February 20, 2022

10:02

Priscilla Peixoto – Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – Last week, the herpes virus became a topic of conversation. The subject came up after a member of a national reality show presented the infection and did not demonstrate the basic knowledge about care before the problem. After the episode, the disease became one of the most searched topics on the search site Google, with almost 200 thousand searches only last Thursday, 10. In an interview to CENARIUM, the infectious disease specialist Ana Galdina Mendes clarifies some issues related to the virus.

According to the doctor, there are several serotypes of the “herpes virus” family, from the simplest to the most serious subtypes. Ana points out that among them, the most common are herpes type 1, characterized by oral lesions, and herpes type 3, called Herpes Zoster (varicella-zoster), which is also the virus that causes chickenpox, a very common infection in childhood.

According to the infectious disease specialist, once manifested, the virus is not eliminated from the body, remaining in the body for life. She explains that what happens is a balance, and the moment there is an imbalance in immunity, the infection reappears.

“Let’s say I had an infectious condition of some kind and because of this the immunity drops, after this infection a secondary manifestation appears, a Herpes-Zoster, for example, which is responsible for that chickenpox I had in childhood. That is, the herpes viruses appear, usually, at the moment when our immunity is low”, explains the specialist.

She explains that some points contribute to the appearance of the disease, such as unregulated eating habits, low quality sleep, long hours of study, and high levels of stress, are some of them. “This mental and emotional fatigue and bad habits contribute to reoccurrence if the person has already been contaminated by contact,” she explains.

Contamination and manifestation sites

About contamination, the doctor points out that there are several types of infection, however, contamination is basically through contact with the active lesion. In childhood, for example, it is very common for children to present, besides chickenpox, the disease popularly called hand-foot-mouth, precisely because the phase is considered an oral phase, where the child constantly takes his hand to his mouth.

“When the person has the lesion, the so-called “blister”, and there is contact with another person, transmissibility can occur. If the person has herpes simplex, which is very localized in a certain region of the body, and the blister is in that period of secretion, there is also contagion. The same goes for genital herpes if there is sexual intercourse without a condom”, adds the specialist.

The doctor explains that the infection can manifest itself according to the type of herpes. In the case of herpes type 1, for example, Herpes Simplex, it most frequently affects the lips. In the case of herpes type 2, on the other hand, the ulcer usually appears in the genital area. However, there are cases in which the infection can spread throughout the body.

Symptoms and treatment

The symptoms begin with a slight itching and burning sensation at the contaminated site where the sore lesions will appear, identified by red blisters with secretion. After the blister breaks, the wound creates a kind of “peel” that is part of the healing process. It is worth pointing out that it is during this period of wound formation that the risk of infection is greatest.

For the treatment, the infectious disease specialist says that the first step is to seek a healthcare professional to diagnose which subtype and which antiviral is the correct one to treat the infection. In cases of constant recidivism, the doctor explains that there is the suppression process, which is the care against the virus, which can last up to a year.

“I emphasize that, although the treatment does not eliminate the virus, it resolves the episode. But there are cases where the infection insists on appearing over and over again, and then we use suppression treatment, which consists of longer and more intense care supervised by doctors. Remembering that a simple infection can become more serious, so it is good to stay alert. Most of the time the treatment is oral and in other situations we use ointments, as in the case of labial herpes”, explains Ana.

Ana Mendes reinforces that the oldest age group of the population is the most affected by Herpes Zoster and, nowadays, according to the doctor, there is already a vaccine for this part of the population. She advises that the immunization can be discussed with a trusted doctor for those who are over 50, to avoid a more serious form of the disease. It is worth pointing out that the vaccine does not prevent the virus from spreading.

Tips and data

To ease the discomfort and avoid contagion, here are some tips. Keep good eating habits, good personal hygiene, avoid successive hours of sun exposure at peak hours, use condoms, avoid sharing personal objects and intimate contacts during the unleashed phase of the disease, avoid stress, keep immunity high, exercise and not share towels and lipsticks are some ways of not transmitting the virus that can survive for a few hours outside the human body.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 67% of the world population under 50 have the fever blister virus in the body, usually in an asymptomatic way. In Brazil, the percentage rises to almost 90% of the population.