Medical Disclaimer
This site publishes general information. It is not medical advice, and it cannot substitute for care from a clinician who can actually examine you.
No clinical relationship
Reading this site does not create a doctor–patient relationship. Nobody publishing here is acting as your physician, nurse practitioner, therapist, or counsellor, and nothing on any page is tailored to your medical history, test results, or circumstances.
Decisions that belong to a clinician
Take these to a licensed provider rather than to a website: whether to start or stop suppressive antiviral therapy, how to interpret an IgG or IgM result, whether a symptom is an outbreak or something else, what to do during pregnancy or while trying to conceive, and any interaction between antivirals and your other medications.
The transmission figures cited on this site are population averages from published research. Your own risk depends on factors a study cannot see — which type you carry, how long you've had it, your outbreak frequency, your partner's serostatus, and adherence to medication. Averages describe groups; they do not predict individuals.
Urgent symptoms
Seek care promptly for a first suspected outbreak, an outbreak that is unusually severe or won't heal, fever with a rash, difficulty or pain passing urine, eye involvement, or any symptom that frightens you. If you are immunocompromised or pregnant, contact your provider rather than waiting it out.
If you are in crisis or considering harming yourself, contact your local emergency number. In the US, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Accuracy and currency
Guidance and research change. Pages carry a review date, and cited sources are named so you can read the original rather than take our summary of it. No warranty is made that any page is complete or current at the moment you read it.
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