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Dr. Chrysoula I. Liakou MD, PhD
- Treated online: Yes, usually. A recurrence is treated by video with a short antiviral course, standby supply or daily suppressive treatment, and a first episode started online with a swab arranged locally; inability to pass urine, severe pain, pregnancy or a weakened immune system need in-person care.
- What it is: infection of the genital skin and nerves by herpes simplex virus, which then lies dormant for life; about 1 in 8 adults carries HSV-2, most without knowing, and up to half of new genital infections are now HSV-1 from oral sex.
- Timelines: a first episode causes sores for 2 to 3 weeks, often with flu-like illness; recurrences last 5 to 10 days, average about 4 a year with HSV-2 and 1 with HSV-1, and ease over time; antivirals work best within 1 to 2 days.
- Suppression: daily antiviral treatment is considered at around 6 or more recurrences a year, or fewer that are severe, and cuts outbreaks by 70 to 80% and transmission to a partner by about half; it is reviewed after a year.
- Transmission: the virus spreads most easily from the first tingle until the skin has fully healed, but also between outbreaks through silent shedding, which is why condoms, suppressive treatment and avoiding sex during symptoms all matter together.
- Emergency: genital herpes is never a 112 emergency; go to in-person care without delay for inability to pass urine, severe headache with stiff neck or confusion during an outbreak, or a newborn baby with blisters, fever or floppiness.
Get in-person care instead if you cannot pass urine, if the pain is unmanageable, if this is your first ever outbreak and you are pregnant, or if your immune system is weakened by illness or medication. A first episode is also best confirmed with a swab taken from a blister or sore, and the doctor will tell you where to arrange one locally.
Can an online doctor treat genital herpes?
Yes. Genital herpes is managed with antiviral tablets rather than cured, and after a video assessment a licensed doctor can prescribe aciclovir or valaciclovir for individual outbreaks and as daily suppressive therapy.[1] First episodes can start treatment online too, with a confirmatory swab arranged at a local clinic.
Speed is the whole game with herpes treatment, which is why online access genuinely changes outcomes. Tablets started at the first tingle can shorten or even abort an outbreak, while tablets started on day four mostly watch it happen. On Mobi Doctor, a licensed doctor can see you over video, usually within 15 minutes, wherever you are in Europe, which fits how this condition actually behaves.
Listen: Genital Herpes Treatment Online
The audio version of this topic from the Mobi Doctor podcast. Open the episode.
How an online consultation helps with genital herpes
- Fast antiviral start: antivirals work best when started within the first day or two of symptoms, often at the first tingle. Seeing a doctor over video, usually within 15 minutes, makes that timing realistic, which a booked-out clinic often cannot.
- First episode and recurrence handled differently: the doctor distinguishes a first outbreak, which needs a longer course and swab confirmation, from a recurrence, which suits quick episodic treatment after a short consultation.
- A plan for frequent outbreaks: if recurrences are frequent or distressing, daily suppressive therapy can be discussed honestly: what it does, what it does not, and when to review it.
- Genuinely private: herpes carries more stigma than it deserves. A consultation from home means no waiting room and a doctor who treats this routinely and talks about it plainly.
📷 Photos help: well-lit, close-up photos of the affected area taken while blisters or sores are visible let the doctor assess the pattern before your call. You can upload them securely when booking, they are optional, and the consultation works without them.
What are the symptoms of genital herpes?
Genital herpes typically starts with tingling, itching or burning, followed by clusters of small blisters that break into shallow, painful sores around the genitals, anus or upper thighs. A first episode often adds flu-like aching, swollen groin glands and stinging when urine touches the skin; recurrences are usually milder and shorter.[3]
- Tingling, itching or burning in one area, often the first warning
- Clusters of small fluid-filled blisters
- Shallow, painful sores or ulcers where blisters break
- Stinging when urine touches the affected skin
- First episodes only: flu-like aching, fever, swollen glands in the groin
- Healing with scabbing over roughly one to two weeks
Location varies more than people expect: sores can appear on the buttocks, upper thighs or around the anus, not only the genitals, and recurrences sometimes show as a small crack or patch of irritation rather than obvious blisters. If a "recurring cut" keeps returning in the same spot, herpes belongs on the list of suspects.
