Dear Dr. Donohue: Please, sir, this is my second letter. Give me all the information possible about herpes. I am a carrier.
Dear D.N.: I take it you're interested in genital herpes — herpes simplex virus-2, HSV-2. The first encounter with the virus leads to an outbreak of tiny, painful blisters on red patches on the genital skin. Fever, headache, muscle pain and pain on urination often are also experienced with a first outbreak. Recurrent attacks are not as severe.
Fever, headache and muscle pain do not accompany subsequent outbreaks, but the skin signs are painful. The first year of infection is a year of more-frequent outbreaks. After that, they come less often. If a person is subject to many outbreaks, that person can suppress them by taking Zovirax, Famvir or Valtrex at the first inklings that an outbreak is about to take place.
For recurrence after recurrence, a person can go on daily doses of these medicines to keep outbreaks in check.
Once infected, a person stays infected for life. That person is a carrier.
Transmission is a huge problem. Even when a person has no signs of an outbreak, he or she can pass the virus to a partner. Therefore, all sexual partners should be told about the infection. Condoms, while not 100 percent protective, afford a major degree of safety. When a visible outbreak takes place, the infected person ought not to engage in sexual contact.
You are not alone. The herpes-2 virus infects up to 20 percent of the adult population of North America. Bad as it is, it is not the end of life or the end of a sex life.
Write to Dr. Donohue at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475.
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