Herpes is a viral disease characterized by a variety of symptoms, a prolonged course with relapses and a high degree of contagiousness. In various forms, they suffer from a fairly large part of the population. Young people aged 30 to 35 have a higher incidence rate than the rest of the population.
How does herpes infection occur?
The herpetic virus is transmitted from person to person by contact. Infection occurs during sexual intercourse, with a kiss, with insufficient personal hygiene. Herpes of newborns is also distinguished, with which the child becomes infected by passing through the birth canal of a mother infected with herpes. The virus is transmitted regardless of the presence of obvious clinical manifestations, however, if they exist, the risk increases.
Herpes, symptoms and manifestations
The incubation period during infection is from 3 days to 2 weeks.
In the future, the precursors of the herpes disease follow, the symptoms of infection are manifested by general weakness, fever up to 38 ° C, painful enlargement of the inguinal lymph nodes, increased urination, and muscle pain. Infection can occur with intimate contacts. In the event that it is genital herpes, symptoms may appear on the genitals: itching, burning, pain. Sometimes the patient is sick, his head goes numb, his head hurts. All the symptoms of herpes disappear on their own as soon as a rash appears on the mucous membranes of the genitals (labia, vulva, clitoris, vagina, cervix). Small bubbles with fluid are felt in areas of the skin that are adjacent to the genitals. After a while, the contents of the vesicles become cloudy, they burst, and weeping sores are formed, covered with crusts. In uncomplicated cases, on the 5-7th day, the crusts fall off, leaving a stain. Even if the disease is not treated, its symptoms go away on their own in a couple of weeks.
The clinical picture of recurring relapses of chronic genital infection is very diverse. It is difficult to diagnose relapses, because the period of precursors is short, there may be no signs of discomfort. In some cases, patients notice tingling at the site of the initial herpes invasion 6-12 hours before the rashes. Relapses usually occur easily, and rashes worry no more than 3-5 days or are not detected at all, but itching, swelling, and discomfort on the genitals appear. Patients with good immunity easily tolerate herpes, symptoms appear in a latent form. Reduced immunity is good soil for severe and prolonged herpetic lesions.
The types of disease are distinguished depending on where the rash is localized: urogenital (genital) herpes, oral cavity, eyes, skin, herpes of internal organs.
Diagnostic Methods
Herpes, the symptoms of which are described above, is diagnosed by several modern methods provided by the clinics. The disease should be differentiated from similar manifestations of other diseases, which is not difficult. To detect latent infection, they resort to laboratory testing by PCR, TSR, dot-hybridization.
Herpes Treatment
The treatment regimen is determined by the doctor. Prescribed medications that eliminate discomfort, and those that act directly on the herpes virus. Specialized medical centers conduct a course of therapy that relieves patients from recurrence of the disease.
Without treatment, when infected with the first type of herpes, relapses are repeated throughout the year in 50% of patients, and the second in 90%. Aggravation of the disease can be caused by various factors: prolonged exposure to the active sun, menstruation, pregnancy, medical procedures, including abortion and spiral insertion, cooling, stress.