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How Herpes Affects Your
Immune System

The immune system is one of the most important systems within the human body. It works to help defend the body against foreign invaders such as a virus. It is a very strong and complex system that has many different functions to help it keep you healthy.

Let’s take some time to explain this system and how it works so that you can understand how to build a better and stronger immune system and how doing so will affect your herpes outbreaks.

The immune system is a complex network that “patrols” the body and all the different cells to keep on the look out for foreign invaders that can cause you to be sick. The immune system searches your body for antigens and identifies them as infectious agents or as self antigens (which are normal parts of the body).

To understand this completely, you need to understand how the immune system works. To know how it works, you need to know how it is made up.

How does the immune system work?

Now that you know what your immune system is, you need to know more about how it works so you can understand how it helps you fight herpes.

Blood cells

The human immune system is made up of mostly white blood cells. However, there are many different types of white blood cells. Most in the immune system are lymphocytes. The two major classes of lymphocytes are T cells and B cells. The T cells help destroy infected cells in your body and keep your immune response healthy and on target. B cells produce the antibodies that remain in your system after fighting off a disease.

Some other types of blood cells are the macrophages and neutrophils. These blood cells help circulate the blood and they search it for foreign substances. If they locate a foreign antigen such as bacteria, they destroy it as illustrated below.

You also have MHC and Co-Stimulatory molecules in your immune system. These are an active part of your body’s defense against foreign antigens and disease. These molecules work by binding to the virus and then communicating with the T cells to help fight the virus.

These cells are important to the response of the immune system for a timely response to the invading virus or antigen.

For the immune system to work properly and most effectively, all the parts and components need to be working together so that the whole system will function at its peak. When all of the system is working correctly, your body is better able to fight against viruses that may be attacking it such as the herpes virus.

Herpes is Incurable

Since the herpes virus never goes away, but just sits there in your nerves, you can’t destroy it completely and be cured. However, a healthy immune system can help fight off recurrences when the virus gets triggered into being active in the body again. As soon as this trigger occurs, your immune system (if healthy) will get to work to fight it off and make it dormant again so you do not get an outbreak. Or, if you do, it can help reduce the time and severity of your outbreaks.

How does herpes affect the immune system?

Herpes affects the immune system because it can weaken it and also make you more susceptible to other diseases and infections. Your body is busy trying to fight off the herpes virus and might not be as active at fighting off other things that might come along.

Your body’s natural defense, called the “immune responses” comes from the immune system. The herpes virus attacks your immune system and your immune system fights back and a battle ensues between the two. If the herpes virus wins, you get an outbreak. Sometimes the immune system will kick into gear and fight the outbreak and it will end quickly or not get severe. But sometimes if the immune system is strong enough, you can prevent the outbreak before it even occurs.

Anyone with herpes knows that the ideal would be to keep the outbreak from happening and keep your herpes in control at all times. To be able to do this, you need to have your immune system up to par. While you can’t help certain genetic factors, there are some things you can do to help build a stronger immune system.