When you are first infected, you may not get sores. Many people with genital herpes don’t know they have it because they have no symptoms.
The first time you get sores or blisters (called a herpes ‘episode’) is usually the worst. You may feel generally unwell as if you are getting the flu, then small blisters appear. They burst and become sores. Later, scabs form, and finally the skin heals after 1 or 2 weeks.
In girls and women, blisters may appear around the vagina, the urethra, the cervix, or between the vagina and the anus, or around the anus.
In boys and men, blisters may appear on the penis and foreskin, and sometimes inside the urethra, on the scrotum or in the area between the penis and the anus, or around the anus. It can be very painful to urinate if the urine runs over the sores.
Rarely, herpes can appear on the buttocks, lower back and other areas below the waist, as well as the hands, breasts, back, fingers – anywhere that has touched an infected area.
Many cases of genital herpes don’t show up as blisters. They can appear as a small area of rash, cracked skin, or some other skin condition on the genitals.
Although herpes sores heal, the virus stays in the body, and you can have more outbreaks. These are called ‘recurrent episodes’.