What causes genital herpes in men and how to cope with it?

Symptoms of a cold on the penis

The disease manifests itself in the form of watery blisters with a red edge. More often - on the head of the penis.

The frenulum is also affected, rashes appear on the foreskin, on the balls, and in the perineum. Sometimes the infection additionally affects the pubis, abdomen, and buttocks. We wrote about anal and also herpes on the buttocks in this article.

In addition to the rash, the disease is characterized by the following symptoms:

• general malaise;
• burning and itching in intimate places;
• pain when urinating;
• swelling on the scrotum and glans penis;
• purulent discharge;
• enlarged lymph nodes in the groin area;
• gastrointestinal disorder;
• elevated temperature.

According to experts, these signs, as a rule, accompany the primary infection; during a secondary infection they may not be present.

The man feels quite healthy all this time and has sexual intercourse, although he can already infect someone close to him.

Possible complications

Complications are usually the result of delayed or incorrect treatment, so treating genital herpes on your own, without medical help, is not recommended.

The list of possible complications:

• cracks in the rectal mucosa;
• herpes urethritis (inflammation of the urethra);
• sexual dysfunction;
• prostate tumor.

The combination of a herpes infection with a bacterial one is of particular concern. In this situation, complications are possible on various organs of a man - for example, on the kidneys, bladder.

Stages of disease development

The disease goes through a number of stages.

Stage 1. In areas of future rashes, burning, itching, and redness appear. There is a feeling of heaviness in the lower abdomen and numbness - after sleep or prolonged sitting.

Stage 2. Bubbles form on the skin where there was previously redness (on the penis, on the balls, in the pubic area, in the anus). Bubbles coming into contact with laundry cause discomfort.

Stage 3. The bubbles burst. The ulcers remaining in their place begin to dry out and become covered with crusts.

When they fall off, the skin, as a rule, remains clean, without any traces of sores in the form of age spots.

Indications and contraindications for use, as well as detailed instructions for using La-Cri cream are described in this material.

If you are interested in how to treat aphthous stomatitis, read our article.

Clinical picture

There are primary and recurrent genital herpes. In some cases, asymptomatic genital herpes simplex occurs.

Primary genital herpes usually develops in young people after the onset of sexual activity. Primary genital herpes in men is characterized by a large area of ​​​​damage, which can include the head, foreskin and skin of the shaft of the penis, as well as the scrotum. Less commonly, rashes are localized on the inner thighs and buttocks. Clinical manifestations of primary genital herpes are characterized by severe swelling and hyperemia of the genital organs. The number of grouped bubbles that appear after this, sometimes with cloudy contents, is always large. In this regard, after their opening, extensive weeping erosions with rounded outlines are formed. Erosions can gradually merge with each other and transform into shallow painful ulcers. Healing of the wound surface usually occurs within 2-4 weeks. Whitish spots may remain at the site of former rashes.

With primary genital herpes in men, the general symptoms are quite pronounced. In particular, it is accompanied by high fever, headache, general malaise and myalgia. Neuralgia along the sciatic nerve is very often observed. These phenomena increase within 3–4 days after the appearance of the rash and gradually subside as they regress. Patients are often bothered by dysuria, accompanied by itching and burning, and purulent discharge from the urethra. In the second week of the disease, the inguinal lymph nodes enlarge and become painful. As with any other form of primary herpes, dissemination of the virus in the body can occur with the development of herpetic meningitis or other complications.

How can men treat genital herpes infection?

photo of herpes on the penis
Treatment of herpes on the genitals in men involves the use of drugs based on Acyclovir. These include: Pharmciclovir, Penciclovir, Valocyclovir, Docanazole, etc. They are available in the form of ointments, solutions, suspensions and tablets.

Answering the question: “How can a man get rid of genital herpes?”, it must be said that this process is complex. In addition to antiviral drugs, the following are prescribed:

1. Anti-inflammatory.
2. Painkillers.
3. Hormonal.
4. Wound healing drugs.

Due to the fact that relapses occur mainly with weak immunity, immunomodulatory agents and vitamin complexes are prescribed.

Traditional medicine can alleviate the patient's condition. Colloidal soap allows you to relieve itching and burning sensations, and also reduces rashes that appear on any part of the skin or mucous membrane covering the penis or perineum. To do this, the affected areas are treated with soap several times a day.

An acute inflammatory process can be relieved by a hot bath with oatmeal. Cold relieves itching well. To do this, a piece of ice is wrapped in clean cloth and the pathological lesions are treated with it; what they look like was described above.

With herpes in men, pathological lesions in the intimate area cause pain and discomfort. To make these processes less noticeable to the patient, underwear should only be made of natural material and should not press or chafe.

Treatment

Treatment tactics for genital herpes in women depend on the type of infection and are determined by the treating specialist.

