Coping With Herpes Simplex and Pregnancy
Michalis 'BIG Mike' Kotzakolios

Defined Tag: Herpes Simplex.

Herpes simplex is the name for two different but closely related viruses, HSV-1 and HSV-2. For the purposes of this article the two HSV viruses will be treated as though a single virus, as they are nearly identical both in form and actions upon the human body. This disease is generally found in one of two places: on the lips in the form of cold sores, or on the genitalia. While the effects of HSV are well known, a lesser known problem is that of the disease (when vaginal) upon pregnancy and the resulting infant. This shall be the primary focus of this article.

While herpes simplex is relatively innocuous to the health of the average person in its oral and genital forms, when a pregnancy is involved the situation can become gravely heightened for the newborn. On the whole, the problem is not lethal as fewer than 1 in a thousand births from women with HSV that infects the infant are fatal or with complications, yet these complications themselves can result in great heartache and even death. Some of these difficulties are as follows.

The initial problem that may occur from congenital herpes simplex is a nasty rash on various parts of the infant's skin. These can in turn rupture and ooze fluids, crack, or simply cause great pain. The remedy for this is an intensive anti-viral medicinal assault on the disease, often without success.

An infection of the skin known as eczema herpeticum (also called Kaposi's varicellum eruption) may be a further condition. Similar to impetigo, the malaise produces groups of scabs over a period of about a week which migrate across the skin. Fever and chills may occur and healing of the scabs can take as long as a month and a half to heal due to a weakening of the immune system. At times this form of herpes simplex may even be fatal.

Herpes simplex is not a kind disease to infants and can even gain a footing in an infant's eyes in the form of ocular herpes. The ensuing infection leads to sores and swelling of the eyelids and cornea. The two more common types of this can go so far as to cause scarring of the eye, thinning of the cornea, and a rupture of the entire eye, with the consequence of blindness.

Yet more disastrous to an infant, herpes simplex may harm viscera, internal organs such as the lungs and liver. If left untreated, this condition results in death in 80% of cases. However, when treated, the chances of survival are nearly 90%. Other serious conditions are meningitis and encephalitis, both of which are conditions affecting the brain.

If a woman has herpes simplex and is pregnant, all is not lost. In standard vaginal deliveries, a low 7.7% of infants are infected, according to a prominent thirteen-year study. The option to lower this percentage is by choosing a caesarean delivery, which results in only 1.1% of babies being afflicted.

BIG Mike is a well known author, developer and Adsense expert as well as the owner of Niche Maniacs - a unique Adsense Marketing System designed to build long-term passive income streams from Adsense, YPN, Chitika and other PPC services.