It is estimated that 90% of those people who have genital herpes don’t know it simply because they have never had any genital herpes symptoms.  Due to the fact they have never had genital herpes symptoms, the symptoms they are likely to have go unnoticed.   Typically genital herpes symptoms will last anywhere from 2-10 days.

During the early stages of an outbreak, there are several genital herpes symptoms to look out for. The most likely and noticeable genital herpes symptoms you will experience are itching or burning sensations in the genital or anal area.  It is also important to pay close attention because you could also experience early genital herpes symptoms that most people would not recognize unless they were looking specifically for these genital herpes symptoms. Other genital herpes symptoms include pain in the buttocks, legs, or genital area, feeling of pressure on the abdominal area, and a vaginal fluid discharge.

Often the pain is described as a tingling sensation.  This particular genital herpes symptom has been described best as feeling raw or similar to a rug burn or a sunburn type sensation.

After a few days, the most common genital herpes symptom of tiny sores will begin to appear in the genital area. They can also appear in the urinary passage of both women and men, and inside the vagina. At first, they appear to be small, red bumps; they later develop into painful open lesions.

The tiny sores or blisters will typically last 10-14 days in initial outbreaks and 2-5 days in recurring outbreaks.  The sores will become to crust over and then finally disappear. Herpes sores generally do not leave a scar. Other genital herpes symptoms that occur with the first outbreak and in a small percentage of recurring outbreaks are painful urination, vaginal discharge, swollen groin glands, headaches, fever, and muscle aches.