In genital herpes, a burning on urination in both men and women or mild vaginal discharge for women may be experienced. Initially the sores may last for a few weeks and then heal completely. The virus, however, remains in your body, but enters a dormant phase. Some new herpes patients never experience a second episode following the initial infection. Among those who do, some experience recurrences only infrequently, others quite regularly.
Recurrences tend to be less severe than the initial infection.
General health and resistance, physical trauma and emotional stress may be factors involved in a recurrent outbreak of sores. Labial and genital herpes are contagious just before and throughout the entire time any sign of an active outbreak persists. However, sometimes symptoms are so mild that the virus is transmitted inadvertently. In the case of labial herpes or cold sores, this means not engaging in oral to oral contact or oral to genital contact. In the case of genital herpes, this means not engaging in sexual relations.