You got the herpes

CEBU, Philippines - When someone tells you that you have herpes, how would you react?

You’d probably be thinking, “Oh my God! I swear I always wear a condom,” or “I’m a virgin, how could this have happened?”

A close friend who contracted a summer disease from her kids recently posted her dilemma on Facebook. She was told by our entertainment editor in The FREEMAN, who happens to be a registered nurse, that she has a virus similar to that of herpes. She was aghast, a typical reaction considering that most of us know herpes to be associated with promiscuity.

Truth of the matter is, herpes is not just about sex, and our editor friend explained it very well to our dear lucky friend who now has the opportunity to rest.

Varicella zoster

Herpes virus actually is of several types (or strains, as most people in the medical field would call them) and one of this is the varicella zoster virus, which causes a very common children’s illness we all know as chickenpox. My friend, by the way, had chickenpox.

Usually, chickenpox would last for a week, but even if the signs of the virus’s presence in our system are no longer there (i.e. blisters), the virus tends to stay in our body in a state of hibernation and choosing our nerves as its resting place. At times, it is awakened by some unfortunate fortuitous event, causing an entirely different condition of a different name, which we will talk about later.

Chickenpox is generally not a cause of concern when it happens to children, but when an adult gets smitten by it the disease’s manifestation is more severe, especially among the male population.

Change of Name

As mentioned earlier, the virus would sometimes resurface later and this time it would be called herpes zoster or shingles. Why this name change is beyond me, but one thing is for certain, while chickenpox is just plain irritating with the blisters being so itchy, herpes zoster can be darn painful.

Not all those who had chickenpox, though, would experience the shingles. Mostly, herpes zoster would manifest in patients whose immune system has be compromised, like those who are undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy, patients with HIV or AIDS, those who had organ transplant, and pregnant women. It also has the tendency of manifesting in the elderly and psychologically stressed individuals.

Herpes Simplex 1 And 2

Another popular strain of the herpes virus (more accurately, the herpesviridae) are the herpes simplex virus 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2). HSV-2 is the one responsible for the herpes that we are all familiar with, genital herpes.

HSV-1 is a type of herpes virus that manifests as blisters in the mouth, face, eye, and throat. The blister is where the viral materials are and is usually present for 2 to 21 days. Contact with these blisters causes the transmission of the virus from one individual to the next.

HSV-2, on the other hand, may or may not present with any symptoms. This, however, does not mean that it will not spread. Skin to skin contact at the time when the virus is active, is enough for one to be a lucky host of this parasite.

Both types of viruses are also not exclusive to their site of affectation. Sometimes, HSV-1 can cause blisters in the genital area, just as HSV-2 can cause blisters to appear in the oral mucosa and other parts of the body.

The best form of protection, minimal as it may be, would be the use of barriers (aka condoms) at the time when the virus is active. But, then again, with its tendency to be asymptomatic (meaning, no signs of the virus can be seen), self-control is still the best way to go.

The cure?

Sadly, as with all viruses, herpes has no cure. Anti-viral drugs, actually do not kill the virus, rather, its mechanism of action is to prevent the spread of the virus making it easier for our own immune system to battle what’s left of them.

You see, the strength of a virus comes with its ability to multiply. The more there are of them in our system, the more chances for them to destroy our body. But, if there are only a few of them, they will be weakened and eventually our immune system would be able to develop a strategy that would effectively wipe them out of our system.

This is actually the concept behind vaccines. Viral vaccines are made of a weaker strain of the virus. When injected into our body, this will stimulate our immune system to fight it, but since it is a weak strain, the disease would not actually manifest, except perhaps on few rare occasions.

Managing the blisters gracefully

Accepting the truth that there is really no cure for the virus, we are faced with the fact that we have to live with the disease as it takes its natural course. This, however, does not mean that we can’t do anything but wait. On the contrary, many uncomfortable symptoms that come with the condition like fever, headache, pain, and itching, can be managed with common medications, even over the counter ones.

Pain that comes with shingles, for example, can be managed by physical therapy, and so can Bell’s Palsy, which is believed to be caused by the herpes simplex virus. Itching can be relieved with hot compresses, calamine lotion, or other anti-itch ointments and lotions.

So, you got the herpes, at least now you are aware where you got it, and definitely it’s not just about promiscuity.

The worst that you could get out of it, given that you have a strong and healthy immune system, are scars and days of itching and scratching, so, relax and enjoy this time as an opportunity for you to rest from the hassles of work.

For the meantime, avoid the scratching so as not to spread the virus.