If a person has genital herpes it would be a wise decision to seek immediate medical treatment. It is a viral infection transmitted through sexual contact or when the body comes in direct contact with a person who has herpes sores. These herpes sores can be found in the mouth, thigh, abdomen, buttocks and genital areas. The symptoms to be on the lookout for are itching sensation, appearance of blisters and skin lesions which can cause pain when these break open to become herpes sores. Some people suffer from fever, headaches and fatigue. The woman may experience some pain while urinating and some vaginal discharge. Men also experience the same symptoms and notice the appearance of blisters and lesions on their genital parts and may notice release of some mucus substance from their genitals.

For information purposes, the genital herpes are of two kinds known as HSV1 and HSV2. The HSV1 causes blisters in the mouth and lips. The HSV2 causes the genital herpes which is considered the more serious type of virus since this can cause pain and result to more complications if left untreated.

A doctor should be immediately consulted about the symptoms so that a medical assessment can be done. Try to discuss your symptoms to your doctor so that you would be able to understand the methods that you need to undergo to treat the herpes. A visual examination is usually done in the infected genital parts and swab samples are taken for more laboratory tests. Results may come out after a few hours or in some cases may take several days.

One test is thru a cell culture test where a sample from the herpes sore is taken and placed in a laboratory where the virus sample is allowed to multiply on its own. Then, the doctor will examine the virus and if it is found to multiply, and then further diagnosis will be done.

Another way to test for genital herpes is thru the direct fluorescent anti-body test which is a method where a solution containing HSV anti-bodies and fluorescent dye are used. The virus is confirmed to be present if the anti-bodies glow and stick to the dye as seen through a special microscope.

Another recommended test is the taking of a blood test. This is used only after several weeks after the sores have appeared and more physical symptoms are experienced by the person. This test is usually accurate as long as it is done correctly and the specific time requirement for the test to be implemented is met.

There is the polymerase chain reaction test or PCR which is considered an accurate test which makes use of a swab sample and studied in the laboratory. This test can detect if HSV1 or HSV2 is present and is very sensitive that even the smallest amount of virus can be detected. However, this is not widely available and is considered to be a very expensive kind of treatment.

For women, a Pap smear is recommended to check for the virus if symptoms are experienced.

Jonathan Pitts

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