Summary: Herpes can affect inside and the outside vagina; symptoms include rash, itching, blisters, sores, ulcers & discharge. Treatments reduce recurrence of herpes vaginal symptoms.

In women, genital herpes affects the vagina and surrounding area. Vaginal herpes is an alternative term sometimes used to describe this condition in women.

Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) which may also be referred to as an STI (sexually transmitted infection).

There is a misconception that all STDs and STIs are transmitted solely by genital to genital contact. Genital herpes on the vagina, which is caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV), can be transmitted through a wider range of sexual interaction including kissing and oral sex.

There are two forms of the herpes HSV virus: Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 HSV usually affects the mouth, whilst Type 2 HSV virus affects the genital area: the vaginal area in women and the penis and testicular area in men.

The First Signs & Symptoms Of Herpes On The Vagina

Once infected, the herpes virus can remain dormant in the body for long periods of time; a woman carrying the herpes virus may have no obvious signs and symptoms.

However, the Type 2 genital herpes virus may become activated bringing a number of signs and symptoms in the vaginal area. This process is often referred to as an outbreak and can be triggered by specific events such as stress and a weakened immune system.

After an initial infection, there is usually an incubation period preceding an outbreak, lasting several days to a week, in which there are no signs or symptoms. After the incubation period, and up to a few weeks after the initial infection, the first symptoms of herpes on the vagina may be experienced.

These first symptoms are usually itching and a feeling of discomfort in the vaginal area which may be felt as a soreness and tingling sensation of the skin around the vagina. There may also be a rash; the skin around the vagina may redden in color. 

Blisters, Sores and Ulcers of the Vagina

After the first symptoms, blisters may develop around the vagina. These can be very painful and cause great discomfort. At a later stage the blisters may rupture. A blister on the vagina that has popped or burst can leak fluid around the genital area.

Ruptured vaginal blisters can lead to ulcers around the vagina. Lesions such as sores, blisters and ulcers of the vagina caused by the herpes virus usually last between one to two weeks.

Vaginal herpes can also affect the area around the genitals, including the vulva, the vaginal opening, inside the vaginal walls and the cervix.

Further signs & symptoms of herpes around the genital area include painful urination and swollen lymph nodes (found in the groin).

When the symptoms from a herpes outbreak subside, the herpes virus can remain dormant in the body. 

Some of the signs and symptoms of breast cancer include:                                                      1 a lump in the breast.           2   a change in the size or shape of the breast.      3 dimpling of the skin or thickening in the breast tissue.     4 a nipple that’s turned in (inverted).   5 a rash (like eczema) on the nippl.    6 discharge from the nipple.    7 swelling or a lump in the armpit.      8  pain or discomfort in the breast that doesn’t go away.

A lump in the breast is the most common symptom of breast cancer.

Most breast lumps are not cancer. They are usually fluid-filled lumps (cysts) or a fibroadenoma, made up of fibrous and glandular tissue.

But it is important to get anything that is unusual for you checked by your GP. The earlier breast cancer is treated, the more successful treatment is likely to be.

A former prostitute, who had a threesome with Wayne Rooney, is being questioned by police investigating a house party murder.

Jenny Thompson, 28, was spoken to by officers as part of the inquiry after a scuffle at the party in Bolton led to the death of David Molloy.

The Ex On The Beach star was a guest at the party, held by her best friend Zoe Percival, at the house which is rented from Ms Thompson's parents.  Mr Molloy was arrested on suspicion of breach of the peace, but took ill in a police car and later died in hospital.

A 34-year-old man was arrested at the house on suspicion of murder in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Last night, Ms Thompson was being comforted by her parents at their £500,000 mansion near the scene. 

There is no suggestion that she or Ms Percival are being treated as suspects. Mr Molloy was arrested on suspicion of breach of the peace, but took ill in a police car and later died in hospital.

A 34-year-old man was arrested at the house on suspicion of murder in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Last night, Ms Thompson was being comforted by her parents at their £500,000 mansion near the scene. 

There is no suggestion that she or Ms Percival are being treated as suspects.

A controlling boyfriend shouted about demons and the occult as he brutally stabbed his girlfriend to death, a court heard.