First episode or recurrence: why the difference matters
The first episode is usually the worst
A first outbreak typically brings widespread blisters and ulcers, flu-like symptoms and real pain, and untreated it can last two to three weeks. Ideally, a first episode is confirmed with a swab from a sore, because knowing the virus type (HSV-1 or HSV-2) helps predict how often outbreaks may return and shapes the advice you get. An online doctor can start antiviral treatment promptly where appropriate and point you to local testing so the diagnosis is nailed down properly.
Recurrences are shorter, milder and very manageable
After the first episode the virus stays dormant in nearby nerves, and some people get recurrences, usually fewer sores, healing within about a week, often announced hours or a day in advance by tingling, itching or shooting pains where the outbreak will appear. Some people notice triggers such as illness, friction, menstruation or run-down periods. Recurrences are where online care shines: you recognise the warning signs, book quickly, and start episodic treatment at the earliest possible moment. Over time, outbreaks tend to become less frequent for most people.
First outbreak versus recurrence at a glance
Swipe sideways to compare →
| Feature | First episode | Recurrence |
|---|---|---|
| Severity | Often severe, with flu-like symptoms | Milder, fewer sores |
| Duration untreated | Two to three weeks | About a week |
| Warning signs | Usually none; it arrives unannounced | Tingling or burning hours to a day ahead |
| Antiviral course | Five to ten days, started promptly | Short course, sometimes one to three days |
| Testing | Swab from a sore strongly advised | Not usually needed if diagnosis confirmed |
| Where care happens | Online to start, plus a local swab | Well suited to fully online care |
Is your outbreak suitable for online care?
Usually yes. A recognised recurrence in someone with a known diagnosis is well suited to a quick online consultation, and a first episode can be started online while a swab is arranged locally. A few situations need in-person or specialist care instead. This is the framework the doctors use, aligned with European STI guidance.[1]
Swipe sideways to compare →
| Presentation | Likely first step | Suitable for online care? | When referral or in-person care is needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recurrence with a known diagnosis (familiar tingling, then sores) | Short episodic antiviral course, started at first symptoms[1] | Usually yes | Atypical sores, or an outbreak not settling in two to three days |
| First suspected episode | Prompt antiviral course started online, plus a confirmatory swab locally | Usually yes, to start | Swab confirmation locally; specialist care if severe |
| Frequent or distressing recurrences (around six or more a year) | Discuss daily suppressive antiviral therapy[1] | Yes | Reviewed after about a year, or if outbreaks change |
| Cannot pass urine, severe pain, eye involvement, weakened immune system, or a first episode late in pregnancy | Urgent in-person or specialist care | No | Same-day in-person care |
First outbreak, or a recurrence? A doctor can tell you in one consultation.
See available times →What the doctor checks in an online genital herpes consultation
The consultation is built around getting treatment started fast and safely. The doctor will typically check:
- When symptoms started: because antivirals work best in the first day or two, and the timing shapes the course.
- First episode or recurrence: a first outbreak needs a longer course and a swab; a familiar recurrence suits a short episodic course.
- What the sores look like: photos help, and the pattern helps separate herpes from the lookalikes.
- Pain and urination: severe pain or difficulty passing urine can point to a complication that needs in-person care.
- Pregnancy status, because a first episode late in pregnancy is the highest-risk situation and needs specialist care.
- Your immune health: chemotherapy, transplant medication or uncontrolled HIV lower the threshold for in-person review.
- How often outbreaks happen, which decides whether episodic treatment or daily suppressive therapy fits you.
