Herpetic infection is characterized by localization of the rash on the lips, mouth or anogenital area.
But some people get herpes on their body.
This clinical form of the disease is called herpes gladiatorum.
Athletes involved in contact sports (for example, wrestlers) are most often infected.
This is due to the fact that transmission of the disease occurs through direct contact of skin areas of a sick person and a healthy person.
In an infected person, blisters appear exactly in the place where the virus penetrated the skin.
Causes of herpes on the body
The disease is caused by herpes simplex virus type 1 or 2.
They have almost identical clinical manifestations.
In addition, the treatment prescribed is also the same.
Infection occurs through contact.
At the same time, the carrier of the infection is less contagious.
During periods of remission, it is not contagious at all.
You can become infected only during an exacerbation of the disease, when there is a rash on the person’s body.
Only in this case the virus is released into the external environment and can enter the skin through close contact.
On the other hand, it requires the susceptibility of the person who contracts the disease.
To do this, the skin must be damaged or macerated.
The state of immunity is of no small importance.
The weaker it is, the higher the risk of infection, and the more severe the herpes infection will be.
How long does it take to treat herpes with folk remedies?
In this case, everything depends on the stage of the disease, the state of immunity and the specific method.
If you start treating herpes at its first manifestations, then there may not be any rashes. The advanced stage is usually treated for about 5 days, after which crusts appear at the site of the rash and last for another week.
The herpes virus has many varieties. Once in the body, it begins to move along the nerve endings, and, depending on the type of virus, is activated in a certain area of the body. With the help of some remedies you can prevent rashes, so it is very important not to miss the first signs of herpes.
Symptoms and signs of herpes on the body
The main symptom of the disease remains a rash.
It appears on the head, neck, shoulders or torso.
In the vast majority of cases, morphological elements are represented by vesicles.
After infection, there is an incubation period that lasts 1-2 weeks.
Then comes the prodromal period.
At this time, a person may feel a slight burning or tingling sensation in those areas of the body where rashes will soon appear.
After 1-2 days the rash actually appears.
Initially, these are small papules that quickly turn into vesicles.
They are located on a hyperemic background.
Each bubble is surrounded by a bright red rim.
There is a clear liquid inside.
Initially the bubble is tense.
But then he becomes lethargic.
The contents often become cloudy.
In the case of a secondary bacterial infection, vesicles may suppurate and pustules may form.
Infection occurs quite often, because against the background of herpes on the body, the immune system deteriorates.
In addition, a weak immune system is an initial predisposing factor for contracting a herpes infection and aggravates its course.
Once the rash forms, general symptoms may occur.
The person experiences weakness, fever, and muscle pain.
After a few days, the vesicles open, and in their place ulcers appear, which dry out to form crusts.
After a week they go away, and only temporary hyperpigmentation remains in this place.
How to distinguish a herpes rash on the body from other diseases
You can distinguish herpes from another type of infection by the following signs:
- Small rashes in large numbers that appear on any part of the body. Sometimes they can grow together into one large spot, the skin around which will be red or bright pink. After a couple of days, these rashes begin to dry out and crust over.
- Pain at the site of the rash, which occurs due to the effect of herpes on the nerve endings of the skin.
- Possible fever and weakness.
- Itching and burning.
Sometimes the virus can be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, fainting.
Clinical course of herpes on the body in adults
In most cases, herpes is mild.
Symptoms occur only during primary infection.
The virus then remains in the body.
Relapses occur from time to time.
But they usually go unnoticed by the patient.
Herpes on the body recurs in 80% of patients within the first year.
But only one in three suffers from symptoms.
Others do not even notice this relapse or do not understand that it is herpes.
Because there are no rashes or they are very minor, they quickly regress and do not cause discomfort to the patient.
The period of viral shedding is short, but infection of contact persons is still possible.
Of those who experience significant symptoms during an exacerbation, half suffer relapses twice a year or more often.
