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How To Reduce The Herpes Infection?

There are two different types of herpes – oral and genital. The most important thing to know about herpes is that it can be transmitted easily and you will continue to have the disease even if you are experiencing no visible signs. There are ways to reduce the infection.

Oral herpes is the most common form of the infection.  Infection of the genitals is the second most common form of herpes

For oral herpes, the easiest ways to reduce symptoms are:

•    Wash hands frequently
•    Avoid touching herpes sores or other open sores
•    Avoid rubbing your eyes
•    Avoid kissing anyone, especially infants.
•    Abstain from oral sex

For genital herpes, condoms are highly effective in limiting transmission of herpes simplex infection.

The virus cannot pass through latex.  However, a condom's effectiveness is somewhat limited on a public health side by their limited use in the community, and on an individual side because the condom may not completely cover blisters on the penis of an infected male, or the base of the penis or testicles not covered by the condom may come into contact with free virus in vaginal fluid of an infected female.  In such cases, abstinence from sexual activity or washing of the genitals after sex is recommended.

The use of condoms or dental dams also limits the transmission of herpes from the genitals of one partner to the mouth of the other (or vice versa) during oral sex. 

When one partner has a herpes simplex infection and the other does not, the use of antiviral medication, such as valaciclovir, in conjunction with a condom, further decreases the chances of transmission to the uninfected partner.  It is important to see your doctor to determine the need for these medications.

As with almost all sexually transmitted infections, women are more susceptible to acquiring genital HSV-2 than men.  The transmission of the virus from infected male to female is approximately 8-10%. This is believed to be due to the increased exposure of mucosal tissue to potential infection sites. Transmission risk from infected female to male is approximately 4-5% annually.  Suppressive antiviral therapy reduces these risks by 50%.

Antivirals also help prevent the development of symptomatic herpes in infection scenarios—meaning the infected partner will be positive but symptom free—by about 50%. Condom use also reduces the transmission risk by 50%. Condom use is much more effective at preventing male to female transmission than vice-versa. 

The effects of combining antiviral and condom use is roughly additive, thus resulting in approximately a 75% combined reduction in annual transmission risk.

Tags: causes, cold sores, genital herpes, prevention, reduction of symptoms, signs, transmission, treatment, viral infections

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