Discretion is built in rather than promised: you speak from wherever you are private, upload photos only if you choose to, and the pharmacy receives an ordinary prescription with no story attached. If anything about the picture is atypical, the doctor says plainly that it needs an in-person look rather than a guess.
When genital herpes is treated online, and when you need in-person care
Treated online: recognised recurrences in people with a known diagnosis; first episodes started promptly online while a confirmatory swab is arranged locally; and daily suppressive therapy for frequent or distressing outbreaks, reviewed after about a year.[1] Where useful, the doctor notes your episode pattern to support faster self-start treatment next time.
In-person care: anyone who cannot pass urine, or who develops a severe headache with a stiff neck, light sensitivity or confusion during an outbreak; symptoms around the eye; severe outbreaks when the immune system is weakened; and any outbreak late in pregnancy, when the delivery team must plan how to protect the baby. A first episode is also the right moment for a wider STI screen, because sores and other infections can arrive together.
What else looks like genital herpes?
Not every genital sore is herpes. Syphilis typically causes a single firm, painless ulcer; genital warts are painless fleshy bumps rather than blisters; folliculitis and ingrown hairs cause pimple-like spots; thrush causes itching, redness and small skin cracks; and friction injuries can mimic an early sore. Painful clustered blisters that recur in the same place remain the herpes signature.
This is why a first episode deserves a swab and, ideally, a full STI check: sores from different causes need entirely different treatment, and more than one infection can be present at once. Photos and a careful history sort out most of the lookalikes; laboratory confirmation settles the rest. If a sore is painless, persistent or simply does not behave like the pattern described here, say so, because that detail changes the plan.
How can I reduce outbreaks and protect a partner?
Three things reduce transmission: no sexual contact from the first tingle until the skin has fully healed, condoms between outbreaks, and daily suppressive antiviral therapy, which also cuts recurrences sharply. Nothing reduces the risk to zero, because the virus occasionally sheds from skin without symptoms, which is why partners deserve an honest conversation.[2]
Genital herpes is caused by herpes simplex viruses that are extremely common across Europe: HSV-2, and increasingly HSV-1, which can be passed to the genitals through oral sex from a partner with cold sores.[2] Most adults carry one type or the other, often without knowing.[5] For your own outbreaks, the practical levers are noticing your triggers (illness, friction, menstruation, exhaustion), protecting sleep, and treating early rather than heroically waiting.
Telling a partner
If telling a partner feels daunting, the doctor can help you find the words. A fair, truthful framing: this is a manageable skin condition caused by a virus most adults carry in one form or another; precautions exist and work well; and people with genital herpes have full, normal relationships. Partners told honestly tend to react better than the anxious 3am imagination predicts.
Special situations
Pregnancy
Tell your midwife or obstetrician about any history of genital herpes, because it matters most at delivery, and plans exist for it. A first episode late in pregnancy is the highest-risk situation and needs specialist care promptly, because the baby has had no time to receive protective antibodies. Recurrences in pregnancy are lower-risk, and antiviral treatment in late pregnancy is often used under specialist guidance.
Weakened immune systems
If your immune system is suppressed by chemotherapy, transplant medication or uncontrolled HIV, outbreaks can be more severe, last longer and occasionally spread beyond the usual areas. Herpes symptoms in this situation warrant in-person care rather than remote management, and the threshold for urgent review is low.
Travellers
Recurrences do not respect holiday schedules, and starting treatment fast matters more than where you are. A video consultation works from any European country, in English, with the prescription sent to a nearby pharmacy. If you know you are outbreak-prone, discuss an episodic supply to carry before you travel, agreed with the doctor rather than assumed. Friction from long days of walking, cycling or sitting in wet swimwear is a common holiday trigger, so pack loose cotton underwear alongside the medication.
Treatment options for genital herpes
What you can do yourself
Take paracetamol or ibuprofen for pain. Bathe the area with salt water, keep it clean and dry, and wear loose cotton underwear. A thin layer of petroleum jelly, or a local anaesthetic ointment from the pharmacy, applied before urinating eases the sting, as does urinating in a warm shower or while pouring warm water over the area. Drink enough fluids, skip perfumed washes, and avoid sex until the skin has completely healed.
