Herpes 101: 5 Things You May Not Know

According to the CDC, a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey revealed that nearly 48% of Americans had oral herpes during 2015-2016.
With such wide-spread prevalence of both oral and genital herpes, it’s important to know all the facts about the disease.

While many know the basics of herpes and how it spreads (sexual contact such as oral or vaginal sex as well as by non-sexual contact with saliva and discharge), there may be some things you are yet unaware of.
To shed light on these lesser-known facts, here are 5 things you may not—but should—know about herpes.
 
It May Get Mistaken For A UTI Or Yeast Infection
Since there are over a 100 types of herpes virus, the severity of symptoms varies greatly. Sometimes, there might not be any symptoms at all (called asymptomatic shedding).
If there are symptoms, they may get misdiagnosed as those of a Urinary Tract Infection or a yeast infection. This is because for people who’ve gotten infected with herpes for the first time, the symptoms may include pain in the genital area, a burning feeling wile urinating and yellow colored discharge.
 
A Herpes Outbreak Is Predictable
In the phenomenon called prodrome, a patient may experience symptoms-like lesion before the outbreak occurs. The herpes virus ‘lives’ in the spinal cord of infected individuals. When activated, the virus travels down a spinal nerve root and causes a lesion in a particular area.
Other symptoms include itching, burning and persistent tingling in the affected area. If patients recognize these signs for what they are, they should begin treatment immediately to shorten the longevity of the outbreak.
 
Getting Infected With Herpes May Increase Your Risk Of Other STIs HSV-2—which commonly causes genital herpes—has been linked to a higher risk for HIV. This may be because the inflammation and blisters in the skin in the genital area might make it easier for the HIV virus to enter the body.

Condoms Reduce The Risk Of Acquiring HSV-2 By 30% According to a study based on more than 5000 infected individuals, subjects who consistently used condoms during intercourse had a 30% lower risk of acquiring the HSV-2 virus as compared to those who had unprotected sex.

Despite the effectiveness of condom use, remember that they aren’t completely infallible. There is always a chance that your partner may not know how to use one correctly, or of a tear in the condom.
The Underground Cure offers home remedies to treat herpes in the form of vitamins and cleanses. Our Herpes Protocol Kits provide comprehensive treatment for herpes that includes various vitamins and essential cleanses for the liver and gall bladder that flush out bacteria, parasites and toxins.