
Another insidious feature of the disease with genital herpes is that the process can be asymptomatic, that is, without visible rashes, but simply with the release of the virus on the mucous membranes of the vagina or glans penis. In this case, the person may not even know that he is infected, but the pathogen transmitted to the partner may well cause the symptoms of the disease.
The worst option is when the pregnant woman is unaware of the presence in her body of a virus that causes genital herpes, since it has powerful teratogenic (causing fetal malformations) properties. And if the infection of the unborn child occurred not in the early stages (it usually ends in a miscarriage) after conception, but after 20 weeks, then in 90% of cases children are born with severe intrauterine malformations: microcephaly (underdevelopment of the brain), lack of limbs or incomplete formation of internal organs (heart defects, gastrointestinal tract), as well as congenital cataract up to complete blindness.
Specifically, given the possible complications, especially for pregnant women, and even better only those planning a pregnancy, women must undergo a complete examination, including the presence in the body of a virus that causes genital herpes, even if there are no clinical manifestations of the disease.
If the patient has revealed genital herpes how to treat it, specialists usually do not have questions. Despite the fact that there is no specific medicine against the virus itself (as, incidentally, against other viruses), today there are antiviral drugs that can make it inactive for a long time and under their “cover” it is quite possible to bear and give birth to a healthy child .
Common practice is to treat both sexual partners at the same time, if they are permanent. But the most effective way to avoid the disease is, of course, prevention. In particular, using a condom will 100% protect against infection with a virus that can cause genital herpes.