Such patients require ongoing treatment with antiviral drugs.
They are also subject to examination to assess their immune status.
Because herpes recurs often and severely in people with reduced immune system function.
A feature of relapses, even clinically pronounced ones, is a milder clinical course than with primary infection.
Fewer herpetic rashes appear on the body.
The rash causes less discomfort and regresses faster.
There is usually a correlation between the severity of symptoms during primary herpes infection and subsequent relapses.
The more severe the disease at the very beginning, the more frequent and severe the exacerbations will be.
What to do if you have a “cold” on your lips
At the moment, no drugs or treatment methods have been developed that would completely destroy the herpes simplex virus in the human body. But we can give some advice to those suffering from herpes.
- Strictly follow the rules of personal hygiene! Since herpes is contagious, it is necessary to wash your hands with soap and use separate utensils and towels.
- Don't put your hands near your eyes! And do not wet your lenses with saliva! Herpes can affect the mucous membrane of the eye.
- It is not recommended to touch the viral rash or kiss. The virus can be transmitted by wearing one lipstick or smoking one cigarette.
- If you try to remove a blister or scab over a sore, the virus can spread to other parts of the body.
- Avoid oral sex! The virus from the affected lips can cause genital herpes in a partner.
- A young mother must also take certain precautions to protect her baby from contracting herpes. If you have herpetic rashes, you must wash your hands with soap and water every time before touching your child. And under no circumstances should the affected surface come into contact with the child’s skin.
Diagnosis of herpes on the body
Herpes on the body has characteristic symptoms.
Often the diagnosis is made clinically.
It can be confirmed using molecular biological tests.
PCR is usually used.
The method makes it possible not only to confirm the herpetic nature of the blisters on the body, but also to establish the type of virus and evaluate its concentration in tissues.
The doctor usually receives results from the laboratory the day after the skin scraping is taken.
Even before receiving them, antiviral treatment can be prescribed, which helps get rid of rashes much faster.
Why does seasonal herpes occur on the lips?
As mentioned above, one of the main reasons for the appearance of herpes on the lips is a decrease in immunity. Therefore, with the onset of cold weather, the body experiences a lack of vitamins, and hypothermia and colds in the form of acute respiratory viral infections and influenza further suppress the immune system. Indeed, in winter, the body receives significantly less fresh fruits and vegetables, and therefore experiences an acute shortage of vitamins A, C, E, which play an important role in maintaining protective functions. During the cold season, the body more often experiences hypothermia and lack of fresh air. Therefore, winter and early spring are the period of relapses of herpes on the lips, the so-called “colds”.
In summer, virus activity is also possible. This is due to the fact that in the summer-autumn season, the air is saturated with natural allergens, which in people prone to allergies also cause problems with the immune system. Therefore, under favorable conditions for herpes, it can go into the active phase and manifest itself as a cold on the lips in the midst of warm sunny days.
Treatment of herpes on the body
There are means for etiotropic therapy of herpes infection.
Names of drugs:
- acyclovir
- valacyclovir
- famciclovir
They have the same mechanism of action: they block virus replication.
These drugs are comparable in effectiveness.
But they differ in bioavailability, doses used, and frequency of use.
The most studied drug is acyclovir.
It is available in different forms: gel, tablets, solutions for parenteral administration.
Ointments and injections for herpes on the body are rarely used.
Injections are usually only necessary if disseminated forms of herpes infection develop.
That is, when the pathology is severe, not only the skin is involved, but also the internal organs and the brain.
Similar situations occur against the background of HIV or other immunodeficiencies.
But they are relatively rare.
Most patients manage well with pills.
Gels can be used to treat rash areas.
But this is only an auxiliary tool.
The tablets can be used without ointment.
In this case, the use of ointment without tablets is undesirable, because the treatment result will be weaker.
Causative therapy is not mandatory.
If herpes on the body is mild and the symptoms do not bother the person, the rash will go away on its own.
