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This is another virus which is responsible for a variety of manifestations. The first exposure to the virus leads to a disease called 'primary herpes simplex'. It manifests as a conglomeration of several vesiclesand ulcers which are usually small and superficial,but many of them may merge with each other to produce larger lesions associated with severe inflammation, redness and pain. The location of the lesions is determined by the site of entry of the virus, but as a rule it occurs either around the mouth (lipsand nose), the eye (conjunctiva and cornea), the skin and mucous membranes of the private parts (tip of the penis in the male, vagina and vulva in the female), and occasionally on other areas of the body. Although the eruption is severe, it remains limited to a single area only. Even if this eruption is not treated, it tends to subside on its own within two to four weeks; but in several cases the virus becomes a permanent resident of the skin and the nerve in the region, tending to flare up again and ag in in a similar but much milder form at the same site (recurrent herpes simplex).
Unlike herpes zoster which leaves behind lifelong immunity (second attacks being rare), an attack of herpes simplex does not produce any immunity and the person keeps on experiencing recurrences, the frequency of which may vary from one or two attacks per month to one attack in a year or so. The lesions in recurrent herpes simplex are very few and heal within a week or so, but recurrences are annoying. Herpes simplex in the private parts is usually transmitted through sexual contact.
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