There are actually different forms of herpes, such as genital herpes, oral herpes, chickenpox, mononucleosis and there are others. All herpes forms are caused by viruses that belong to the Herpesveridae family.

The bad news is that herpes still can not be cured. Once you attract the virus, it stays with you for the rest of your life. However, there is hope. There are various treatments and there is also a lot you can do yourself to better control and reduce herpes symptoms and outbreaks.

In extreme cases, someone may have a severe herpes outbreak with all kinds of nasty symptoms every 2-3 weeks. Now, with proper treatment and various changes in lifestyle and in other areas, these outbreaks could be reduced to let's say once every 2 or 3 years. And on top of that, the accompanying symptoms will be much lighter.

And believe me, it makes a huge difference if you will suffer only from a light headache during an outbreak or if you will have fever, abdominal pain, strong itching and burning in the genital area, muscle pain, swollen glands and maybe all sorts of other problems.

But now, let's have a look what you can do to drastically reduce herpes outbreaks and to ease herpes symptoms.

Of course, there exist various antiviral drugs, which need to be described by your doctor, but I would like to talk more about various forms of lifestyle changes and habits which can be easily applied and which should allow you to greatly reduce herpes symptoms.

* Keep a healthy and balanced diet. Make sure to eat enough fruits and vegetables in order to strengthen your immune system.

* Avoid drinking too much coffee, black tea and alcohol - all of them may weaken your immune system.

* Don't wear jeans or trousers that are extremely tight.

* It is also a good idea to use only 100% cotton underwear.

* Reduce your sugar consumption as much as possible. Excessive sugar consumption has been reported to stimulate herpes outbreaks. Use stevia, maple syrup or organic honey whenever you can - they are also much healthier.

* Practice sport several times a week, but don't exaggerate.

* Herpes outbreaks are often caused by stress and fatigue. So, try to avoid stressful meditation as much as possible. If you have a stressful job, try meditation or yoga.

* Make sure to get enough sleep.

Again, these tips and ideas won't allow you to get rid of herpes, but they will help you to much better control herpes outbreaks and to reduce the symptoms