STDs are no laughing matter, and herpes is no exception. Talking with your kids about the dangers of herpes and other sexually transmitted diseases can be uncomfortable to say the least, but a necessity for their health and well being. Currently, there is no cure for genital herpes, so it’s best to avoid getting it in the first place. If you think that you or your teen has a genital herpes outbreak, with uncomfortable symptoms such as genital or oral sores, it would be wise to get tested for the disease. You can have genital herpes and not even know it—the disease can lay dormant for a significant period of time before an outbreak occurs. The test is painless and easy—just ask your doctor to test you.
If you are tested and find that you do have genital herpes, you can treat outbreaks with common prescription medications such as Valtrex. It’s important to refrain from sexual contact while you have an outbreak of genital herpes since you can pass it to your partner.
Another less known, but no less devastating form of herpes is called oral herpes. Oral herpes, otherwise known as canker sores, occurs in 90% of adults. Although this is a different virus than the genital herpes virus, it can still be painful and cause sores in the mouth or even the genitals. There is no cure for oral herpes (just like genital herpes), but you can make use of common medications such as Ora-Jel to deal with pain and soreness resulting from an outbreak.
While it may be hard to avoid genital and oral herpes is you are promiscuous and have a lot of partners, you should try to avoid the disease. That’s easy to do if you get tested frequently and refrain from sexual contact at the first symptom of an outbreak—such as sores. If you do have genital or oral herpes, don’t despair. Although there is no cure for herpes, outbreaks can be treated and many people live fulfilling lives with the disease.
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