Let’s Talk About HSV
This post is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider for personalized guidance.
The number of new HSV infections that I have seen this year is a little scary. What’s even worse is most people seem to not know very much regarding HSV. It is time to be enlightened about HSV from yours truly.
What’s it look like/what will symptoms be
HSV, or most commonly known as herpes, comes in two forms- HSV-1 and HSV-2. It does not matter which one you have, they are treated the same and they can show up anywhere on our body. I would say that some people with HSV-1 have been known to have fewer reoccurring infections. HSV is characterized by clusters of blisters or sores on the skin or mucus membranes. It is most commonly seen on the mouth or the genitals, but as I mentioned above, it can show up anywhere on the body (I have seen them on the chest, lower back, scalp, nose, chin, etc.)
The first time someone gets an outbreak of HSV, their symptoms are usually more severe. They tend to have systemic symptoms like fatigue, body aches, fever, and swollen lymph nodes, along with local symptoms where the blisters will occur. The local symptoms the first outbreak are very painful and can cause swelling and redness along with tingling, itching, sharp local pains, and burning. Reoccurring outbreaks are typically less painful and systemic symptoms are not as severe. It is very easy to spread the virus to others- active symptoms and unhealed blisters with skin to skin contact will spread the virus. There is also something called asymptomatic shedding, where there is HSV in body fluids (like saliva or genital secretions) even if there are no active symptoms.
Testing for HSV
Testing for HSV varies a little bit, but is not fully dependable sometimes. Here are some different types of testing:
-Viral culture: a sample is taken from a sore or lesion and sent to a lab to try to grow the virus. This can be very accurate if the sore is fresh (within 48 hours of appearance). If the sores are healing, it may not show positive.
-PCR testing: highly sensitive test detects HSV DNA from a lesion, blood, spinal fluid, or other tissue. This is more accurate than the culture and can differentiate between HSV 1 or 2. It is also more expensive and some places do not offer this.
-Antibody blood test: a blood test that detects antibodies in response to HSV 1 or 2. There is an IgM test, which checks for early response, but is not as reliable. There is also an IgG test which detects longer term antibodies and is more specific. This can be useful for people who have never had a visible outbreak. It can take months for IgG antibodies to appear, so it may not be useful for a first time outbreak.
What to do if you have a diagnosis of HSV
If you are diagnosed with HSV, there are a few things that you can do to prevent outbreaks. L-Lysine (an essential amino acid) can help prevent infections (~1500mg daily). It is also recommended to avoid additional L-arginine supplements. There are prescription anti-viral medications that can be given as well. If you notice you have symptoms of an outbreak, you should contact your health care provider within 48 hours to start the prescription medications (valacyclovir/acyclovir). You could also take this medication daily if you are someone who gets frequent outbreaks. The more controlled your stress levels (mental, physical, etc.) are, typically the less outbreaks you have.
If you are someone who has an active outbreak, please do not have any skin to skin contact with someone else. Your HSV virus is actively replicating which means it spreads significantly easier to other people. You should not partake in any skin to skin contact with others until the blisters are fully healed. This can take up to 3 weeks. The risk of spread is much lower when someone is asymptomatic (not actively having symptoms) because the viral load has decreased in the body. Please be responsible if you have HSV!
That is all for now-