What is herpes?

Got some curiosities about herpes? The term herpes actually refers to a family of eight viruses that include oral herpes, genital herpes, herpes varicellus-zoster, etc. — it can be tricky to keep it all straight! Believe it or not, almost the entire human race has been infected with at least one strain of the herpes virus in their lives. Once you’ve been infected, it can lie dormant in your body between bouts of symptoms. Needless to say, the herpes family is a bit of a sore subject.