What is Herpes?
Herpes is contracted by having sexual intercourse with a person who is inflicted with the HSV virus. Herpes may be caused by two types of viruses – the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and the herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) HSV-1 is usually responsible for cold sores, while HSV-2 is commonly the culprit for genital herpes. In recent years, however, HSV-1 has increasingly also caused genital herpes due to the fact that oral sex has become more and more common.
What are the herpes symptoms in men?
Where to look for signs of herpes?
Though called genital herpes, herpes in men is not just limited to the genital area. Other areas where outbreaks may happen include the thighs, behind the knees, on the buttocks, on the fingers, around the groin area, and in and around the anus.
Early herpes symptoms in men
The most common genital herpes symptoms in men is itching in the groin area. What makes this different from normal itching is the extreme burning sensation that accompanies it. An infected person may also experience fevers, fatigue, chills, headaches, painful urination, decreased appetite, and muscle aches. Together with these symptoms, an infected person may also experience an inflammation of the gland in both the groin and neck areas. All of these could occur even before the actual sore becomes visible in the infected area.
The Primary Outbreak
The primary outbreak usually refers to that period, after the occurrence of the early symptoms, when the blisters already start to appear on the affected areas. During the primary outbreak, a number of fluid-filled blisters and sores appear with much pain and discomfort. These blisters and sores do not appear singularly, but in clusters. This is also the time when the virus already starts moving to the surface of your skin and occurs 2 to 40 days after sexual intercourse with an HSV infected person. On the average, the primary outbreak lasts from around 5 to 20 days.
Recurring outbreaks
Recurring outbreaks are milder in nature and are not as bad as the primary outbreak which is usually very uncomfortable. Recurring outbreaks also only last around 3 days, which is a much shorter time period as compared to the usual initial outbreak of up to 3 weeks.
I’m showing herpes symptoms in men, what should I do?
There are two important things that you should do once you find that there is reason to believe that you have symptoms of herpes in men.
- Be honest with your partner. Herpes is very uncomfortable and can easily be passed on to another person through sexual intercourse. It is important to be honest and to tell your partner that you are experiencing symptoms of herpes to avoid yourself from passing on the virus to him/her.
- See your doctor. Although the symptoms we discussed above are usually the most common ones, symptoms still vary from person to person. It would be best to consult your doctor and to get a culture test to identify whether you really have herpes. Once the virus strain has been properly identified, your doctor would be able to prescribe the right treatment for you.
In conclusion, herpes symptoms in men are mostly easily verifiable but nothing beats a trip to the doctor as soon as possible.