Genital herpes is a herpes simplex virus infection that occurs in the genital region. Genital herpes is contracted through sexual intercourse, and is thus categorized as an STD. Genital herpes is believed to affect twenty percent of adults. Genital herpes recognition is extremely low: only twenty percent of people with genital herpes are thought to be aware of their status. Genital herpes is most likely to be spread during an outbreak of symptoms, but may be spread when symptoms are not present through asymptomatic viral shedding. Genital herpes is typically caused by herpes simplex 2, but can also, in rare cases, be caused by herpes simplex 1. Genital herpes is not a threat to a person's health, and is basically a nuisance condition: the only possible exceptions to this are infection in infants and in people with severely compromised immune systems. Genital herpes does not require any sort of medical intervention: genital herpes outbreaks will clear on their own, though they clear more quickly and with less discomfort when treatment is used. Genital herpes has no damaging effect on the reproductive systems of either men or women. Some people with genital herpes fear they'll spread their genital herpes infection to other parts of their body, and possibly to their eyes. Herpes antibodies prevent reinfection with herpes, genital or oral, and prevent a herpes infection, genital or oral, from being spread to other parts of the body. The exception to this is ocular herpes, or herpes of the eye, which is spread from an oral herpes infection not a genital herpes infection. A person becomes infected with genital herpes one time only, and once genital herpes is in place it stays where it is and doesn't move to any other place on the body, including to the eyes.