Knowing the Symptoms of A Herpes Outbreak Can Reduce Your Chance of Transmitting the Disease

The symptoms of a herpes outbreak may not be easy to identify. This means that you might pass herpes to another individual without knowing it or he or she could give it to you. As much as 25 percent of the individuals in the United States have genital herpes with those numbers soaring in highly populated areas. This is all because people don't realize they're having an outbreak or even have oral or genital herpes so they unwittingly pass it to another while they're infectious. In fact, according to one study as many as a quarter of the people don't realize they have genital herpes since their symptoms are mild or non-existent, but they still are active carriers a nd can transmit the disease.

The type of herpes you have makes a difference in the type of symptoms you'll notice on the first outbreak. If you developed genital herpes, about a week or two after infection, you'll feel tingling in the area of the genitals. You might have a group of small bumps develop and eventually blister.  In the next few weeks, even more blisters develop. These blisters may rupture and leave open sores that are extremely painful and may itch. Once they begin to heal and crust over, they disappear rapidly and leave no scarring.

Even though the first outbreak may last two to three weeks, subsequent ones don't last as long.  A fever might accompany the initial genital herpes outbreak and you may feel low on energy or like you have a fever. However, if you've had another form of herpes, your body may already protect you and your initial symptoms won't last as long. The same is true for the recurrent attacks of herpes. They are far milder and more infrequent as time passes.

For those exposed to oral herpes, the initial outbreak is on the face, cheeks, lips and mucous membranes of the mouth.  The most common area is on the lips. A blister forms on the lips or other area, even inside the mouth or on the tongue. It takes a few days and the blister ruptures leaving a very painful area that lasts anywhere from three to fourteen days.  The outbreak causes the mouth to increase the production of saliva and you might experience bad breath with an outbreak.  If the sore is located in an unusual area, you might experience some difficulty hearing or swallowing. You could also have muscle pain and feverish chills.

Later outbreaks of oral herpes may only occur once or twice a year. Your body has immunity to the virus so the outbreak won't be as long or uncomfortable. However, if you're in poor physical condition, expect the oral herpes to be more aggressive.

Later outbreaks of either type may accompany a cold or other infection because your body's resistance is already down from the original disease. You also might find that stress, your menstrual cycle, excess consumption of alcohol, exposure to strong sunlight or anything that compromises your immune system can bring on symptoms of a herpes outbreak.

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