It is not life threatening to the person that has it. It is a localised viral skin infection - no more of a problem than a cold sore on the mouth.
It causes small outbreaks of clusters of tiny clear blisters, from one blister to several. Recurrent outbreaks clear up in 3-5 days.
It IS highly stigmatised socially, and that is the main problem.
Besides causing outbreaks, the virus doesn’t do anything. It doesn’t do you any harm, is not progressive, and has no links to any kind of cancer etc.
If you have genital herpes and are pregnant, there is a small risk of passing the virus to the baby during a vaginal delivery. This is most common when a mother catches herpes during the pregnancy - otherwise, it is pretty rare, given that one in four pregnant women has genital herpes. Neonatal herpes is a serious infection.
If you have no symptoms of herpes at the time of delivery, it is ok to have a vaginal delivery. My sister has herpes like me, and has had three vaginal deliveries with no problems at all.
If you have symptoms, the doctors will perform a caesarian section. There is NO risk to the baby from herpes if you have a c-section.
It is not life threatening to the person that has it. It is a localised viral skin infection - no more of a problem than a cold sore on the mouth.
It causes small outbreaks of clusters of tiny clear blisters, from one blister to several. Recurrent outbreaks clear up in 3-5 days.
It IS highly stigmatised socially, and that is the main problem.
Besides causing outbreaks, the virus doesn’t do anything. It doesn’t do you any harm, is not progressive, and has no links to any kind of cancer etc.
If you have genital herpes and are pregnant, there is a small risk of passing the virus to the baby during a vaginal delivery. This is most common when a mother catches herpes during the pregnancy - otherwise, it is pretty rare, given that one in four pregnant women has genital herpes. Neonatal herpes is a serious infection.
If you have no symptoms of herpes at the time of delivery, it is ok to have a vaginal delivery. My sister has herpes like me, and has had three vaginal deliveries with no problems at all.
If you have symptoms, the doctors will perform a caesarian section. There is NO risk to the baby from herpes if you have a c-section.