Approximately 1 in 5 Americans has Genital Herpes, and many people think they would absolutely know if they had this common STD. With all the theories that an outbreak would involve oozy, open, painful, and obvious sores, people assume they would know Genital Herpes when they saw it, and often don't worry about contracting the STD themselves. Here are some facts about Genital Herpes that may be a bit surprising. Genital Herpes can often be hard to detect. While the classic signs of a Genital Herpes outbreak is a series of clusters that are fluid-filled, burning, itchy, and "weep" as the outbreak continues and then heal and crust over after a period of a week or so, some Genital Herpes outbreaks aren't even noticeable. Other symptoms of Genital Herpes include a rash that can be easily mistaken for razor burn, lotion irritation, a yeast infection, hemorrhoids, jock itch, genital acne, or even just a simple bug bite. Some people with Genital Herpes don't even have symptoms at all. Up to 90% of people who have Genital Herpes don't even know they have it, and an outbreak doesn't always occur. In fact, you can have Genital Herpes for years and not even know it until you have an outbreak noticeable enough to draw concern, or you go in for an STD test that includes Genital Herpes testing, and find out then. Some people have Genital Herpes and their current partners don't, although Genital Herpes can be spread to other people when an outbreak isn't apparent. Genital Herpes can be caused by a cold sore. While this is not as common as getting Genital Herpes via someone who has Genital Herpes, a cold sore can cause Genital Herpes by an active cold sore being involved during oral sex. Most STD tests don't include Genital Herpes testing. A blood test can tell you for sure, and the test includes testing for the cold sore virus (HSV-1) and Genital Herpes virus (HSV-2). If you test positive for HSV-1, then you could have the cold sore virus or the Genital Herpes virus, since you could have gotten HSV-1 from someone who has a cold sore, and it could have affected your genitals. If you test positive for HSV-2, then most likely you do have Genital Herpes. Why up to 90% of people don't even know they have Genital Herpes is because most cases don't even have noticeable symptoms, or any symptoms at all. While some people have active, noticeable outbreaks at least once, many people never get an outbreak at all, and can carry the Genital Herpes virus for years before an outbreak even occurs. Or they could have had many outbreaks already and mistaken them for something as simple as a razor burn. You don't always immediately show signs of having Genital Herpes as soon as you contract the virus. It can lay dormant for months or even years, or it may stay dormant forever, even though it is still contagious. Genital Herpes also doesn't always reoccur. In some people, they never have an outbreak their entire lives, and in others, they have one outbreak (the first outbrea

1. Facts About Genital Herpes
Approximately 1 in 5 Americans has Genital Herpes, and many people think they would absolutely
know if they had this common STD. With all the theories that an outbreak would involve oozy, open,
painful, and obvious sores, people assume they would know Genital Herpes when they saw it, and
often don't worry about contracting the STD themselves. Here are some facts about Genital Herpes that
may be a bit surprising.
Take a Look at Richmond STD Testing
Genital Herpes can often be hard to detect. While the classic signs of a Genital Herpes outbreak is a
series of clusters that are fluid-filled, burning, itchy, and "weep" as the outbreak continues and then
heal and crust over after a period of a week or so, some Genital Herpes outbreaks aren't even
noticeable. Other symptoms of Genital Herpes include a rash that can be easily mistaken for razor burn,
lotion irritation, a yeast infection, hemorrhoids, jock itch, genital acne, or even just a simple bug bite.
Some people with Genital Herpes don't even have symptoms at all.
Up to 90% of people who have Genital Herpes don't even know they have it, and an outbreak doesn't
always occur. In fact, you can have Genital Herpes for years and not even know it until you have an
outbreak noticeable enough to draw concern, or you go in for an STD test that includes Genital Herpes
testing, and find out then. Some people have Genital Herpes and their current partners don't, although
Genital Herpes can be spread to other people when an outbreak isn't apparent.