Prescription treatment
Antiviral tablets (aciclovir or valaciclovir) are the treatment for genital herpes. Because it is a viral infection, antibiotics do nothing for it. A prescription is never issued without a consultation: the doctor confirms the episode pattern first, then matches the course to it. For a first episode, a course of around five to ten days is started as soon as possible.[4] For recurrences, short episodic courses (sometimes just one to three days) begun at the first tingle can shorten or even abort an outbreak, and it is often sensible to agree a plan with the doctor so treatment is on hand for next time. If you have around six or more recurrences a year, or fewer that hit you hard, daily suppressive therapy markedly reduces outbreaks and lowers the risk of passing the virus on, and it is usually reviewed after about a year.[1] Honesty matters here: no medicine eradicates the virus, but treatment makes outbreaks shorter, rarer and far less disruptive.
When to get in-person care
Call 112 or seek emergency care if you cannot pass urine at all, or if you develop a severe headache with a stiff neck, light sensitivity or confusion during an outbreak (a rare complication of a first episode). Urgent in-person care is also needed for herpes symptoms around the eye (pain, redness, blurred vision), for severe outbreaks if your immune system is weakened, and for any outbreak late in pregnancy, when the delivery team must plan how to protect the baby.
How Mobi Doctor works
- Book a time that suits you: open daily 7am–11pm CET. You can see a doctor over video, usually within 15 minutes. No subscription, exact price up front.
- Speak to a licensed doctor about genital herpes: a private video call: you describe what you feel, the doctor asks what matters, and you agree the right plan together.
- Get your treatment plan: if the doctor prescribes, a prescription you can use at a pharmacy near you, plus a plan for future outbreaks; if your doctor decides you need to be seen in person, you get a full refund.
No sign-up needed
Not sure it’s genital herpes? Tick every symptom you have to see each condition page that mentions it. It finds the right page, not a diagnosis: a doctor gives you that on a video call.
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Frequently asked questions about genital herpes
What is genital herpes, and how do you catch it?
Genital herpes is a lifelong infection of the genital skin by herpes simplex virus, type 2 or type 1. You catch it through skin-to-skin contact during vaginal, anal or oral sex with someone who has the virus, most often when they have no symptoms, because the virus sheds silently between outbreaks; a cold sore on a partner's mouth can give genital HSV-1 through oral sex. It is not caught from toilet seats or towels.
What are the symptoms of genital herpes?
Genital herpes causes tingling, itching or burning, then small painful blisters on the genitals, buttocks or thighs that burst into shallow sores and crust over, with pain on urinating, discharge and swollen groin glands. A first episode, 2 to 12 days after contact, often adds fever and aches and lasts 2 to 3 weeks; recurrences are milder, shorter and announced by a tingle in the same spot. Many first infections cause no symptoms.
Can an online doctor prescribe aciclovir for genital herpes in Europe?
Yes, in appropriate cases. For a clear recurrence of genital herpes in someone with a known diagnosis, antivirals can be prescribed by video, with the prescription usable at a pharmacy near you. For a first episode, treatment can still be started promptly online while a confirming swab is arranged locally, because the first days matter most. A prescription is never issued without a consultation, and pregnancy or a weakened immune system means in-person care.
Is genital herpes curable?
No, the virus stays dormant in nerve cells for life, and no current medicine removes it. But that headline is gentler than it sounds: outbreaks usually become less frequent and milder over time, antiviral tablets shorten them, daily suppressive therapy prevents most of them and halves the risk to a partner, and most people with genital herpes have normal sex lives and healthy children once they know how to manage it.
Do I need a test to confirm genital herpes?
