Dr. Gowramma

Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease. One out of every six people in the United States suffers from this disease. It is more common than you think. Like any other STD, it is extremely important to take proper protection (use a condom) while engaging in sexual activities.

Genital Herpes is caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV). There are two types of herpes simplex virus.

1. HSV-1 is most commonly associated with blisters and ulcers around the mouth known as cold sores.
2. HSV-2 is associated with blistering lesions in genital areas that are exposed during sexual contact.

However, both types of herpes simplex virus can infect the mouth or the genital areas, meaning that genital contact with a cold sore on the mouth can lead to genital herpes. Likewise, kissing someone with a cold sore can spread the herpes simplex virus infection.

After the initial outbreak of herpes, the virus travels through the nerves and resides in nerve tissue within the body.

Most people with genital herpes don’t know they have it. That’s because in most people it produces either no symptoms or very mild ones.

Symptoms of Genital Herpes:

1. The area around your genitalia becomes red and cracked without any pain or itching.
2. Itching around your anal region
3. Blisters around your genitalia can cause immense pains when they break open.
4. Pain in the open sores while urination.
5. Headaches and backaches.
6. Flu and swollen lymph nodes are very common.
7. Fatigue is also felt if you suffer from genital herpes.

Symptoms like these can be mistaken for other infections such as vaginal yeast infections, bacterial infections and bladder infections. So, if you are suffering from such symptoms it is advisable to go in for a health check up followed by a physical exam and a blood test to confirm whether you have genital herpes or not.

How can it get spread?

You can only get Genital Herpes from vaginal intercourse and not anal or oral intercourse. The fluid present in the sore of a genital herpes patient has infected fluid. If the fluid comes in contact with their partner’s sexual organs while having intercourse they can be easily infected.

Can Symptoms Be Treated?

There is no cure for genital herpes. But the symptoms can be lessened and prevented with treatment. Treatment can also reduce the risk of infecting others.

Your healthcare provider may prescribe antiviral medications to help prevent or reduce the pain and discomfort from an outbreak of symptoms. Medication taken on a daily basis to suppress the virus can reduce the number of outbreaks and reduce the risk of infecting others

How to Avoid Getting Genital Herpes:

1. Try to have sex with people who have been tested negative for herpes or any other STDs.
2. Use a latex condom while having sex. It prevents any sort of liquid to pass inside your partner’s genitalia. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a sexologist.

The first few months post pregnancy are the most tiring for a mother. Sleep whenever your baby dozes. This will help you regain your strength.

As the world has moved and is moving towards a more sedentary lifestyle, where non sedentary jobs have become lesser, posture is something that tends to get affected a lot.

Let's look at how some of these bad body postures can affect your health in the long run:

1. Increases depression and stress: Many studies have revealed that walking or sitting in a slouched or generally bad position increases the susceptibility to depression and stress. Slouching or sitting in a bad position and thus developing a bad posture will constrict the body, resulting in the poor blood flow. This may cause you to be irritable and tired and over a long time it will contribute to depression and increased stress levels.
2. Bad breathing patterns: The lungs and the rib cage in your body need to be expanded fully to work at their best capacity. However, due to bad body postures, the rib cage and the lungs will be constricted and not be able to work at full capacity. This over time will build up to create long term problems with breathing as well as other resulting health problems.
3. Problems with digestion: As is the case with breathing problems, when the body posture is not correct it will also affect digestion. This is so,  as bad posture also affects the intestines and if they are pressured or constricted in any way, will affect the entire digestion process. Slouching may also cause you to develop a paunch or belly over time due to a combination of bad postures and digestive problems.
4. Developing chronic pain in the back shoulders and neck: This is probably the most common and the most quickly noticeable problem, if you have a bad posture. Most of the population with sedentary lifestyle either currently has or has experienced this problem in their back, shoulders and neck. This is again due to constrictions of the muscles and misalignment of the various bones that support these parts. Long term misalignment could cause deformities that could spiral into problems, which are far worse.
5. Headaches caused by muscle tension within the body due to bad postures: This has afflicted most of the sedentary work force all over the work, at some point of time or the other. While sitting in a bad position for a prolonged period, the tension in the muscles will build up releasing chemicals that may contribute to headaches. If these become frequent they could contribute to other health problems such as high blood pressure in the long run.