Herpes Transmission
Sunday, October 25th, 2009Herpes is a widespread sexually transmitted disease. Herpes is extremely contagious, and there is no cure. There are two different strains of herpes viruses that are known as STDs. The disease is more easily passed from men to women. It is estimated one in every four women have the herpes virus, in comparison to one in eight men.
These numbers have decreased over the years, due to the increased awareness. A person may be infected with herpes and not have any symptoms. This is one of the main reasons the herpes virus continues to be spread. Because there is no cure, the disease will continue to be passed along. There are treatments available to try and prevent outbreaks and lessen an outbreak severity. These medications cannot stop it from being spread, unfortunately.
The herpes type 1 virus is spread through kissing. The herpes simplex virus causes outbreaks around the mouth area. Including inside the mouth, and on the lips. A person infected with herpes can pass along herpes to a sexual partner during oral sex. The blisters can be painful and ooze fluid.
The other herpes virus, often referred to as type 2, causes outbreaks in the genital areas. The area includes the anus, groin and inside the vaginal area. The herpes is contagious whether there are visible blisters or not. Using a condom does not always protect either partner from contracting the virus. The blisters may not be covered by the condom, and skin to skin contact can spread the virus.
A woman can also spread the herpes virus to her child during birth. If blisters are present when a woman is ready to deliver or in labor, the doctor may opt to perform a caesarean section to prevent the spread of the virus.
Herpes can be spread through skin to skin contact. A person who has blisters should not share towels with anybody else. Skin to skin contact is all that is needed to spread the virus. It is also possible for a person to spread the virus from their genitals to their mouth or vice versa. If you want to find pictures of genital herpes looking online can help you to recognize what this disease looks like. Good hand washing is very important, and can help limit the spread of the virus.