Avoid oral sex with a partner who has cold sores on the mouth. If you are pregnant, tell your doctor if you have had herpes or any genital lesions in the past. Precautions should be taken to prevent infection of the baby. Avoid stress where possible. During symptom-free periods, the virus returns to its dormant state.
Symptoms recur when the virus is reactivated.
Recurrent symptoms are not new infections. The discomfort varies from person to person and from time to time in the same person. The first herpes infection is much more uncomfortable than following ones. Transmittal of life-threatening systemic herpes to a newborn infant from an infected mother. Secondary bacterial infection.