Genital Herpes can be caused by a cold sore. While this is not as common as getting Genital Herpes via
someone who has Genital Herpes, a cold sore can cause Genital Herpes by an active cold sore being
involved during oral sex.
Most STD tests don't include Genital Herpes testing. A blood test can tell you for sure, and the test
includes testing for the cold sore virus (HSV-1) and Genital Herpes virus (HSV-2). If you test positive
for HSV-1, then you could have the cold sore virus or the Genital Herpes virus, since you could have
gotten HSV-1 from someone who has a cold sore, and it could have affected your genitals. If you test
positive for HSV-2, then most likely you do have Genital Herpes.
Why up to 90% of people don't even know they have Genital Herpes is because most cases don't even
have noticeable symptoms, or any symptoms at all. While some people have active, noticeable
outbreaks at least once, many people never get an outbreak at all, and can carry the Genital Herpes
virus for years before an outbreak even occurs. Or they could have had many outbreaks already and
mistaken them for something as simple as a razor burn. You don't always immediately show signs of
having Genital Herpes as soon as you contract the virus. It can lay dormant for months or even years,
or it may stay dormant forever, even though it is still contagious.
Genital Herpes also doesn't always reoccur. In some people, they never have an outbreak their entire
lives, and in others, they have one outbreak (the first outbreak is typically the worst and usually
contains the classic oozy, painful, crusty sores) and then never see an outbreak again. It's quite possible
that a person can have Genital Herpes and never know it.

2. Genital Herpes is also not caused by sexual promiscuity. You could have had one sexual partner and
contracted this STD. You could also have contracted Genital Herpes from a person who had no obvious
signs or symptoms of an outbreak, and Genital Herpes can be spread when it is not active from one
person to another.
You can spread Genital Herpes to other areas of your body, but it's rare after the first initial outbreak to
do so. The reason for this is that your body naturally claims a minor immunity to the Genital Herpes
virus once it leaves its dormant stage, and the outbreaks (if any at all) that follow the first outbreak are
usually too minor to spread to other areas of your own body.
There really is no cure for Genital Herpes. There are antibiotics to help lessen the severity and
likelihood of outbreaks, but once the virus is in the body, it never leaves. Once you have Genital
Herpes, you have it for life, and you can spread it to others via unprotected sex.
Genital Herpes is also extremely rarely contracted by a toilet seat, towel, or clothing of an individual
who has Genital Herpes, even during an active outbreak. Once the virus is exposed to air, it dies
quickly, so the virus is not affective. Sexual contact is the most dominant way to contract this common
STD.
Mothers giving birth who are actively experiencing their FIRST outbreak can have up to a 50% chance
of passing the virus onto their babies during delivery, whereas women with Genital Herpes
experiencing an outbreak have less than 1% chance of passing the virus onto their newborns if they
have had Genital Herpes for a longer period of time. However, a Cesarean section is typically
performed if a Genital Herpes outbreak is occurring during delivery to lessen the virus spreading risks
overall. Genital Herpes does not cause infertility, and many women who have Genital Herpes do not
have outbreaks of the virus during delivery and are able to deliver healthy children normally without
passing on the virus to their babies.
Genital Herpes is typically not life threatening. Again, you can have this STD for years and never even
know it. However, people who have Genital Herpes are more susceptible to the HIV virus, as the active
Herpes sores in an outbreak make the HIV virus easier to enter the body than for a person who does not
have Genital Herpes. However, anyone can be susceptible to HIV without protected intercourse as well
as Genital Herpes.
Genital Herpes is not the end of the world. Imagine, up to 90% of individuals who have this scary STD
don't even know they have it. YOU could have Genital Herpes, so could I. A common myth about
Genital Herpes is that the signs are so obvious a person would know. That's just not the case. Be safe,
be protected, and get tested for Genital Herpes. You could have it, and you need to know. And if you
do, don't freak out about it. It's not the end of the world.