Melanie, a young college woman, contacts the office insisting on an appointment as soon as possible. She volunteers that she feels like she has the flu and that her glands are swollen. She complains of a headache and feels like she has a fever. Additionally, she requests a pelvic examination for “personal reasons.” A medical evaluation, including a pelvic examination, is scheduled for the next morning. During the medical history, Melanie confides to the physician that while away at college she recently experienced more than one casual sexual encounter, but that she made sure that the male always wore a condom. Now she is aware of extreme discomfort in the genital area.
During the pelvic examination the physician cultures two blisterlike lesions noted in the genital area and sends the specimen to the laboratory for identification of a causative organism. The tissue culture laboratory test comes back positive for a herpes simplex virus (HSV-2). The diagnosis is genital herpes. When Melanie is given the results of the laboratory test and the diagnosis of genital herpes, a sexually transmitted disease, she appears distraught and listens carefully as the physician answers her questions: “How could this happen to me? How long will the pain and discomfort last? Can this be cured? How long is herpes contagious? When will the blisters go away? How will this affect my future sex life?”
- Recall some facts you learned about genital herpes that would answer Melanie’s questions.
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