What Is Genital Herpes?

With oral herpes the sores appear as what we know as cold sores. Not all cold sores are oral herpes, but if some suddenly appear and you have a reason to think that this is an option it will be best to have them checked out. They normally have an incubation period of 3 to 7 days so you will be able to make an educated guess that you have contracted it.

In the United States genital herpes is the most common form of sexually transmitted disease. There are drugs such as Zovirax that can ease the pain of this and also treat some of the physical symptoms such as reduce the appearance of the red blister like sores that appear. The main times that you will suffer a bout of genital herpes is when you are already ill as your immune system will be low and you will find it becomes more regular when you get older. Studies have found that there is a correlation between genital herpes and cervical cancer, so it really is not an infection that should be taken lightly. Not every outbreak will need a visit to the doctor, but if it seems worse than normal or the sores appear to look different to previous occasion it will be best to have them checked out. Although it is an embarrassing condition in some people’s eyes it is not one that can be ignored or neglected.

If you do contract it the first thing that you should do is check out any possible treatments that you can undergo. Your doctor will be able to give you a lot of information regarding medical procedures or medication, but there are also some natural treatments that can be used when the outbreak is mild or when you are also taking other tablets that may not be compatible with herpes prescription drugs.

Genital Herpes Treatments

Although there is pain involved, on many occasions this is nothing that cannot be dealt with by taking normal over the counter pain killers. Doctors will prescribe stronger painkillers if they are needed, but if you can cope with lower dosage drugs this will leave your immune system stronger and make it less likely that another attack will happen in the near future. There are a number of actions that you can take to make the area more comfortable during an outbreak. As the area will be tender it will be hard to do things like dry yourself there after washing. Either just pat yourself gently until you feel dry and then use a hair dryer to finish off. Soaking in warm water is supposed to bring some relief but by and large the area should be kept dry. It is important to wear clothes that will not make you sweat so cotton pants and loose fitting clothes will be necessary.

Genital Herpes Natural Remedies

There have been tests carried out to see if there are any natural remedies that can help and some results have been quite promising. It has been a case that some items work for some people and yet do nothing to help others. It will be best to try a few different ones and see what works for you.

Echinacea has been tested on a small number of people and there was no lessening of outbreaks between the times when they took the product and when they took a placebo. What does not seem to have been recorded is if the symptoms were eased in any way. Propolis has also been tried. This is a waxy substance that bees produce and again it was not intended as a cure but meant to help the sores heal more quickly. There was a significant difference in the time that the sores healed if propolis was used then when the patient was treated with other products.

Prunella vulgaris is also said to be able to ease symptoms. This is a herb and tests have shown that it does have the ability to ease some sores, and can be taken either internally in the form of a drink or externally and it acts as an antibiotic.

Ice has been considered a good way to take away some of the swelling and irritation. There are going to be times in the winter when this is not possible and then the alternative could be a cool or just warm bath with baking soda added. Taking supplements will be important in trying to calm down the inflammation and zinc is considered to be one of the better ones to use. Vitamin C has long been proven to raise the immune system and help you feel better and while this virus is worse than a cold there will still be some degree of benefit.

Tea tree oil is a natural antiseptic and so it will be safe to use this and know that there will not be any further damage. This should just be dabbed on and allowed to soak in. It can be reapplied as and when needed.

Diet can be an important factor over the days that you have an outbreak. Foods that contain arginine can cause additional discomfort and this is found in nuts, meat and dairy products. This will make your meals quite hard to put together but if there is an improvement in your condition it will be worth it.

Actions That Should Help

Drinking plenty of water is important as it will remove a lot of the toxins in the body and having a clean internal system will make it harder for the virus to come to the fore. Covering the sores with cornstarch should also keep them dry and work on preventing the itching. Along the same lines, there is also a home remedy that has shown good results. This involves mixing together some oil, bees wax and lavender oil. Once this is cool it can be put on the infected area. For a much quicker application and also a cheaper option is to use a cold teabag. This has tannin in it and this in one of the substances that is believed to have healing properties. This shows the best effects if you do it at the beginning of the outbreak and are able to reapply every hour or so.

Aloe Vera contains lysine and this provides nutrition for the skin. If gel is left in the fridge to cool it can then be applied. As this will be a bit messy and leave you feeling sticky this treatment is really only possible either when going to bed or at least knowing that you will not have to go out in a hurry.

While there will obviously be the concern that this is something you are going to have for the rest of your life, there should be some comfort taken from the fact that there are plenty of things to help relieve some of the suffering.