Symptoms of Genital Herpes

Symptoms of genital herpes can vary greatly from person to person. Most people never have any symptoms. Sometimes the symptoms are so mild that people may not notice them or recognize them as a sign of herpes. But some people have painful and bothersome symptoms.

For people who do notice their first infection, their symptoms generally appear about 2 to 14 days after they were exposed to genital herpes.

The first herpes outbreak tends to last the longest and be the most severe. Symptoms of the first outbreak may include:

• Flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache, and muscle aches. These symptoms usually get better within a week.
• Tingling, burning, itching, and redness at the site where an outbreak is about to occur.
• Painful, itchy blisters on the penis, on the vulva, or inside the vagina. Blisters may also appear on the anus, buttocks, thighs, or scrotum, either alone or in clusters. They may be barely noticeable or as large as a coin.
• Painful, oozing sores caused by blisters that break open. The blisters may take up to 3 weeks to heal.
• Swollen and tender lymph nodes in the groin.
• Painful urination.
• Abnormal discharge from the vagina or penis.

Symptoms of later outbreaks are usually limited to blisters, sores, and swollen lymph nodes. As time goes on, the outbreaks happen less often, heal faster, and don't hurt as much.

Sometimes the symptoms are confused with other common problems, like yeast infections or vaginosis.