The Neurological Impediments Connected To Genital Herpes

Highly responsible for neurological indisposition, genital herpes has managed to affect over 40 million individuals in the United States of America. This mind-boggling high number is said to be increasing at the rate of a million per year! Varicella zoster virus, herpes simplex virus type 1 and herpes simplex virus type 2, all have an impact on the patient’s nervous system. Below, we are talking about this in details:

The Initial Infection

Neurological diseases that are connected to genital herpes may get triggered due primary infection or the reactivation of the dormant genital herpes virus. Primary genital herpes in adolescents and adults can be void of symptoms, which is why they usually have no clue about it.

Dormancy and Reactivation

It is said that the neurons in the sacral ganglia are where the virus lies dormant. Although only the reactivation of oral herpes has only been studied so far, experts assume that the mechanism of that of genital herpes will not be too different. Dormant herpes infections reactivate with the help of systemic stimuli, via pathways that still have not been discovered or understood. It has been observed that most people struck with genital herpes shed a certain amount of the herpes virus, regardless of the reactivation of the virus.

The Neurological Difficulties

Not only is the meninges affected by the genital herpes virus by the occurrence of meningitis, the brain, nerve roots, retina, cranial nerves, etc. are affected too.

  • Neonatal Encephalitis
    About 70% of the infants that are infected by herpes are born to women who not only unaware of the fact that they had herpes, but also never showed any signs of the disease. At least 30% of the cases of herpes among infants are just oral herpes. There are several factors that prove to be risky for neonates, starting from the age of the mother to time during when the mother contracted herpes herself. Distribution of the virus to the central nervous system occurs in 70% of the herpes struck infants. Dispersed intravascular coagulations, skin lesions and unusual liver operation are observed in many of these neonates. Cranial MRIs show edema, then cystic encephalomalacia.
  • Recurrent Aseptic Meningitis Among Adults:
    This occurs due to herpetic mucocutaneous disorder, regardless of the presence of symptoms. From 19% to 42% patients experience meningitis with the first episode of type 2 herpes. Suppressive therapy could be used in this scenario: patient could take famciclovir, acyclovir sodium and valacyclovir hydrochloride. Many of these meningitis patients are known to complain about bad headaches, besides phases of total confusion.
  • Radiculopathy:
    40% of sacral dorsal root ganglia are seen having a latent form of herpes simplex virus type 2. This matter was unearthed during the autopsy of several individuals. Radiculopathy that is caused by genital herpes happens to affect specific areas, such as the sacral or lumbar nerve roots. Radiculopathy causes pain, leg weakness, constipation and even urinary retention. Radiculopathy could be cured in a matter of days or weeks, and could be hurried with the intake of antiviral drugs.
  • Retinal Necrosis:
    Shown with the presence of impaired vision and red eye, retinal necrosis seems to affect genital herpes patients (with a median age of about 20 years) and mostly older people. When examined properly, retinal necrosis shows retinal detachment, keratic precipitates and scleritis.
  • Ascending Myelitis:
    This is seen mostly in patients who have a weakened immune system, especially those who have already contracted the HIV virus. Along with pain and lesions, ascending myelitis also shows enlargement of the lower cord of the spine, added with limb numbness.
  • Cranial Neuropathy:
    The dysfunction of the cranial nerves leads to Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis. Even though there are experts who argue that Bell’s palsy cannot occur due to genital herpes, there are others who accept that varicella zoster virus and herpes simples type 1 virus do in fact cause Bell’s palsy. Whoever has such cases are recommended to take antiviral drugs everyday.

Connection Between Genital Herpes and HIV

Recent studies have found a connection between genital herpes virus and HIV. It seems that if you have genital herpes, there is twice or thrice the chance of you acquiring HIV too. Moreover, if you do have genital herpes and you are taking antiviral drugs as part of suppressive therapy, the RNA levels of HIV will show a significant drop too.

Treatment

Vidarabine phosphate was actually the first agent that showed efficacy when it came to treating herpes. After two large studies done on acyclovir, it was chosen as part of standard treatment/therapy for all herpes patients. An oral intake of valacyclovir is also recommended, along with the acyclovir.

Infants could take acyclovir sodium, while patients of meningitis, radiculitis and myelitis could have it too.

