Herpes Test Kit

How do I find out if I have Herpes?
For some, the big question is, do I have herpes? According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 45 million people in the United States ages 12 and older, infected with Herpes. That means that 1 out of 5 of the total adolescent and adult population exposed to Herpes.

In the United States since the late 1970’s, the number of people with genital herpes infection has increased 30 percent. One of the largest increases is occurring in young teens.

Herpes can remain in the nerve cells of people for all of their lives. The symptoms of Herpes can also be a lifetime commitment.

Herpes is an infection caused by the herpes simplex virus or HSV. There are two types of HSV, and both can cause genital herpes. HSV type 1 most commonly infects the lips, causing sores known as fever blisters or cold sores, but it also can infect the genital area and produce sores. HSV type 2 is the usual cause of genital herpes, but it also can infect the mouth.

What are the Symptoms of a Herpes Infection? What Does a Herpes Outbreak look like? What are the First Signs of Herpes?
Herpes is another one of the “silent” sexually transmitted diseases or infections. Unfortunately, most people who infected with Herpes never know it because either they do not have any symptoms or they do not recognize the symptoms that they do have.

Signs and symptoms of Herpes can be different for each person. Most times, when you infect with Herpes for the first time, the symptoms appear within 2 to 10 days. In addition, this first episode may last between 2 to 3 weeks.

The signs and symptoms that you exposed to the Herpes virus are the same for men and women. The early symptoms of genital herpes are:

• Generalized aches and pains in the legs, buttocks and sexual organ area
• Pain and pressure in the area between your belly button and your sexual organs
• An unusual discharge from the vagina or penis
• An itching or burning feeling in your sexual organs area including the rectum
• A fever and upset stomach that you may think is the flu

The next stage of the symptoms of Herpes includes:

• An itching or burning before the blisters appear
• Blisters near the area where the virus has entered the body such as the mouth, penis or vagina
• Open sores develop next, crust over and then heal
• Swollen glands in the area between your belly button and your sexual organs
• A burning sensation when you urinate

Herpes Transmission - How Do you get Herpes?
Most people get genital herpes by having sex with someone who is having a herpes "outbreak." This outbreak means that Herpes virus is active.

When active, the virus usually causes visible lesions in the genital area. The lesions shed (cast off) viruses that can infect another person. Sometimes, however, a person can have an outbreak and have no visible sores at all. People often get genital herpes by having sexual contact with others who do not know they are infected or who are having outbreaks of herpes without any sores.

A person with genital herpes also can infect you during oral sex.

How do I know for sure if I have Herpes? Herpes Testing...
There are laboratory tests available from Private Diagnostics that can help to determine if you have Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV). There are also laboratory tests that can determine if you have HSV type 1 or HSV type 2.

**PLEASE NOTE: THE HERPES TEST IS A LESION SWAB TEST ONLY. **

THIS IS NOT A URINE TEST.

Why get Treatment?
While there is no cure for the virus that cause Herpes, there are some prescribed medications that can treat the Herpes Simplex Virus as well as to help to prevent future outbreaks.

There are also natural treatments and remedies, which will help to strengthen your immune system and delay any future outbreaks.