According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in five American adults is infected with herpes. Each episode of herpes is called an outbreak. Approximately 80 percent of people describe flu-like symptoms in association with herpes outbreaks.
Fever
Fever is often a presenting symptoms of herpes and may last for two to seven days, according to Dr. Lawrence Corey, chair of Virology at the University of Washington College of Medicine. This fever is characteristically mild and may not be a "fever" at all--just an elevation over a person's baseline temperature or a subjective feeling of feverishness. Fever is usually most severe during the initial episode and becomes milder with each recurrence.
Pain
Headache and muscle and joint pain are other common symptoms of flu that are also associated with herpes outbreaks. Pain may last for three days or up to two weeks, in some cases. Particularly during an initial outbreak, says Dr. John Beauman of the U.S. Army, pain may be associated with palpable, pea- to marble-sized lumps in the groin or neck that represent swollen lymph nodes. Like fever, pain symptoms of herpes usually diminish with recurrence.
Malaise
Malaise is a term for the general feeling of sickness or ill health that accompanies flu and other illnesses like herpes. Symptoms of malaise may include feelings of lethargy, fatigue, irritability, lack of appetite and non-specific pain. Malaise, according to the CDC, often heralds a herpes outbreak and may persist for the duration of the outbreak.
Lesion-Related Symptoms
Skin lesions of herpes can actually result in symptoms similar to flu. For example, people with oral lesions may complain of sore throat and difficulty swallowing when lesions are present inside the mouth and throat. Although flu is rarely associated with gastrointestinal and urinary symptoms, according to a 2005 article in the journal American Family Physician, many people with lesions on the rectum or genitals complain of difficulty urinating and painful bowel movements.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Genital Herpes
- Herpes Simplex Viruses (Chapter); L. Corey; "Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine," 17th edition; A.S. Fauci, E. Braunwald, D.L. Kasper, S.L. Hauser, D.L. Longer, J.L. Jameson and J. Loscalzo (Eds.); 2008
- American Family Physician; Genital Herpes: A Review; J.G. Beauman; Oct. 15, 2005