But this will happen later, and the risk of secondary bacterial infection will be higher.
Situational treatment
For most patients, situational treatment regimens are used.
That is, therapy is carried out only when herpes worsens.
And also during the period of primary infection with this disease.
The earlier therapy is started, the better the results.
If several days have passed since the appearance of herpes on the body, and ulcers or crusts have appeared in place of the vesicles, there is no longer any point in using acyclovir.
It will not affect recovery topics.
It is optimal to start treatment during the period of prodromal phenomena.
Patients with recurrent herpes on the body can easily feel it.
The rash always appears in the same place.
Before they occur, there is a slight feeling of discomfort, a burning sensation in the problem area of the body, tingling or subjective symptoms.
During this period, you need to start taking acyclovir.
Then the symptoms that arise will be minimal.
A minimum of rash elements will appear on the body, which will quickly regress.
In addition, the duration of viral shedding will be reduced.
Therefore, the likelihood of infection of contact persons will decrease.
Treatment for primary infection lasts an average of 10 days.
For relapses - an average of 5 days.
But the timing of therapy is individual.
The medication should be continued until symptoms begin to subside.
Suppressive treatment
Some patients are forced to receive treatment with antiviral drugs continuously.
They usually take valacyclovir tablet once a day.
This drug is easy to use.
It is well absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and maintains an effective concentration in the blood for a long time.
Indications for suppressive treatment are frequent or severe exacerbations of herpes on the body.
As long as a person takes the medications, relapses usually do not occur.
But if the medications are discontinued, they are possible.
This is because valacyclovir does not kill the virus.
It just prevents it from multiplying.
The infectious process does not activate, and a rash does not form on the body.
But even taking medications for years, you cannot completely cure herpes.
Preventative treatment
Sometimes the purpose of taking antiviral drugs is to prevent infection of contact persons.
For women, the goal of therapy may also be to prevent infection of the child during childbirth or in the neonatal period.
Prevention is often carried out in a family where one person has herpes and the other does not.
Considering the low-impact nature of the infection, such cases occur quite often.
But still, if you live together for a long time, sooner or later a person can become infected.
To prevent this from happening, you can use medicinal prophylaxis with antiviral drugs.
They should be taken by the person who suffers from herpes, and not by his partner who is afraid of infection.
During antiviral treatment, viral shedding stops.
The medications can be taken continuously (suppressive therapy).
Their irregular use is allowed, only before sexual intercourse.
If sexual activity is irregular, start taking acyclovir or another antiviral drug 3 days before the planned act.
Immediately after it, preventive treatment can be stopped.
We should also not forget that infection can also occur through close household contact when herpes is localized on the body.
Immune treatment
Antiviral drugs are not the only way to fight herpes.
There are at least 2 more effective methods to prevent frequent relapses and reduce their severity:
- introduction of the vaccine
- general immunocorrection
People with frequent relapses of herpes and its severe manifestations on the body differ from others in that their body is weakened and their immunity is reduced.
A weak immune system may have specific causes, such as HIV or diabetes.
In this case, the efforts of doctors should be aimed at eliminating these causes.
For HIV, adequate antiretroviral therapy is selected to reduce the viral load.
Diabetes mellitus requires a complete correction of carbohydrate metabolism.
Sometimes the immediate causes of decreased immunity cannot be identified.
But with the help of an immunogram, the doctor can determine which parts of the immune system are not functioning well enough.
After the tests, treatment is selected for the patient.
It improves the functional state of the immune system.
As a result, the human body is able to more effectively resist the herpes virus.
After such treatment, not only does the frequency and severity of relapses decrease, but the risk of complications and susceptibility to other infections decreases.
Specific immunotherapy can be carried out using a herpes vaccine.
It is administered during the period of remission.
The vaccine enhances the production of antibodies against the infectious agent.
Therefore, the disease recurs less often.
