Early Symptoms of Genital Herpes
Painful urination, swollen glands, and vaginal or anal discharge are some early genital herpes symptoms. Within a few days, sores (which are small red bumps that turn into blisters or painful open sores) show up where the virus has entered the body. Generally, it takes two weeks after becoming infected to start developing the early symptoms of genital herpes.
When a person is infected with genital herpes, symptoms do not begin right away. It usually takes two weeks after becoming infected to begin developing signs and symptoms (known as a herpes outbreak), although this incubation period can be as short as one day or as long as a month. However, not everyone infected with herpes has early symptoms. In fact, it is common for people to have no symptoms with the initial infection -- but they can still spread herpes!
A person who does have early symptoms of genital herpes may have a variety of symptoms that vary in severity. Some of these early signs and symptoms include:
- An itching or burning feeling in the genital or anal area
- Flu-like symptoms, including a fever, headaches, a general ill feeling (malaise), and muscle aches
- Swollen glands
- Pain in the legs, buttocks, or genital area
- Vaginal, anal, or urinary passage (urethral) discharge
- A feeling of pressure in the area below the stomach
- Painful urination.
Within a few days, sores (also called lesions) show up where the virus has entered the body, such as on the mouth, penis, anus, or vagina. Sores can also show up on a woman's cervix or in the urinary passage in men or women. The sores are small red bumps that may turn into blisters or painful open sores. Over a period of days, the sores become crusted and then heal without scarring. All told, the time period from the beginning of symptoms is usually around two to four weeks.