Herpes Testing Blog

Eyebrow waxing is a very popular procedure, and many women consider it to be critical to their beauty needs.

This seemingly necessary beauty treatment can also have negative consequences.

The poor sanitary practices in many spas, such as re-dipping the wax stick, can spread different diseases, such as eye herpes. There is a direct link between an increase of eye herpes and eyebrow waxing.

The herpes virus could easily be transmitted from one person with herpes, getting their lips waxed, to the next person, who doesn’t have herpes, who may be getting some waxing done.

There are simple sanitary procedures that should be followed to prevent the spread of herpes.

Technicians should wash their hands. Every time a wax stick is placed on a clients skin, it should be thrown away directly after use. Also, if the was treatment requires the client to lie down, the table should be covered prior to use.

There are approximately 500,000 cases of ocular herpes each year in the U.S. This cannot be cured, and thus can lead to blindness.

Symptoms of ocular herpes include tearing, redness, blurry vision, eye discomfort and sometimes a thick, sticky mucous secretion.

This article has the point of dispelling some common myths about genital herpes, and also of  spreading the news about prevention.

Herpes is a very common virus: the CDC estimates that as many as 45 million people ages 12 and older are infected with genital herpes.  This is about one in five adolescents and adults.  This means that it is very likely that you or someone you know have this virus.

Many people that have genital herpes may not know that they have it because they either have very mild symptoms or they mistake the symptoms – such as painful urination in women – for another condition such as a yeast infection.

Just by taking some simple precautions, including using a condom and taking anti-herpetic medicine, you can protect yourself and your partner from getting the virus. Another way, possibly the most effective way, to prevent herpes (or any other STD) transmission is for you and your partner to be tested and known to be uninfected.

What is genital herpes?

Genital herpes is caused by herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), which can invade the body through a crack in the skin or through the mucosa of the mouth or genital areas. Signs of a HSV-2 infection are usually one or more blisters on or around the rectum or genitals. When the blisters eventually break, they leave tender ulcers or sores. Those can take two to four weeks to heal after the first breakout. Typically future breakouts will be less severe and have a shorter healing time.

Viral activity tends to decrease with time. This means that as time progresses, somebody with herpes will have less frequent and less severe outbreaks.

Did you know?

Genital herpes can spread whether or not there are symptoms present or if there have never been signs or symptoms.
Herpes is likely to be spread 3-5 days before a breakout.
Having genital herpes can make you two to five times more susceptible to HIV infection.
Condoms do not fully protect you against HSV-2 because the virus can infect areas not covered by the condom.
Even if you are not having a herpes outbreak, you may still “shed” the virus.

How can you protect yourself and your partner?

Abstinence is the only 100 percent effective way to ensure against the spread of any STD including genital herpes. Herpes can also be spread without the presence of signs or symptoms. Condoms act as a physical barrier against the spread of the virus, but they are only effective at protecting the area that it covers, which is probably not the only part of you that is coming in contact with your partner when you are having sex.

There are also over-the-counter as well as prescription medicines that one can take to suppress the frequency and severity of the outbreaks.  In doing so, they also reduce the risk of transmitting the virus. If you are interested in this, the best thing to do would be to ask you doctor about your options

Because such a high number of people are unaware that they are infected with genital herpes, testing for herpes is the best way to determine your status. A long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and is known to be uninfected is one of the best ways to remain disease-free.

*For the original article, please refer to http://www.hivtestingblog.com/original-articles/

A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine based on data from a trial of an experimental HSV-2 vaccine that ultimately failed found that consistent use of condoms can lower both women’s and men’s risk of contracting the virus that causes genital herpes.

The study of more than 1,800 adults considered at high risk of genital herpes because they’d had either an STD or four or more sexual partners in the past year, found that those who said they usually used condoms were one-quarter less likely to test positive for herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) than those who usually had unprotected sex.

Overall, just over 6 per cent of the men and women became infected with HSV-2 during the 18-month study period. The findings provide one more reason to use condoms consistently, however, it’s important for people who know they have HSV-2 to avoid sex when they are having a symptom outbreak.

 People who use condoms regularly can reduce their risk of getting genital herpes by 30 percent, a new study finds. The herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) causes genital herpes, which is a chronic, lifelong viral infection. Although studies have found that regular condom use reduces the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as chlamydia and gonorrhea, whether they prevent the transmission of HSV-2 has been less certain, the researchers noted.