Goals of drug therapy:

1. Acceleration of resolution of clinical symptoms.
2. Prevention of complications.
3. Reducing the frequency of relapses.
4. Reducing the risk of transmitting the virus to a healthy partner or newborn baby.

To achieve these goals, medications for oral and local use are used.

Medication treatment regimen:

For external therapy, ointments and gels are prescribed, used until the vesicles open and ulcers appear:

• Acyclovir 5%;
• Panthenol;
• Panavir;
• Alpizarin 2% and 5%;
• Gevisosh;
• Riodoxol ointment 0.25% - 0.5%.

Ointments are applied to the affected surface 3 to 6 times a day in accordance with the instructions.

Folk remedies

For genital herpes, along with antiviral therapy, you can take immunomodulatory decoctions.

1. Combine one grated carrot with 6 tablespoons of rose hips, 2 tbsp. spoons of black currants and 3 tbsp. spoons of dried nettle leaves. Pour a glass of boiling water and cook over low heat for 15 minutes, let it brew for 4 hours. Squeeze the juice from 0.5 medium onion and add it to the broth. Drink the infusion 0.5 cups 3 times a day.
2. Grate 4 apples. Add juice squeezed from 2 onions, 2 teaspoons of honey and 0.5 cups of pumpkin juice to the puree. Take 1 tbsp of puree. spoon 4 times a day.

Folk remedies are not a panacea against herpes infection. They should be treated only in combination with drug therapy.

Diagnostics

Diagnostic measures begin in the dermatovenerologist's office. At the initial consultation, a visual assessment of the condition of the penis and surrounding structures is carried out, and dermatoscopy is performed. An oral interview with the patient and anamnesis are required. In the future, the following studies are prescribed:

During diagnosis, the type of virus is determined

• General blood analysis. Gives a picture of inflammation. When affected by herpes type 4, atypical mononuclear cells are found in the blood.
• General urine analysis. To determine the degree of damage to the kidneys and urinary structures.
• PCR diagnostics. The polymerase chain reaction makes it possible to identify the genetic material of a pathogenic organism in venous blood (as a rule, it is blood that is donated).
• ELISA diagnostics. Tests are required to assess the presence of IgG and IgM.
• Urethral swab.

Having assessed the presence of the virus and its type, treatment can begin.

Briefly about the pathogen

Herpes of the genital form develops as a result of damage to the mucous membranes of the genital organs by a strain of the second type. In exceptional cases, the genitals may be damaged by the herpes simplex virus (type 1).

Both strains are highly contagious and are easily transmitted through several routes.

The causative agent of genital herpes is the HSV-2 virus

Can you get it by using a condom?

Recent studies by US scientists have addressed these questions. According to them, a condom does not provide 100% protection against herpes virus infection, but it reduces the risk of infection by 5 times.

If, in addition, the condom was treated with a special antiseptic drug (which is practiced by some manufacturers of these products), then the risk of infection will be 5 cases out of 100.

These figures indicate that sex should be protected, and the purchase of contraceptives should be carried out in pharmacies, and not in kiosks and sales tents, where the quality of the goods can be very questionable.

Folk remedies

Traditional medicine offers many remedies to treat the disease. But none of them can completely destroy the virus. You can only smooth out the symptoms and bring relief to the patient, providing the opportunity to live a normal life. It is generally recommended to lubricate the resulting ulcers with various means, for example: valocordin, earwax, Kalanchoe juice, garlic and other antiviral agents.

Such treatment can be long-term, but the effect may be temporary and a relapse will occur very soon. Therefore, it is recommended not to self-medicate, but to consult a doctor in time.

Which doctor should I contact if I suspect a disease?

Many doctors believe that having acquired herpes, a person dooms himself to constant and regular rashes that cannot be cured. Unfortunately, this opinion is also widespread among ordinary people: men are often confident that since the disease has already affected the body, there is no point in treating it. However, the situation in reality turns out to be different: appropriate treatment can weaken vibrios so much that a man will not have exacerbations of the disease for at least several years.

In addition, untreated herpes can cause prostatitis, prostate cancer, be transmitted to a sexual partner and terminate a pregnancy. Don't forget about this if you want to have children in the future and live a full life! To protect yourself from a possible exacerbation of a chronic disease, a man should consult a dermatovenerologist and urologist.

Male immunity and the risk of relapse

Another feature of the male body is a stronger immune system and the absence of such negative phenomena as menstruation and pregnancy.

It is during these periods that the female body is subjected to serious stress, and the herpes virus has a greater chance of manifesting itself. That is, in men, relapses of herpes occur much less frequently, but provided that immunity is maintained at the proper level.

The following factors increase the risk of recurrence of genital herpes:

1. stress;
2. avitaminosis;
3. passive lifestyle;
4. smoking;
5. alcohol abuse;
6. hypothermia.

The more weakened the immune system is, the more pronounced the manifestations of male herpes are, the larger the area it can affect, which leads to damage to internal organs to a greater extent and is fraught with complications.