There are two forms of herpes.

The first form, herpes simplex virus 2 causes sores in the genital area (genital herpes), such as on or around the vagina or penis. HSV-2 also causes the herpes infection seen in babies who are delivered vaginally in women who have genital herpes. HSV-2 is generally spread by sexual contact. HSV-2 can sometimes cause m outh sores.

The other form is oral herpes, also known as cold sores; and the two have much in com . Like a cold sore oral herpes are passed on through contact with an infected pa rtner. The first way to identify lesions as herpes then is to think about your r ecent sexual encounters. If you have had sexual intercourse with a new partner w ithin the last 20 weeks then they may have been the cause of the problem. You sh ould call any and all partners that you have been with in this time frame and en quire as to their state. If you find that they werent the cause of your lesions th en you should still speak to them for two reasons C firstly to warn them that you may have inadvertently passed it on to them, and secondly because if they devel op it subsequently then this might be another warning sign that you have herpes. Bear in mind however that herpes is not passed on in every sexual encounter (th e chances of passing it on increases when you are experiencing an outbreak) so t his is not a 100% effective method. Additionally it is possible (though highly r are) to catch herpes from other sources such as from toilet seats, further causi ng complication. Outbreaks of genital herpes tend to last about two to three weeks, so if your sy mptoms disappear after this time on their own then this is a sign it may be herp es. At the same time if they later recur, particularly in conjunction with feeli ng run down, then this might be a sign again that it is herpes and not boils. You should also look out for other symptoms of herpes which vary in cases. For s ome there will be no other symptoms, while others will experience stomach pain, back ache, muscle ache (myalgia), headache, fever, swelling of the gentials, dis charge, malaise, painful urination (dysuria) and cervicitis. Any or all of these symptoms experienced simultaneously alongside the sores might point to herpes a s the cause. The lesions themselves are also slightly different than boils or those associate d with other conditions. They are firstly smaller than boils, and they also tend to crust over much like cold sores before the outbreak ends. This crusting and brea king is similar to the way in which a cold sore can crust over C again demonstrat ing the familial relation. While it certainly will not be pleasant you can check your particular case of lesions against those of others by looking at pictures of herpes online (just type herpes into Google). If the cases look similar to yours, then there is obviously a good chance that you are suffering from the same cond ition. If you suspect you have genital herpes, as well as informing your sexual partner s you should see a doctor who will help with the diagnosis and prescribe the rel evant treatment. However there is unfortunately no cure for genital herpes. To see whether sores are caused by HSV, different types of tests may be done. Herpes viral culture. Cells or fluid from a fresh sore are collected with a cott on swab and placed in a culture cup. A viral culture is the best method of ident ifying a genital herpes infection. But the culture often fails to find the virus even when it is present (false-negative results). Herpes virus antigen detection test. Cells from a fresh sore are scraped off and then smeared onto a microscope slide. This test finds markers (called antigens) on the surface of cells infected with the herpes virus. This test may be done w

ith or in place of a viral culture. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. A PCR test can be done on cells or fluid f rom a sore or on blood or on other fluid, such as spinal fluid. PCR finds the ge netic material (DNA) of the HSV virus. This test can tell the difference between HSV-1 and HSV-2. The PCR test is not often done on skin sores, but it is best f or testing spinal fluid, for those rare cases in which herpes may cause an infec tion in or around the brain. Antibody tests. Blood tests can find antibodies that are made by the immune syst em to fight a herpes infection. Antibody tests are sometimes done but are not as accurate as a viral culture at finding the cause of a specific sore or ulcer. A ntibody tests cannot tell the difference between a current active herpes infecti on and a herpes infection that occurred in the past. Because antibodies take tim e to develop after the first infection, you may not have a positive antibody tes t if you have just recently been infected. Some blood tests can tell the differe nce between HSV-1 and HSV-2.