Which statement by a client with genital herpes indicates the need for further teaching?

• A. Transmission will not occur when lesions are gone
• B. Abstaining from sexual activity reduces the risk of transmission
• C. The use of condoms will reduce the risk of transmission
• D. Antiviral medications will not cure the infection

Answer: (A)

Genital herpes can be transmitted even when there are no visible symptoms because the virus can shed from the skin and genital mucosa without sores. Believing that transmission won’t occur once lesions are gone ignores this asymptomatic shedding, so that statement signals a need for more teaching. In reality, the risk of transmission is reduced but not eliminated by abstaining during outbreaks, using condoms, and taking antiviral medications. Daily antiviral therapy lowers shedding and the chance of transmission, and condoms reduce risk but do not guarantee protection. Antiviral medications help control outbreaks and reduce shedding, but they do not cure the infection—the virus remains in the body. There isn’t a time when transmission risk is completely zero, though it’s highest during outbreaks and diminishes with treatment and precautions.