What is genital herpes?

Genital herpes is a common sexually transmitted infection (STI), with roughly 572,000Trusted Source new infections developing each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

However, a person with genital herpes might not have symptoms or have only mild symptoms. Most people may not know they have it. Approximately 87.4%Trusted Source of 14-49 year-olds who have genital herpes do not have a clinical diagnosis.

HERPES

Sometimes, particularly with their first outbreak of genital herpes, people can have additional symptoms which affect their whole bodies, such as:

• fever

• headache

• body aches

• swollen lymph nodes

• painful urination

• eye infection

Genital herpes symptoms

These sores tend to develop on the penis, around or inside the vagina, on the buttocks, or on the anus, though they can form on other areas of skin.

Herpes can also cause pain when urinating, and changes in vaginal discharge.

The first time a person develops the sores, they may last 2–6 weeks before clearing up.

Soon after this initial outbreak, symptoms may recur frequently. Over time, outbreaks may occur less often and the symptoms typically become less severe.