Genital herpes raises lots of questions, whether you've just found out you
have it, are trying to manage outbreaks, or have a partner who has it. To help
you get the answers you need, here are the most important questions you'll want
to ask your doctor.
- If You Are Newly Diagnosed
- What type of herpes virus do I have?
- How long have I been infected?
- Should I be tested for other sexually transmitted diseases?
- How can I keep my partner from becoming infected?
- How soon should my partner be tested?
How often can I expect to have symptoms? How will they affect my daily life?
Should I start taking medication? If not now, when should I consider it?
Will herpes complicate any other health problems I have? - Can I still plan to have children?
- Can you recommend a support group or a counselor to help me deal with my diagnosis?
- If You Are Living With Outbreaks
- Would I benefit from taking herpes suppression drugs every day, or should I take medication only when I have flare-ups?
- Which drug would be the best choice for me, and why?
- What are the possible side effects?
- What should I do if my medication causes problems or doesn't work well?
- Is there anything else I can use to relieve my symptoms?
- What can trigger outbreaks? Can I make lifestyle changes to help prevent them?
- How often should my long-term partner be tested? How soon should a new partner wait to have a test?
- What should I do if I want to have children?
- Should I join a clinical trial for an experimental therapy?
- Can you recommend a support group or a counselor to help me work through this?
If Your Partner Has Herpes
- If I have been infected, how long would it take for the virus to show up in
tests? - Is it possible to have a "false negative" test result? How can I be sure that my
test result is accurate? - Should I be tested for other sexually transmitted diseases?
- How likely am I to be infected by my partner? What can we do to reduce the risk?
- If I keep having sex with my partner, how often should I be tested?
- If I become infected, would my partner and I have to change our sexual routine?
- What symptoms should I watch for?
- Can I still plan to have children with my partner?
- What can I do to help my partner manage the condition?
- Can you recommend a support group or a counselor to help me come to terms with this?