“Condoms work for herpes,” said study author Emily T. Martin, a postdoctoral fellow with the Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute. “Even though the decrease is smaller than you would see with some other STDs, the evidence from previous studies has been unclear whether using a condom to prevent getting herpes was going to be effective, but this shows that it is,” she said.

Using condoms reduces herpes transmission by only 30 percent because, unlike other STDs, herpes is transmitted by skin-to-skin contact, Martin explained. “Transmission has a lot to do with where the virus is being shed at the time,” she said. “If someone with herpes is shedding virus for an area that is not covered by a condom, we speculate the virus will spread whether or not they are using a condom.” The study is published in the July 13 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

For the study, Martin’s team looked at data from six HSV-2 studies that dealt with the effectiveness of condoms in preventing herpes. The studies included 5,384 men and women who did not have herpes when the studies began. During the follow-up period, which ranged from 12 to 19 months, 415 people had contracted the herpes virus. But people who used condoms 100 percent of the time reduced the risk of catching the virus by 30 percent, the researchers found.

In addition, the risk of getting herpes was reduced 7 percent “every additional 25 percent of the time that condoms were used during anal or vaginal sex,” the researchers wrote. The risk of getting herpes increased with the frequency of unprotected sex, and there was no significant difference between men and women in the effectiveness of condoms in preventing herpes transmission, they add.

Martin said using a condom not only reduces the odds of getting herpes, but of other STDs as well. “If you don’t know the STD status of your partner, a condom is always a good idea,” she said. Dr. Jeffrey D. Klausner, director of STD Prevention and Control Services at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, said the study provides more evidence that condoms work.

“We know condoms can prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections like HIV, herpes, warts, hepatitis, gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis, but it’s always been hard to show that in research studies,” Klausner said. “If condoms can hold air and water, I never understood why folks thought they would not prevent the spread of germs, which are much, much larger than air or water molecules,” he said.

Klausner said that the study provides scientific evidence that condoms work and should help in efforts to get condoms into the hands of sexually active teenagers and adults.

For the full article, please refer to http://www.healthscout.com/news/1/628978/main.html

Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted infection that is caused by types 1 and 2 of the herpes simplex virus and is extremely contagious and cause painful sores on the genitals and the area surrounding it that can last for weeks without treatment of any type.

It can be spread through skin to skin contact, but mainly is prevalent on the mouth or genitals; as other skin on the body is too thick for the virus to get through. Type 1 is spread by kissing, since it is oral herpes, but it is also spread when oral sex is performed, but turns into genital herpes for the other person. Type 2 is spread through sexual contact, having sexual intercourse, anal or oral sex.

To prevent yourself from getting either form of highly contagious herpes, you should not have any type of contact with a person with an outbreak of herpes. This can include cold sores, blisters, and sores on the genitals. If your partner has oral or genital herpes, do not have sexual contact with him or her when an outbreak is present.

Type 2 of the herpes simplex virus, (genital herpes), is not able to live on a non-living surface, such as a toilet seat, hot tub, or bathtub. Therefore, it is not possible to contract herpes from any of those objects. The virus that causes herpes is very delicate and it cannot live long or at all on such surfaces. It requires skin-to-skin contact or bodily fluid contact through sexual encounters in order to live and multiply.

Everyone who is sexually active has the possibility of getting herpes. The risk of getting it increases with age and with the number of partners. It is always best to talk to a partner and know their sexual history and to get tested before getting involved sexually.

For the complete article, see http://www.micronutra.com/journal/herpes/can-you-get-herpes-from-a-toilet-seat

Many Americans know that cold sores are caused by a herpes virus. But few understand the relation between oral herpes and genital herpes. Also confusing is whether herpes on the lip or mouth can be transmitted to the genital area.

There are several strains of herpes virus. Herpes simplex virus Type 2 is the strain associated with genital herpes. Many cold sores, on the other hand, are caused by herpes simplex virus Type 1. But Type 2 can also cause sores on the mouth, and Type 1 can spread to the genitals.

The types are closely related, and they usually lie dormant in nerves near an infection site until emerging on the skin during an outbreak, often preceded by tingling, itching and pain. Soap and water kills the virus fairly easily, so washing is a good way to help keep it from spreading.

Herpes is transmitted primarily by skin-to-skin contact when the infection is active, but carriers can also transmit the virus when they have no noticeable symptoms — and many do not.

THE BOTTOM LINE
Cold sores can cause a genital infection and vice versa.

For the complete article, please refer to http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/19/health/19real.html?pagewanted=print&position=.