For many patients, exacerbations stop completely.
If they do occur, then herpetic rashes on the body appear in minimal quantities and quickly disappear.
When fatigue is a sign of herpes...
Herpes virus type 6 (HHV-6 or HHV-6) was discovered back in 1986. In 2012, a sensational discovery occurred: it turns out that the herpes virus type 6 in adults may not manifest itself in any way, but can still cause a painful condition
Where does it come from?
According to various sources, about 80% of people are infected with herpes virus type 6. Most often, the infection occurs in early childhood - between the ages of 6 months and 2 years. This is due to the child’s loss of maternal immunity and the high prevalence of the virus. The first meeting can occur in the form of roseola - a sharp increase in temperature, after which a rash appears after 3-4 days. This is the only specific manifestation in children that can be used to suspect HHV-6.
Alas, once in the body, any herpes virus will not leave it. In most people, the immune system quite successfully suppresses the development of herpes virus type 6. Continuing to live in the body, but does not affect anything. But this does not happen for everyone.
Always exhausted
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has long been considered an independent disease. This is not the kind of fatigue that can be “cured” by vacation, a change of job, or just normal sleep. CFS is diagnosed when a person experiences persistent fatigue and a 50% or more decrease in performance for 6 months or more. In this case, there are signs of chronic infection: low-grade fever, enlarged lymph nodes, muscle and joint pain, chronic pharyngitis, headaches.
Sleep disturbances, depression, irritability, difficulty concentrating, memory and intelligence deterioration often occur. Sometimes appetite disappears, a person suddenly loses or gains weight, problems arise in the stomach, intestines, and urinary system. Moreover, allergy symptoms or sensitivity to bright light, alcohol, medications, etc. may appear.
Before receiving a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome, a person must undergo examination to rule out other diseases. Often the only objective sign of infection is the identification of herpes type 6
How to find out?
At the stage of making a diagnosis or to clarify it, doctors prescribe a laboratory test Antibodies to the herpes virus type VI (Herpes simplex virus VI), IgG. You can take it yourself if you are concerned about decreased performance, and then consult a doctor. For him, it is enough to donate blood in the laboratory 3 hours after eating or in the morning on an empty stomach.
Any decrease in immunity can trigger HHV-6 to become active. Most often it is triggered by stress, flu, or exacerbation of a chronic infection. Often people associate a tired-depressive state with a consequence of illness or stress, but in fact they have become a trigger for the activation of the virus. The active virus lives and multiplies at the expense of lymphocytes - the main cells of the immune system. Therefore, symptoms of infection and damage to the nervous system, which is closely related to the immune system, arise. When the HHV6 virus is activated, it can be detected by PCR in oropharyngeal scrapings or in urine. If there are skin rashes and fever, then herpes virus type 6 can be detected in the blood.
Who will need it?
Doctors identify several groups of patients who need testing Antibodies to the herpes simplex virus VI, IgG, or detection of herpes viruses in an oropharyngeal smear. These are the people who are concerned about:
- memory problems, inability to concentrate on business;
- causeless pain and sore throat;
- soreness of the lymph nodes in the neck and under the ears for an unknown reason;
- muscle pain not associated with physical activity;
- joint pain that has no objective cause (trauma, osteochondrosis, etc.);
- headaches that have never happened before;
- sleep problems;
- weakness and exhaustion after physical activity, clearly not corresponding to the expenditure of effort;
- frequent colds
- feeling of fever or chills at normal temperature
How to treat?
Antiviral drugs for other types of herpes can also be effective for HHV6 infection; the choice of treatment available in Russia is up to the attending physician (different antiherpetic drugs are registered in different countries). Therefore, symptomatic treatment plus boosting immunity is mainly carried out.
Despite all this, type 6 herpes virus is not a death sentence. You can live with it once your immune system can get it under control. Surprisingly, a healthy lifestyle can be of great help in this regard. It is imperative to improve your sleep: for those who sleep less than 6 hours a day, the risk of developing CFS is several tens of times higher.
