Herpes simplex virus infections of the skin

It's a good idea to go in to see your doctor if you are worried that you may have contracted herpes. Your doctor can perform a viral culture, which takes a few days to a week for results. A more rapid test may also be performed in the office Tzank smear or sent to a lab direct immunofluorescence with results ready in about a day. Other tests include skin biopsy or antibody testing of the blood.

Again, it's best to discuss with your doctor your treatment options. There are many over-the-counter medications and home remedies that claim to help or cure herpes, but most of these are false claims and do very little, if anything at all, to help. Your doctor may prescribe you with an antiviral medication that you can take with each episode.

For people with very serious or very frequent recurrences, a different dosage may be taken on a regular basis to prevent recurrent episodes. HSV is a very common virus, and transmission occurs quickly in new sexual relationships. Prevention can be difficult, but possible. Avoid contact with anyone infected with the virus, especially with active lesions.

Barrier protection such as with a condom can help prevent spread of genital herpes, but some HSV ulcers can occur outside o the area protected by the condom and still be transmitted. This website was created in collaboration with The Rockefeller University.

All rights reserved. Stay out of the sun when the sun is strongest 10 am to 4 pm. Wear protective clothes, like hats and sunglasses, when going outside. Herpes Simplex Virus What is Herpes? Zoom In Herpes is a very common infection caused by a virus, called the herpes simplex virus, or HSV. They are called herpes simplex type 1 and type 2.

They can be transferred from person to person by direct skin to skin contact with the affected place when enough virus is present. This is often a lesion or sore but transmission may also occur at other times, perhaps when there is only an itch or tingle in the area.

Most people are only infected in one area and are unlikely to transfer the infection to other parts of their bodies. Infection may be followed by symptoms, such as sores or blisters, within a few days but some people will not notice anything for months or years. Others are carriers who never have symptoms. The virus remains dormant in the sensory nerves close to the place of original infection. Reactivation may result in more blisters nearby, on skin that is served by the same nerves dermatome.

The frequency of recurrences varies from person to person. For some people symptoms appear several times a year, in others rarely or never.

Keep up to date with the latest research about herpes simplex and all things skin related with our newsletter. Herpes cannot be caught from towels, swimming pools, saunas or from toilet seats. However, it can be passed on through sharing sex toys, or other intimate items such as razors, when there is an active lesion. The very first infection is often unnoticed as it may only produce a short-lived redness of the skin.

Sometimes, however, a first infection can make a person feel very unwell with a temperature, swollen lymph glands and soreness and blisters in the mouth, on the lips or elsewhere on the skin. The virus may lie dormant in the nerve endings for some time but when it becomes active again, the first symptom is a burning or stinging pain at the affected site, followed by pink bumps and small blisters.

The blisters quickly dry and crust over, and the areas usually heal within a few days. Symptoms may recur at the same place or nearby. If herpes simplex virus infects the eye, it causes pain, discharge and sensitivity to light, and can cause scarring.

Usually the clinical appearance of the skin affected by herpes simplex is enough to make a diagnosis. A surface swab can be taken by a nurse or doctor to confirm the diagnosis. The result usually takes a few days. If you think you may have herpes in the genital area, it will have been caught through sexual activity. This is because other sexually transmitted diseases may be present and should be tested for as well. Symptoms clear in days, with or without treatment, though the virus will remain in a dormant state in the body.

In a majority of patients, recurrent symptoms are mild and infrequent, or do not happen at all. For a minority, troublesome recurrences can usually be prevented by using oral anti-viral drugs or adopting lifestyle changes. A skin injury, such as an operation or a graze, at the place where the virus shows itself at the surface.

Asymptomatic homosexuals may represent a large reservoir of the disease, which appears to be on the increase in our society. Cytology, immunofluorescence, viral cultures and serologic tests can be used for laboratory confirmation of the diagnosis.

Newer methods of treatment with vaccine containing heat-inactivated virus, and use of photoinactivation following topical application of heterotricyclic dyes, show promise. Abstract Herpes simplex infections of the perianal skin and anal canal are not uncommon, as evidenced by the present series of 16 cases, but have rarely been reported in the literature of the past.