Herpes is a viral disease, and in the case of a herpes virus carrier, symptoms appear as the virus begins to act in the body when the immune system is weakened. When it comes to herpes, the first thing that comes to mind is herpes on the lips. However, herpes is not the only symptom of herpes on the lips.
Herpesviruses are divided into types 1 and 2. In the case of type 1 virus, herpes mainly occurs around the lips, and symptoms appear when the body’s immune system is weakened due to various reasons such as fatigue, stress, and weather. Unlike type 1, type 2 virus is a viral disease classified as a sexually transmitted disease. The main cause of infection is infection through sexual contact, and when infected with herpes type 2, symptoms such as blisters, herpes, blisters, and crusts appear on the genitals (genitals). In the case of genital infections, especially women, since they have a body structure with the genitals inside, it is often difficult to urinate because they feel great pain. Herpesvirus can infect both men and women, and once infected, symptoms can appear when immunity is low.
However, not everyone infected with the herpesvirus develops symptoms. Although it is a disease that is easy to recur once infected, if the immune system is good, even if it is infected once, it may not recur for a lifetime, and there are cases where it passes asymptomatic or mild symptoms.
Is herpes type 2 contagious even if you are asymptomatic?
When sexual intercourse (including oral sex) is performed while symptoms caused by the herpes type 2 virus are expressed in the genitals, the probability of infection is more than 80%. If there are only scaly (keratin) symptoms, the infectivity is regarding 30%. Even if you are asymptomatic, you are not safe from infection. Even if you don’t have symptoms, there’s a slim chance you can infect your sexual partner with herpes from ‘viral shedding’.
In other words, depending on an individual’s immunity, even if the person is infected with herpes, the symptoms may not appear, and even if the person does not show symptoms, if the other person is infected by shedding the virus, the other person may develop herpes type 2 symptoms. Therefore, if you have a consistent sex life, it is good to check for sexually transmitted infections such as herpes through regular check-ups (STD tests). In addition, if you are infected with the herpes virus, you should be actively treated with a sexual partner to help you recover quickly and weaken the infectivity.
In humid and hot summer weather, the virus not only survives, but the activity of the virus becomes more active, increasing the probability of infection. In particular, the herpes virus is highly contagious and can infect both men and women regardless of age during sexual contact, so it is necessary to prepare for the disease through regular check-ups. Also, wearing a condom (a rubber contraceptive device) during sexual activity is a great help in preventing sexually transmitted diseases, including herpes.
Written by Hidak Medical Correspondent, Director Lee Dong-hee (obstetrician-gynecologist)
