Symptoms of Herpes Simplex virus (HSV):

Herpes symptoms can vary. Many infected individuals have few, if any, noticeable symptoms. In people who do have symptoms, the symptoms start 2 to 20 days after the person was exposed to someone with HSV infection. Symptoms may last for several weeks.

The first episode of herpes is usually worse than outbreaks that come later. The predominant symptom of herpes is the outbreak of painful, itching blisters filled with fluid on and around the external sexual organs or, for oral herpes, on or very near the lip. Females may have a vaginal discharge. Symptoms vaguely similar to those of flu may accompany these outbreaks, including fever, headache, muscle aches and fatigue. There may be painful urination, and swollen and tender lymph glands in the groin.

Usually the blisters will disappear without treatment in two to 10 days, but the virus will remain in the body, lying dormant among clusters of nerve cells until another outbreak is triggered. Factors that can trigger an outbreak include stress, illness such as a cold, fever, fatigue, sunburn, menstruation or sexual intercourse.

Many patients are able to anticipate an outbreak when they notice a warning sign (a tingling sensation, called a prodrome) of the approaching illness. It is when they feel signs that an outbreak is about to start that they are particularly contagious, even though the skin still appears normal.

Most people with genital herpes have five to eight outbreaks per year, but not everyone has recurrent symptoms. As time goes on, the number of outbreaks usually decreases. Oral herpes can recur as often as monthly or only one or two times each year.

Sores typically come back near the site of the first infection. Usually, as the outbreaks recur, there are fewer sores and they heal faster and are less painful.