Symptoms of a first outbreak may vary from person to person.4
After skin-to-skin contact, you may develop any of the following:
Pain in the genital or anal area
Pain during urination
Flu-like symptoms (e.g., fever, aches in the joints and muscles)
A feeling of general ill health
You may then experience:
Symptoms which become progressively worse
Lymph glands in the groin and/or neck which become swollen
Redness and sensitivity of the affected skin within the genital area
One or several small, painful, fluid-filled blisters that begin to appear on any of the following areas:
In women, symptoms appear as follows:4
Externally, on the genitals, inner and outer labia, around the anus or on the buttocks and thighs
Internally, in the vagina and at the cervix
Blisters may be accompanied by a runny vaginal discharge.
The blisters will break, leaving painful open sores which may last for 2 weeks or more.
Scabs eventually form which fall off to leave normal, healed skin.
Healing is often associated with itchiness in the affected area.
Symptoms of herpes in the anal area may include pain, discharge and bleeding.
In men, symptoms appear as follows:4
Externally, on the penis, thighs and buttocks
Internally, in the urethra
If sores are in or near the urethra, painful urination or discharge from the penis may occur.
The blisters will break, leaving painful open sores which may last for 2 weeks or more.
Scabs eventually form which fall off to leave normal, healed skin.
Healing is often associated with itchiness in the affected area.
Symptoms of herpes in the anal area may include pain, discharge and bleeding.
References
1. Whitley RJ, Kimberlin DW and Roizman B. Herpes Simplex Viruses. Clinical Infectious Diseases 1998;26:541-55.
2. Gupta R and Wald A. Genital Herpes: antiviral therapy for symptom relief and prevention of transmission. Expert Opin Pharmacother 2006;7(6):665-675.
3. Aoki FY. Canadian Guidelines on Sexually Transmitted Infections 2006 Edition, Health Canada.
4. Sacks SL. The Truth About Herpes. 4th ed. West Vancouver, BC: Gordon Soules Book Publishers Ltd.;1997.
5. Ebel C, Wald A. Managing Herpes: How to Live and Love With a Chronic STD. Research Triangle Park, NC: American Social Health Association;2002.
6. Ribes JA, Steele AD, Seabolt JP et al. Six-Year Study of the Incidence of Herpes in Genital and Nongenital Cultures in a Central Kentucky Medical Center Patient Population. J Clin Micro 2001;39(9):3321-3325.
7. Patrick DM, Dawar M, Cook DA et al. Antenatal seroprevalence of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) in Canadian women. Sex Transm Dis 2001;28(7):424-428.
8. Mertz GJ, Benedetti J, Ashley R et al. Risk Factors for the Sexual Transmission of Genital Herpes. Annals of Internal Medicine 1992;116:197-202.
9. Wald A, Zeh J, Selke S et al. Virologic Characteristics of Subclinical and Symptomatic Genital Herpes Infections. NEJM 1995;333(12):770-775.
10. Wald A, Zeh J,Selke S et al. Genital Shedding of Herpes Simplex Virus among Men. Journal of Infectious Diseases 2002;186(Suppl 1):S34-S39.
11. Corey L, Wald A, Patel R et al. Once-Daily Valacyclovir to Reduce the Risk of Transmission of Genital Herpes. NEJM 2004;350(1):11-20.
12. Cuisini M and Ghislanzoni M. The importance of diagnosing genital herpes. JAntimicro Chemo 2001;47(Topic T1):9-16.
13. Steben M, Sacks SL. Genital herpes: The epidemiology and control of a common sexually transmitted disease. Can J Hum Sex 1997;6(2):127-134.
14. Wald A, Langenberg AGM, Link K et al. Effect of condoms on reducing the transmission of herpes simplex virus type 2 from men to women. JAMA 2001;285(24):3100-3106.
15. Van der Laar MJ, Termorshuizen F, Slomka MJ et al. Prevalence and correlates of herpes simplex virus type 2 infection: Evaluation of behavioural risk factors. Int J Epidemiol 1998;27(1):127-134.
