What Does Herpes Look Like?

This is an image of the herpes virus. It may look harmless, or even kind of neat. But this virus has infected over 60 million Americans and counting with the type that causes genital herpes HSV-2.

In a recent study conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and The American Social Health Association, there are more than 15 million new cases of sexually transmitted infections each year. That’s 41,095 people, newly infected, every day!

Oral Herpes - HSV-1

Up to 80 percent of Americans have the most common form of herpes (HSV-1) at some time. It usually appears as oral herpes and is most often spread without sexual contact.

HSV-1 usually occurs around the mouth. The blister-like sores are commonly called cold sores or fever blisters. Herpes often looks like a mosquito bite or paper cut, sometimes a zit or a whitehead. The skin can become red and tender. Then swelling may occur until small blisters appear.

Sometimes they gather in to a larger blister. The blisters can be transparent, whitish, yellowish or filled with a greenish liquid. Symptoms may vary from time to time, the appearance of the blisters also. They may change size, shape or color or appear in a different spot.

Genital Herpes - HSV-2

Genital Herpes can causes lesions or sores that appear around and even inside the vaginal area and cervix for women, and on the scrotum and penis for men. Both females and males could also get lesions and sores in the urinary tract, on the thighs and buttocks and around the anal opening.In some rare cases, sores and lesions have been discovered on other body parts as well.

The first few symptoms of genital herpes are the peculiar small red bumps that later on develop into blisters. These blisters will then become painful open sores that will eventually dry up, crust over and will then heal without leaving any scars.

Congenital Herpes - mother to baby

Newborn infants can become infected with herpes virus:

• In the uterus (intrauterine herpes — this is very rare)
• Passing through the birth canal (birth-acquired herpes, the most common method of infection)
• Right after birth (postpartum)

If the mother has an active genital herpes infection at the time of delivery, the baby is more likely to become infected during birth. Some mothers are not aware when they have internal (inside the vagina) herpes sores, so it is important for women to tell their doctor if they have a history of genital herpes.

In addition, some people have had herpes infections in the past, but were not aware of it and were never diagnosed or treated. These people, not knowing that they have herpes, may pass it to their baby.

Herpes type 2 (genital herpes) is the most common cause of herpes infection in newborn babies, but herpes type 1 (oral herpes) can also occur.