About Herpes

One day I’ve found I have herpes. I was very upset. It was awful and so painful and I didn’t know what to do. Now I know that herpes is an infection caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV).

Moreover, there are two subtypes if the virus: HSV-1 and HSV-2. In fact, Herpes is the name of a group of viruses. These viruses cause terrible diseases: HSV-1 and HSV-2 can cause blisters and ulcers on the mouth, face and genitals, or around the anus.

There are two kinds of herpes. One kind, herpes simplex, causes both cold sores around the mouth and genital herpes (herpes around the sexual organs). The second one, herpes zoster, causes chickenpox and shingles.

But the most terrible thing is that once you are infected with herpes, it’s forever! Doctor says that any infected person remains infected for the whole life! Of course, it’s bad news. But there is also good news: the herpes virus can be "latent" or "not active" and not causing diseases for long periods of time!

So things are not so bad. We have to fight for healthy life! Let’s do it together!

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