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Prevention
By Mayo Clinic staffThe suggestions for preventing genital herpes are the same as those for preventing other sexually transmitted infections. The key is to avoid being infected with HSV, which is highly contagious while lesions are present. The best way to prevent infection is to abstain from sexual activity or to limit sexual contact to only one person who is infection-free. Short of that, you can:
- Use, or have your partner use, a latex condom during each sexual contact
- Limit the number of sex partners
- Avoid intercourse if either partner has an outbreak of herpes in the genital area or anywhere else
Pregnancy precautions
If you're pregnant, be sure to tell your doctor that you have genital herpes or, if you're unsure, ask to be tested for it. Your doctor may recommend that you start taking herpes antiviral medications late in pregnancy to try to prevent an outbreak from occurring around the time of delivery. If you're having an outbreak when you go into labor, your doctor will probably suggest a cesarean section to reduce the risk of passing the virus to your baby.
- Genital herpes: CDC fact sheet. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/std/herpes/STDFact-Herpes.htm. Accessed March 8, 2011.
- Genital herpes. American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp054.cfm. Accessed March 8, 2011.
- Genital herpes simplex. In: Habif TP. Clinical Dermatology: A Color Guide to Diagnosis and Therapy. 5th ed. Edinburgh, U.K.; New York, N.Y.: Mosby Elsevier; 2010. Accessed March 9, 2011.
- Albrecht MA. Epidemiology, clinical manifestations and diagnosis of genital herpes simplex virus infection. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 9, 2011.
- Whitley RJ. Herpes simplex virus infections. In: Goldman L, et al. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/191371208-2/0/1492/0.html#. Accessed March 9, 2011.
- Albrecht MA. Treatment of genital herpes simplex virus infection. .http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 9, 2011.
- Wald A. Prevention of genital herpes virus infection. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 10, 2011.
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