Guarding Your Children From The Herpes Virus

Herpes is of two types: oral herpes and genital herpes. While the latter is caused by the herpes simplex virus 2, the first is brought about by herpes simplex virus 1. Oral herpes causes sores and blisters to appear around the mouth region, including on the lips. The herpes simplex virus 1 usually lies dormant in the body, until the individual gets ill and their immune system takes a hit. Right then, the virus wakes up and could easily spread via skin contact. Since youngsters, kids and infants have a weaker immune system when compared to adults, they have a high chance of catching the infection, which could mean a problem. As it is, kids already feel embarrassed when cold sores appear, as they are painful and do not look flattering. Sadly, the cycle takes about 10 days, which could be a matter of concern if the child/kid goes to school. Being around other children may cause the infection to spread easily, which starts a terrifying cycle.

ChildrenInstead of catching oral herpes, passing it on to your child/children, the best thing you could do is try to keep them safe from the virus itself. Children are young and do not understand the fact that they should not be sharing different things with you or whoever has oral herpes. Therefore, it is up to you to make sure that all areas that have come in contact with your sores need to be washed thoroughly.

This is not just it! Since the herpes virus looks for cuts and openings on the potential patients around you, make sure to remind your child to apply the likes of lip balm at all times. If you wish to make a natural lip balm of your own, follow these steps:

  • Take 1 part beeswax pearls, 2 parts sweet almond oil and a few drops of wheat germ oil.
  • Heat the two oils together in a pan and add the beeswax pearls.
  • Allow the mixture to cool and then add some drops of essentials oils.
  • Pour into tubs and small, personal jars.

Since the herpes virus requires arginine to thrive, foods rich in that should be avoided, such as cashews, chocolate, grain cereals, cola, peas, and much more. Furthermore, teach your children to wash their hands regularly and keep items like toys away from their mouth. Additionally, do give them a bottle of hand sanitizer for the time they are outside. If your child already has cold sores, prevent them from sharing or borrowing towels, toys or handkerchiefs, since this could only spread the infection to other children.

It is crucial that your child does not lick the sores and blisters around his/her mouth. They should keep the region dry at all times, allowing quick healing. If you want, you could press a slightly damp teabag to their sores. Tea has tannic acid, which has antiviral properties to help the blisters and sores.

Since toothbrushes touch the cold sores, you could buy a new one for your child when the blisters appear, only to change it on the day the blisters get healed completely. To treat the cold sores, make use of essential oils since they act as preventatives.

Can Herpes Lead To Cervical Cancer?

Quite some time ago, it was discovered that the herpes simplex virus type 2 plays a big role in cervical cancer. It seems the virus assists the human papillomavirus (HPV) to promote this type of cancer that is the reason behind thousands of women’s death each annual year.

According to a study done on a group of women with cervical cancer, around half of them had been struck by the herpes simplex virus 2 too, which led to the conclusion that has been mentioned above. However, this does not mean that all genital herpes patients that are women are prone to getting cervical cancer. The study’s main focus was to promote the regular visits to the nearest clinic or laboratory to get a Pap smear done. For those who do not know, the Pap smear tells the doctor and the patient if the papillomavirus is present in the patient’s body.

Herpes and CancerExperts say that at least 24 million Americans are attacked by the human papillomavirus, which happens to have at least 100 different strains. While there a few of these that only cause genital warts, others are transmitted via sexual contact with no protection used. The second type could be harmless though, which comes as a relief. Unfortunately, there are 14 types of human papillomavirus that lead to an aggressive case of cervical cancer. As a matter of fact, about 90% of all cervical cancer and other genital cancer cases are due to these 14 human papillomavirus.

A researcher known as Jennifer Smith has mentioned that female individuals that have been infected by both human papillomavirus and herpes simplex virus 2 are twice or thrice more likely to also get cervical cancer. Although this may seem scary and far-fetched, the study was carried out using the results from over 2000 women across continents like Europe, Asia and Latin America. Jennifer’s study even saw that Asian women had the highest rate of cervical cancer. Apparently, this study was done mostly in regions where Pap smears are not too easy to get done.

Since 1955, the death rate of cervical cancer has gone down by an astounding 74%, only due to the regular use of Pap smears. Therefore, today, cervical cancer has about a 100% cure rate, if a Pap smear is taken at the early stages of the cancer. Doctors advise women to come in for at least 2 or 3 Pap smear tests each year. While this is a great piece of information that gives hope to cervical cancer patients, it must be kept in mind that herpes has no permanent cure. Spread via unprotected sexual contact, herpes has now become a very common ailment in the United States of America. When triggered, the outbreaks, blisters and sores are painful and problematic.

The conclusion is that the presence of the genital herpes virus in the body is just one of the factors that promote cervical cancer. There are many other factors, such as early pregnancy and childbirth, high number of childbirths and smoking.