Vaginal Herpes

While the frequency and severity of genital herpes outbreaks varies from person to person, if you have genital herpes, chances are that sooner or later you're going to have an outbreak that's very uncomfortable. While outbreaks can be painful and also cause some emotional discomfort, there are things you can do to make them more bearable.

Nearly 40 million people in the U.S. have genital herpes, so if you have it, you're not alone. There are millions of others coping with the same issues as you. While many people infected with genital herpes (nearly 60 percent by some counts) have outbreaks that are so mild that they don't even realize they have the disease, many other people have frequent and severe outbreaks.

On average, people who have frequent outbreaks have about four per year. The outbreaks typically last anywhere from two to four weeks. An outbreak of genital herpes is characterized by the appearance of boils or lesions around the genital area, although some people may also experience them around the buttocks or anus. Folks having a herpes outbreak may also experience fatigue and a low grade fever when the outbreak is coming on.

The boils eventually dry up and crust over, and eventually fade in a few weeks. Most herpes outbreaks last from two to four weeks. It is during the "shedding" stage that genital herpes is most contagious, so it's important to practice safe sex, or better yet, avoid sexual contact during this cycle of the outbreak to avoid transmitting the disease to others.

The most effective treatments for managing the symptoms of herpes outbreaks remain pharmaceutical treatments. Drugs for herpes are acyclovir, valacyclovir and famciclovir. These medications can be taken orally, used topically or injected to help heal herpes sores. They're also used as suppressive therapies to reduce the frequency and severity of outbreaks. Each of these drugs approaches the illness in a different way, and some may be more simpatico to treatments for other illnesses than the others.

In addition to medical treatments, there are some behavioral and lifestyle changes you can make to reduce discomfort caused by a genital herpes outbreak.

Some things you may want to try to help mitigate the severity of your genital herpes outbreak include:

• Keeping your sores dry and clean. Folks having an outbreak should take warm baths and make sure that their sores are well-dried afterward.
• Bathe in Epsom salt. Anecdotal reports say that bathing in Epsom salt can help reduce the healing time in a herpes outbreak, as it helps the sores dry up and heal more quickly.
• Wear comfortable clothes. Clothes that are loose and don't rub the skin won't irritate the sores as much. Try cotton underwear, and avoid pantyhose.
• Swelling of the sores can be reduced by the application of an ice bpack.
• Pain relievers such as aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen have been found to be helpful in pain management with regard to herpes outbreaks.
• People having a genital herpes outbreak frequently complain of pain in urinating. To alleviate this, try urinating while taking a cool shower. Drinking extra fluids may also help.
• Keeping the sores cool and dry may help reduce pain.
• Domesboro powder has been found to be helpful in the reduction of lesion size and cutting down on itching.
• Cool tea bags contain tannic acid, a known antiviral agent. By frequently applying cool tea bags to the affected area, you may be able to speed up the healing of your sores.
• Baking soda has also been found to be helpful in speeding the healing process by drying up the sores more quickly.
• Sunlight has been reported to aggravate genital herpes outbreaks, so during an outbreak it's best to stay out of the sun and indoors.
• Fatigue and stress are known triggers of herpes outbreaks, so to keep it from getting worse, make sure you get plenty of rest during an outbreak.
• Friction is known to aggravate genital herpes sores, so wear soft, loose fitting underwear during an outbreak.

While none of these methods will entirely rid you of the symptoms of a genital herpes outbreak, they can help to greatly reduce pain and speed up the healing process.

Genital herpes should not prevent you from enjoying a high quality of life Herpes is a disease that can be dealt with if you take the right steps in lifestyle and habits, get on a medication program and keep a positive attitude.