General health and wellbeing

Taking care of your general well-being will help you manage the virus more effectively. Anyone who’s in good health, eating well and getting plenty of rest and relaxation, is less likely to have outbreaks than someone who’s run-down.

It may be helpful to keep a diary to monitor what’s going on in your life when your outbreaks appear. You can pin point some of your triggers and either avoid them or use antiviral therapy to cope with the symptoms during a known stressful period for you.

Whatever you do, don’t feel bad about yourself because you’ve caught genital herpes. Blaming yourself is unhelpful and gets you nowhere. There are lots of things you can do to adapt to having the virus and get on with life – including maintaining a healthy relationship and sex life. For more advice see section Sexual Relations.

Your sexual health isn’t just about controlling symptoms and avoiding other STIs. It’s also about feeling good about yourself and comfortable with your choices. Check our useful links page for some useful sites with more information and advice.