If you've searched Google for private medical insurance that covers genital herpes then you are probably for looking for trusted UK based health insurance providers that can cover your genital herpes.
Our advice when looking for private medical insurance that covers genital herpes is to speak to a insurance broker. Health insurance is extremely complicated and if you want absolute certainty that genital herpes is covered by your policy you should talk with a medical insurance broker who can explain which policy providers will cover this medical condition and which will not.
There are many advantages to using a broker but the biggest by far is that you're using their insurance training at no cost. They are paid by the insurer (Aviva or Bupa etc) rather than you so it costs you no extra to use their brokering services.
- Do you live in many different postcodes? Some will give you a lower policy premium than offers. A insurance broker will be able to advise whats best.
- Do you have a hobby that may invalidate your insurance claim? A broker will know this vital information.
- If you are a couple and one of you has claimed on your insurance policy this year would it be cheaper to separate you both onto two different policies?
- You've lean't you're at risk of developing a certain medical condition and want to know which insurer offers the largest amount of cover for it. A broker will know this instantly saving you huge amounts of time and effort.
You can call around every medical insurance provider on the market and ask if they cover genital herpes, however this will be a very time consuming process. Each insurer will ask for your medical history because its not normally a simple yes or not if a medical condition is covered or not.
Its far far quicker to speak to one health insurance broker which will know which policy providers on the market cover genital herpes and under what conditions they do or don't cover it.
Genital Herpes Information
Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted infection caused by a virus called herpes simplex virus (HSV).
There are two different types of the virus (type 1 and type 2), both of which can affect the genitals. One of the types is the same virus that causes cold sores around the mouth (type 1).
Genital herpes causes painful blisters and sores on and around the genitals. It can also sometimes cause problems if it's caught for the first time either very early or very late in pregnancy.
The herpes virus (HSV) is easily passed from person to person by close, direct contact including:
Sometimes you can catch herpes when your sexual partner has no visible sores or symptoms. This is because the virus can become active on the skin without causing any visible blisters or sores. This is sometimes called 'asymptomatic shedding’.
Herpes can also be passed to a newborn baby during childbirth. This is less common if the first episode of herpes is diagnosed before or at the beginning of pregnancy, and if there are no visible ulcers at time of delivery. Sometimes medications are started towards the end of pregnancy to reduce this risk.
Many people with the herpes virus do not experience any symptoms when first infected.
If symptoms do occur they usually take between two and twelve days after contact to appear.
Sometimes symptoms may not be noticed until months, or sometimes years, after being in contact with the virus.
Once you have the herpes infection, the virus stays in your body. It can lie dormant for long periods, but can reactivate in the area that was originally infected. If the virus reactivates, the sores and blisters can reappear. This is known as a ‘recurrent episode’ of genital herpes.
This first episode of genital herpes may last from two to four weeks. Repeated episodes are not usually as severe, or long, as the first and you may never have a repeat episode.
Symptoms of the first infection can include spots or red bumps around the genital area. These can be very painful. In time, these swellings can break open and form sores or ulcers which gradually crust over, forming new skin as they heal.
Other symptoms include:
If you have a recurrent infection, your symptoms may include:
If you think you may have genital herpes you should make an appointment with your GP or local sexual health services.