Herpes
What is the length of time for the sypmtoms of a recurrence of herpes 2?
I have some tenderness but no visible discoloring or rash around a patch of skin on my right upper thigh. This has been going on for about 5 days. After doing some internet research, I think I might be one of the millions of people who have some form of herpes but do not know it due to very mild, almost symptomless recurrences. I have linked my skin tenderness to a possible herpes infection but I can't find any hard information on a typical recurrence's duration.
Public Comments
- There is no set time period for HSV-2 recurrence. They can be triggered by physical or mental stress, other illnesses (cold, flu, etc.) but other than that, the recurrences are quite random. There are no studies that show clearly documented triggers. Herpes typically has a vesicular appearance which means that the pump has a clear fluid filled center. These lesions are typically preceeded by tingling, pain, or tenderness to the inguinal area (most often). If you want to know for sure, I would suggest going to your primary care doc and having him run a blood test for HSV-2. That way you know for sure what you're dealing with. If you're relatively asymptomatic, then you may not require treatment, unless you're sexually active. The funny thing about HSV-2 that you don't hear on TV or in sex ed class is that contact with the lesions or their fluid can cause transmission. The lesions are not always found on the penis and can be in the inguinal or inner thigh region where condoms do not reach. So the best thing to do if you have a confirmed infections is to be on suppressive medication. This can be done with Valtrex, once a day (i'm sure you've seen the commercial) or with Acyclovir twice a day, which is quite a bit cheaper if you don't have a good prescription plan on your insurance. I've attached an article if you'd like to know more. I hope this helps.
