Genital herpes: clinical features, sources of information, recurrences, and treatment in young adults.

A descriptive study of 252 young adults with genital herpes recruited from newspaper advertisements in a metropolitan area on the West coast revealed gender differences in clinical features of the disease, perceived causes of recurrences, and treatments used. Stress was the most frequently perceived cause of recurrences. Although 68% of participants perceived nurses to be a source of information about the disease, only 25% perceived nurses as a source of the best information they had received. Development of nursing interventions based on the experience and perceptions of patients is needed.