Get tested on time, and treatment will be the least expensive!
Folk remedies for herpes on the body
Some patients try to treat herpes on the body using traditional methods.
Common methods:
1. Boil an egg, add vodka and leave in the refrigerator for three days.
Then eat the egg and drink the vodka.
Repeat for 3 days in a row.
If the herpes on the body has not disappeared within 10 days, you need to perform the procedure again.
Surely many men will like this recipe.
And it is truly effective in the vast majority of cases.
Usually herpes goes away within 10 days even without treatment.
And if it doesn’t go away, then after the next portion of vodka with egg, the rash will definitely disappear.
Sooner or later it will happen, no matter what you do.
2. Use tincture of calendula or birch buds in 70% alcohol.
In addition, the same infusion can be rubbed into the body in the area of herpetic rashes.
3. Salt and soda are placed on the vesicles and stored for 20 minutes.
4. Lubricating problem areas of the body with essential oils: bergamot and tea tree.
5. Applying halves of garlic cloves, aloe juice or honey to herpetic blisters.
There are hundreds of similar recipes on the Internet.
They actually supposedly help most people.
Because herpes gradually goes away even without treatment.
However, there is no reason to believe that using calendula, garlic or three days of drinking (vodka with eggs) will make the symptoms go away faster.
The risk of complications is not reduced.
The relapse rate does not decrease.
The likelihood of infecting a partner remains just as high.
When can you use folk remedies:
- you are on a desert island where there are no doctors or pharmacies yet
- Herpes is mild, and this is the first episode (not a relapse)
- you do not have a sexual partner who could be infected with this infection
But if herpes on the body recurs, you are afraid of infecting your partner, or the symptoms are severe and long-lasting, you will need really effective treatment.
Folk remedies have an exclusively psychotherapeutic effect.
They help to implement the principle “something needs to be done.”
Such treatment does not require significant time and material costs.
But there is really no benefit from traditional methods.
Science does not yet know herbs or foods that have antiherpetic activity.
What is primary herpes on the lips?
Primary herpes manifests itself after infection in a pronounced form. It is quite simple to understand that you have been struck by primary herpes. If there is no virus in the body, then there are no rashes or unpleasant symptoms. Therefore, if you are experiencing a cold on your lips for the first time, then this is a primary infection. In addition, its symptoms are more acute. Not one papule, but several at once, may appear on the lips, and they will be quite large and painful. But after recovery, forty percent of patients who have been ill develop strong immunity and never have relapses in the future. The rest, periodically, under certain factors, have to deal with the activity of the virus throughout their lives.
It is not difficult to become infected with herpes, since it is transmitted:
- by airborne droplets;
- during pregnancy from mother to child and when the baby passes through the birth canal;
- in case of non-compliance with hygiene requirements, namely the use of household items together with an infected person;
- through kissing, shaking hands, during sexual contact.
Herpes on the lips can be chronic or seasonal.
Preventive actions
Primary infection can rarely be avoided. This is due to the specifics of the virus and how it spreads. But it is quite possible to prevent it from entering the active phase. To do this, you need to remember the reason for its occurrence - weakened immunity. Therefore, preventive measures should be aimed at developing a strong immune system of the body. Based on this, it is necessary:
- receive a sufficient amount of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients with food;
- eliminate bad habits;
- lead an active lifestyle;
- be outdoors every day;
- to harden;
- do not freeze or overheat;
- promptly treat emerging diseases;
- avoid stress;
- don't get overtired.
It is important to understand that once you have had active herpes, you can completely forget about it forever, but for this a person needs a strong immune system. Therefore, it is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle and support the body, and if there are frequent relapses, it is necessary to seek medical help. Based on a thorough diagnosis, the doctor will identify the cause of the virus’s activity and prescribe appropriate treatment that will avoid serious health problems.
