Herpes is a common STD caused by a virus. It can be spread:
- mouth to mouth through kissing
- through vaginal, anal and oral sex
If can even be spread just by touching the herpes sore. Some symptoms of herpes include painful blisters or “cold sores” on the mouth, penis and vaginal areas, buttocks or anus. The symptoms will go away over time. They can come back again at any time. This is because the virus stays in the body. It is very easy for someone to get the herpes virus from another person when blisters or sores are present. The virus can still be passed to another person even when they don’t have any blisters, sores or pain. Sometimes the symptoms are mild and people don’t know that they have herpes.
You can find out if you have the herpes virus by having a clinician test the fluid from the sores or blisters. If you don’t have any sores or blisters but you think you may have gotten herpes from someone, you can find out if you have herpes by having a blood test. While there is no cure for the herpes virus, there is medicine that can be prescribed that can help to control the symptoms. You can also help control symptoms if you take good care of yourself. Eat well, get plenty of rest, and don’t drink or smoke. Taking a multivitamin every day can help as well.
If you're in California, you can find a clinic where you can get tested for the herpes virus by using the TeenSource Find a Clinic Search
To learn more about herpes and how to reduce the risk of transmission: