Embarrassing Illnesses

If your symptoms of genital herpes are mild, you may not need to have any treatment from your GP, or genito-urinary medicine (GUM) specialist. However, the advice listed below may help to ease your symptoms.

• Painkillers, such as paracetamol, or ibuprofen, may help to ease any pain. However, you should not take ibuprofen if you have asthma, high blood pressure, kidney, or heart, problems, or if you have, or have had in the past, stomach problems, such as a peptic ulcer.
• Keep your genital area clean by using either plain, or salt water. This will help to prevent the infection from spreading to other parts of your body, and may also help any blisters, or ulcers, to heal more quickly.
• Apply Vaseline, or an anaesthetic ointment, to any blisters, or ulcers, in order to reduce the pain when you pass urine. 
• Drink plenty of fluids to dilute your urine. This will make passing urine less painful. Passing urine while sitting in a warm bath may also make urinating less painful by reducing the stinging sensation.
• Avoid wearing tight clothing on your lower body because it may irritate your genital area further.
• Avoid sharing towels, or flannels, with others to ensure that you do not spread the herpes simplex virus (HSV). 
• Avoid having sexual intercourse, including vaginal, anal, and oral sex, until your GP, or GUM specialist, advises you to, or until all your blisters and ulcers have cleared.
• If you have a recurrent infection of genital herpes, you should avoid anything that seems to trigger an infection, such as excess alcohol and stress.