Genital herpes!

[micks89]

So i was wondering what quick fixes there are for a singular herpes, it came out yesterday so what quick fixes are there? I don't have a lot of money so nothing thats costly. Thanks

[markh57]

Hi Micks

I don't understand what you mean by "singular herpes" by the way

For a first attack of genital herpes get yourself to the sexual health/GU med clinic.

Do it today.

They will swab it to confirm the diagnosis and tell you which version of the virus you have. They will probably offer you a course of aciclovir tablets to be the quick fix for this attack and will give it to free at the clinic.

The bad news is that once you have had herpes you are never truly free of it. There's no quick fix out there for that.

[micks89 in reply to markh57]

I've been diagnosed already, what i meant by singular is i have just one sore markh57

[markh57 in reply to micks89]

OK got it

My herpes is similar i get very small outbreaks with very mild symptoms. The main issue is actually spotting the outbreak so I can avoid sex when I'm infectious. Well done on spotting yours.

I guess you arn't bothered by symptoms but want to be less infectious so you can get back to having sex?

I discussed this with the specialist at my clinic. Apparently with these small outbreaks you only shed virus for the first couple of days even though you can see the sore for longer.

Aciclovir tablets do reduce how infectious it is and shorten the outbreak but you have to start take them early when the outbreak first starts.

[micks89 in reply to markh57]

I can never spot any signs beforehand, there's no tingling or numbness i only know when it gets sore and a spot like thing appears, thankfully since being diagnosed around a year ago i haven't had many outbreaks. The first being the absolute worst pain of my life lol. Thought my life had ended i had no idea how id contracted it i was gutted and devastated to say the least. However now i have come to terms with it. Im recently single so having to do the whole telling another possible sexual partner is daunting. My ex knew but id been with him for 2 years before my first outbreak and diagnosis and he knew there was something wrong with me coz i was always upset and worried etc he took the news ok. But i have no idea how im going to tell someone else if ever the Time comes i get close to someone x

[markh57 in reply to micks89]

I've posted my approach to having the "awkward conversation" on a couple of other threads, you might want to search them

But much better to talk about it than not.

My symptoms were so mild and infrequent that i didn't have a proper diagnosis and tbh didn't take it seriously. As a result I believe i infected my girlfriend, who had awful symptoms and frequent recurrences. This led directly to the end of our relationship. It's a source of great regret for me.

The other mistake to avoid is to rely on condoms when you have an outbreak. They only reduce the transmission rate by 30%. i caught my Herpes despite using a condom

Good luck to you

[micks89 in reply to markh57]

Sorry to hear about you and your ex! According to statistics there's more people have it and don't even realise it and a lot have it and don't talk about it, it seems to be a taboo subject to a lot of people! I admit i felt dirty and so i didn't talk to anyone about it for months but after a bit of research online and reading other peoples stories i guess i just felt better knowing that it isn't as bad as i first thought. Still is bad of course but wouldn't say its the end of the world x

[Hidden]

Dab a little bit of bicarbonate of soda on the breakout. It may sting but the sore usually dries up within a day or two if done as soon as you feel the tingle. Works a treat for me every time

[Hidden]

I use a bit of sudocrem and it works well, shrinks & dries out the sore plus I take aciclovir tablets

[micks89 in reply to Hidden]

Do you take the tablets every day? My doc wont give me any coz i don't have breakouts all too much x

[Hidden in reply to micks89]

Yes unfortunately I've been taking 2-3 tablets a day to prevent for the past few months because my system is so low from previous pregnancy and I'm stressed out. Before that I hardly had any breakouts for years after my first initial one. Holland & Barret doing I-lysine for 1p if u buy one full price. I'm going to buy it to boost my system to balance it out

[micks89 in reply to Hidden]

That sounds like a good idea! Its awful living with it isn't it :/ i was diagnosed about 18 months to two years ago i thought my world had ended. But i eventually came to terms with it, i rarely have outbreaks but winter is upon us and even a cold can be a knock to the immune system. I've just split up with my long term partner he cheated so now i have to find somewhere for me and my 6 year old to live so as you can imagine im stressed so its no doubt i had an outbreak x

[Hidden in reply to micks89]

Oh no poor you! That's all you need, I really hope u can get sorted before Xmas. I didn't realise that stress triggers it off because before I coped quite well. After my first pregnancy I kept getting reoccurring outbreaks and it's been constant now. If I stop taking the aciclovir, I get a mild outbreak and it's so annoying, I keep going round in circles. I read a few replies on here about foods that promote the sores like nuts - boo as I love eating nuts & have been without realising probably didn't help me (contains argine) and food that reduce I-lysine found in lentils, beans pulses etc hence why I'll try out the holland & Barrett deal to give myself a break!

[micks89 in reply to Hidden]

Its worth it if it works! I was diagnosed after i had my daughter she would of been about 4-5 when I was diagnosed so i can't relate to the pregnancy bit but yes stress definitely does trigger it and being run down also doesn't help. Theres a lot of things that don't help the situation but i can never find anything that helps it lol! When i wrote this post 5 days ago it was day 1 of an outbreak now its just clearing up. It sucks doesn't it. Im only 28 never slept around and this happens lol x

[Hidden in reply to micks89]

I was a lot younger than you when I first got my initial outbreak and it was horrendous from my bf now husband. I nor he realised as he suffers from cold sores. After that nothing for years til the past 2-3 yrs I can't get a long break, literally every month now. Did your ex give it to you? You'll learn to cope x

[micks89 in reply to Hidden]

I honestly don't know because the clinic said it can lie dormant for years. So i could of had it since my teens and never known lol. Its mad isn't it! I hope you get sorted soon love and have no outbreks for a while. I don't get the coldsores which im glad about really coz id feel paranoid about it, i hate getting spots on my face x