Meetpositives.com: What You Should Know About Herpes Symptoms

Chicago, Illinois -

US based Meetpositives.com is reaching out to ensure everyone in their community can recognize the symptoms of herpes and get tested when necessary. Genital herpes is a chronic, lifelong infection, and the fact that it primarily spreads through sexual contact means that testing is required both to protect a partner as well as determine whether the patient needs additional treatment.

To begin with, Meetpositives.com wishes to address a common misconception: that herpes always presents with symptoms. Instead it may not present with any symptoms whatsoever, and this is why many people who become infected with herpes can remain completely unaware of their positive status. Further, the company says people may sometimes confuse other bodily functions or conditions with signs of an STI, including pimples, rashes (or other non-transmissible skin problems), pimples and even the flu.

This is exacerbated by the fact that symptoms caused by this virus will not endure forever once they arrive; an individual may experience symptoms that arrive periodically and then disappear completely (with new outbreaks possible later on). However, a lack of symptoms does not mean the person is cured or made a full recovery. They can still spread the herpes virus even if symptoms are not present. This is why organizations like Meetpositives.com strongly advise sexually active people to get tested often, especially if they have multiple partners.

Herpes symptoms, when they do occur, may be identified by certain characteristics. For instance, people with genital herpes may notice the appearance of painful blisters on their penis, inner thigh, vulva, butt, anus and cervix. Should their urine come in contact with the sores, they may feel a burning sensation when they urinate. Similarly, the urethra can swell, creating a blockage and making it difficult for them to urinate at all. Pain around the genitals is a common symptom as well, as is itching.

Meetpositives.com points out that one reason people may mistake a herpes infection for the flu is the fact that one type of herpes, HSV-2, can also cause flu-like symptoms. In addition to fever and general body pain as well as fatigue, an infected person may experience swelling of the glands in their throat, underarm and pelvis area. Symptoms also include chills and headaches.

Conversely, oral herpes is considered to cause less painful symptoms, and it is highly unusual for infected people to feel sick at all. However, they may feel sore or blisters appear around their mouth and lips, and this is what is commonly known as fever blisters or cold sores. Unfortunately, sores may appear inside the mouth as well, but the company says this tends to be limited to the first outbreak.

This initial outbreak is also known as ‘initial herpes’ or the ‘first episode.’ It is characterized by the first appearance of blisters and other known symptoms, and data shows that it tends to occur between 2-20 days following the initial infection. However, some have even been known to reach their first outbreak years after this point.

Meetpositives.com explains in a recent blog post on the subject, “The first outbreak will mostly last between 2 to 4 weeks. The symptoms will disappear but the virus will still remain in the body and cause occasional outbreaks. In some cases, the symptoms will be preceded by indicators such as tingly feeling, itching and burning around your genitals. Herpes outbreaks are painful and annoying, but it's the first one that will be intense. The following outbreaks will be less painful and less frequent. Some people will stop having the outbreaks with time. People with other illnesses such as HIV or leukemia might experience stronger and longer symptoms.”

While it will be difficult for a person to predict when their next outbreak will occur, Meetpositives.com says there are certain medications that can help. They can reduce the pain a person experiences as well as help dispel the symptoms faster (and make them less likely to occur at all).

Meetpositives.com can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube (among other platforms), but most of their content is available for members on their official website. Those who wish to join a welcoming, non-judgemental community of peers who have had the same experiences are welcome to sign up whenever they like. In fact, they may register today. It's free to join.