Ivan Griffin, 24, plunged a kitchen knife through Sabrina Mullings' heart and liver while her daughter Hayleigh slept in their flat in Upper Norwood, south London.

Hayleigh, 22, and her boyfriend Chaise Gore were woken up when Griffin started shouting about 'releasing demons' and 'drinking blood' at 5.30am on March 13, jurors heard.

When they rushed out of their bedroom and tried to get into the room, Griffin struggled to keep them out as Ms Mullings's blood seeped out from under the door, it is claimed.

They eventually barged through the door and found the 38-year-old victim's naked body laid out on a dressing gown on the floor of the blood-soaked scene.

The Old Bailey heard Griffin told the couple he had stabbed Ms Mullings 'because he loved her' before he fled the scene. He was arrested in Camberwell later that day and charged with Ms Mullings's murder.

Prosecutor Timothy Cray, QC, said when Hayleigh and Mr Gore were woken up, the noise 'was bad enough that they got out of bed and went across the corridor'.

'It's now certain that what they were becoming witnesses to was a scene of fear and extreme violence, and in the next 15 minutes or so what they heard, what they saw, must have seemed to them as unreal,' he said.

'Most of the noise in terms of the shouting was coming from the defendant and his words were strange, things like they had not heard from him before. Talk along the lines of releasing demons, drinking blood, strange talk of that kind.'

As Griffin struggled to stop Hayleigh and Mr Gore from getting through the door into the kitchen, Mr Cray said 'they started to see blood seep out from under the door'.

When they broke through the door and got into the front room and kitchen they were 'covered in blood'. 

Jurors heard Ms Mullings still had a faint pulse but must have been 'minutes or seconds from death'.

Mr Cray said before Griffin fled the scene he told Hayleigh 'that he had stabbed Sabrina because he loved her and he had even wanted to stab himself in order, in his words, to join their blood together'.

Griffin had wounds on his chest but they were not deep, the court was told. 

Ms Mullings was pronounced dead at the scene and a post-mortem revealed she had suffered two stab wounds inflicted with 'severe force'.

One fractured her ribcage and punctured her heart, while the other plunged through her abdomen and into her liver. After Griffin was arrested he admitted stabbing Ms Mullings - but he claims he is not guilty of murder by way of diminished responsibility relating to mental illness.

Jurors were told they will see evidence about Griffin's mental state at the time and around the time of the killing.

Two psychiatrists have assessed the defendant, but Mr Cray said 'there's no evidence that this defendant suffered from any mental illness before the attack'. Mr Gore had described the murder suspect as a 'normal sort of guy', though Hayleigh claims he was a controlling boyfriend who had shown a temper.

Mr Cray said: 'Either the defendant was suffering from some previously undiagnosed mental illness not picked up before which seems to have left him soon afterwards, or the real explanation for this killing is something much more normal, that this is a case of domestic violence.'

The prosecutor said Griffin has tried to 'disguise what he's done in the language of mental illness' because 'he can't or doesn't want to face up to it himself'.

Griffin, of Ravensdale Gardens, Upper Norwood, south London, denies murder.

He had lived in the flat next to Ms Mullings's home when they first met.

The trial continues. 

A Belgian mayor has been found dead in a cemetery with his throat slit open.

The body of Alfred Gadenne, 71, Mayor of Mouscron, was discovered by his wife on Monday evening at Luingne Cemetery, where he was caretaker . 

He had been out to close the site for the night when he was murdered.

Mr Gadenne's was the conservative mayor of Mouscron, an industrial town of 57,000 just across the border from the northern French city of Lille 

His death has shocked the country, with the prime minister expressing 'horror' at the death of the retired national lawmaker.

Local news service SudInfo, citing unnamed sources, said a suspect had handed himself in to police and that the motive was unclear.

The case was handed to a local prosecutor rather than to national counter-terrorism investigators.

'I have learned with horror of the brutal death of Alfred Gadenne,' Prime Minister Charles Michel, a liberal, said on Twitter. All my thoughts are with his family and friends. Among the many others offering condolences was Martine Aubry, the former French Socialist party leader and long-time mayor of metropolitan Lille.