For a first episode, ideally yes: a swab taken from a fresh blister or sore within the first few days identifies the virus and its type (HSV-1 or HSV-2), which shapes advice about future recurrences and transmission. Treatment can start online while the swab is arranged locally. For a recognised recurrence in someone already diagnosed, no test is needed; blood tests for herpes are rarely useful.
Can I keep antiviral treatment at home for future outbreaks?
Often, yes. For people with confirmed genital herpes and recognisable recurrences, doctors commonly agree an episodic plan, so a short course is ready to start at the first tingle, the moment treatment works best and before the blisters appear. Discuss it at the consultation; a standby supply is reviewed yearly, and frequent use is the trigger for considering daily suppressive treatment instead.
Can I still have sex with genital herpes?
Yes, with honest precautions. Avoid all sexual contact from the first tingle until the skin has fully healed, because that is when the virus spreads most easily. Between outbreaks, condoms reduce the risk, daily suppressive therapy lowers it further, and telling a partner lets them make an informed choice; many couples live with genital herpes for years without passing it on.
What is suppressive therapy, and when is it worth considering?
Suppressive therapy means taking an antiviral tablet every day to stop genital herpes outbreaks before they start. It is typically considered when you have around six or more recurrences a year, or fewer outbreaks that are severe or distressing, or to protect a partner who does not have the virus; it cuts outbreaks by 70 to 80%, halves transmission, and is reviewed after a year to see whether it is still needed.
How long does a genital herpes outbreak last?
A first episode of genital herpes lasts two to three weeks, with new blisters appearing for the first week and healing over the next two; recurrences last five to ten days and heal without scarring. Antivirals started within one to two days of the tingle shorten a recurrence by a day or two and a first episode by more. Sores that have not healed after three weeks, or keep spreading, need review.
What can I do at home during a genital herpes outbreak?
During a genital herpes outbreak, take the antiviral as prescribed, keep the area clean with plain water and dry it gently, wear loose cotton underwear, use a cold compress for pain, take paracetamol or ibuprofen, pass urine in a warm bath or while pouring water over the area if it stings, drink plenty, apply petroleum jelly to protect sores, and wash hands after touching them so the virus does not reach the eyes.
How can I prevent genital herpes outbreaks and protect a partner?
Reduce outbreaks by managing the triggers that reactivate the virus: illness, tiredness, stress, friction from sex, sunbathing and, for some, periods; keep a standby antiviral supply and start it at the first tingle; and consider daily suppressive therapy if outbreaks are frequent. Protect a partner by avoiding sex from tingle to healed skin, using condoms between outbreaks, and taking suppressive treatment, which together cut transmission substantially.
Is genital herpes dangerous in pregnancy?
Usually not. Women who had genital herpes before pregnancy almost always have healthy babies, and daily antiviral treatment from about 36 weeks reduces outbreaks around delivery; a recurrence in labour may mean a caesarean. The real risk is a first infection in the last 6 weeks of pregnancy, when the baby can be infected at birth, so new genital sores in late pregnancy need the maternity team at once, not an online consultation.
What else looks like genital herpes?
Genital herpes is mistaken for and mistaken as several things: thrush (itch and discharge without blisters), folliculitis (pustules on hairs), ingrown hairs, syphilis (a single painless ulcer), chancroid, a shaving cut, an allergic reaction to a product, or a Behcet's ulcer. Clustered blisters that tingle first, burst and recur in the same place are the pattern of herpes, and a swab from a fresh sore settles it.
- European guideline for the management of genital herpes, IUSTI Europe (International Union against Sexually Transmitted Infections), 2024.
- Herpes simplex virus fact sheet, World Health Organization (WHO), 2024.
- Genital herpes, DermNet, 2023.
- Genital herpes (HSV), HSE, Health Service Executive (Ireland), accessed August 2026.
- Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) fact sheet, WHO, World Health Organization, 2025.
- Genital herpes, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed June 2023.
This page is for information only and is not a substitute for a medical consultation. Guideline links are provided for transparency; treatment decisions are made with your doctor.
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