Herpes - What Are The Risks?

Genital Herpes still carries somewhat of a social stigma and it may not be something one freely shares with friends. Most do not even know What Does Herpes Look Like? The fact is that Genital Herpes is quite common with approximately one million new cases per year in the US alone.

Getting the diagnosis of genital herpes can be emotionally difficult with emotions of shame and isolation. And how does one date when having herpes?

Rest assured, that even though Herpes is a life long infection, you are far from alone.

Approximately one in four women and one in four men in the United states are infected with Genital Herpes. That is 20% of our population. The infection is spreading at the rate of an estimated one million new cases per year.

It is the most prevalent viral sexually transmitted disease. Of all these millions of cases, only about 20% are aware, or have been diagnosed with, herpes. That means that 80% of those infected with the herpes virus are possibly infecting their partners.

It is a misconception that the disease is only infectious during an outbreak. While it is more contagious when blisters are present, the disease can be transmitted even when there are no symptoms at all.

After the initial episode, those infected with HSV-2 have an 80% rate of re-occurrence. Infections caused by HSV-1 have a lot lower risk of re-occurrence -about 50% will have a re-occurrence with 4-5 outbreaks per year being the average number.

While it can be tempting to self diagnose, using pictures found on the internet as a comparison, Herpes should be diagnosed by an experienced clinician utilizing proper testing.

There are commonly questions about What Does Herpes Look Like sometimes people believe that Herpes Look Like A Pimple.But does it?