Herpes Essay

682 Words2 Pages

Herpes 1

Herpes

Herpes

Megan Iacovetta

Dental Office Emergencies and Compliance

Ms. Kim Martin

Everest Institute

LRSA

4/10/14

Herpes 2

Herpes

Herpes

The Herpes simplex virus is an infection that can affect the mouth, lips, genitals and

sometimes other parts of the body. I will be discussing the signs, symptoms and causes of herpes, as well as how to prevent contracting this virus or passing it to others

Herpes 3
Herpes
There are two main types of the herpes simplex virus, HSV 1 usually oral and HSV 2 usually genital. HSV 1 is an infection of the lips, mouth, or gums. It can cause small, painful blisters which are commonly referred to as cold sores or fever blisters. It is so common that 80% of the population has it. Although HSV 2 can be spread to the mouth by oral sex, it isn't as common. No one knows when the first HSV infections began. They date back to as early as Ancient Greece. Herpes is a Greek word meaning "to creep or crawl". It wasn't recognized as being transmitted from one individual to another until 1893. By the 1920's and 30's, research of the natural history of HSV found that it not only infects the skin, but the nervous system as well.
HSV 1 is passed from one person to another through oral secretions or sores in or around the mouth. It is said you can also transmit the virus by sharing objects which have been in contact with the virus, such as eating utensils, razors, lipstick, etc. but the virus dies very quickly outside of the body. So, unless the person has an active, open sore then it is not as common.
Symptoms typically appear anywhere from 2 days up to 2 weeks after initial exposure. They appear as an ulcer, blister or a cluster...

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...on have a cold sore, don't have oral sex if you or your partner has oral or genital herpes and don't share any medicines or make up that may have come in contact with an infected area.

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References

Web MD>Medical Reference www.webmd.com/genital-herpes/pain-management-herpes Reviewed by Debbie Bridges, MD on August 6, 2012
MedlinePlus-U.S. National Library of Medicine and NIH National Institutes of Health
February 22, 2012, from www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001044.htm
Updated by: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director and Director of Didactic Curriculum, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant studies
Reviewed by: A.D.A.M Health Solutions, Ebix, Inc., Editorial team: David Zieve, MD, MHA, David R. Eltz, Stephanie Slon and Nissi Wang
Stanford>Historical background
www.stanford.edu/group/virus/herpes/History.html

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