Philippe Courard, president of the parliament for Belgium's French-speaking south, tweeted: 'Terrifying. What kind of world are we living in, 

British billionaire Richard Branson has revealed the extent of devastation to his luxurious Necker Island home in the wake of Hurricane Irma.

The entrepreneur posted a video online showing how the storm has destroyed his British Virgin Islands home, with buildings blown away and trees ripped from the ground.

The 67-year-old locked himself in his wine cellar as the hurricane, the most powerful to have ever hit the Atlantic, started raging outside on Wednesday.

The tycoon has now travelled to Puerto Rico where he is helping coordinate the effort to deliver aid and a rebuilding plan for the British Virgin Islands.   Writing on his blog, he said: 'As you can see from the photos, much of the buildings and vegetation on Necker has been destroyed or badly damaged.

'We felt the full force of the strongest hurricane ever in the Atlantic Ocean.  'But we are very fortunate to have a strong cellar built into Necker's Great House and were very lucky all of our teams who stayed on Island during the storm are safe and well.'

He added: 'I am writing from Puerto Rico, where I have travelled in order to further mobilise aid efforts and rebuilding plans for the British Virgin Islands and wider Caribbean.

'Communications remain mostly down in the BVI after Hurricane Irma. 'After sharing these updates and talking to various governments, aid agencies and media, we will be heading straight back to the BVI to continue helping the recovery effort on the ground.'

Mr Branson said he and his team have spent the last two days visiting people who live on the island of Gorda, handing out aid and supplies.

He said the visit showed 'first-hand just how ferocious and unforgiving' Irma has been.

The billionaire also called on the UK Government to play its part, demanding a 'disaster recovery Marshall Plan' for the British Virgin Islands and other Caribbean islands. 

Google pays women less than men at most job levels despite claiming it is a progressive place to work.

Women earn up to $15,600 (£11,800) a year less than men even though they are in similar positions, according to a spreadsheet drawn up by the tech giant’s own workers.

Female employees also earn lower bonuses than men and are awarded up to $7,100 (£5,400) less than their male counterparts.

The spreadsheet was drawn up by a former Google employee who wanted to help colleagues negotiate better salaries. The figures are likely to add to the debate about sexism in Silicon Valley - and they come after Google fired one of its senior engineers who said the gender pay gap is down to biological differences between men and women.

Despite its lofty ambitions, Google admits there is ‘more work to be done’ on equality and its own statistics reveal that women make up 31 per cent of the company compared to 69 per cent for men.

The spreadsheet revealed pay for men and women covering six bands of jobs covering everything from entry level programmers to executives.

It was self-reported by 1,200 US staff - 2 per cent of the global workforce - meaning it is not a comprehensive analysis.

But the disparities are startling and at five of the six job levels women are paid less than men.

At level one, the lowest, women earned $40,300 (£30,500) compared to $55,900 (£42,300) for men, a difference of $15,600 (£11,800), the biggest out of all employees.

At level two women earned more than men, $76,600 (£58,000) compared to $71,200 (£53,900) for men.  At level three, the entry level for technical positions, women earned $106,700 (£80,800) compared to $112,400 (£85,100) for men.

At level four women earned $125,000 (£94,600) versus $136,600 (£103,400) and at level five the numbers were $153,500 (£116,200) for women compared to $162,200 (£122,800) for men.

At level six, executive level, women were paid $193,200 (£146,300) versus $197,600 (£149,600) for their male counterparts.

For bonuses women were awarded less than men at three of the six levels.

The biggest disparity was at level six where women earned $40,700 (£30,800) in bonuses compared to $47,800 (£36,200) for men, a difference of $7,100 (£5,400).

Natasha Lamb, director of equity research and shareholder engagement at Arjuna Capital, an activist wealth management firm, said: ‘Silicon Valley has established itself as the boys’ club of the West, just like how Wall Street has established itself as the boys’ club of the East’.

Google recently suffered a backlash over a 10-page memo written by James Damore, a former engineer at the company.

He argued that biological differences between men and women are the cause of the gender gap at Google and the broader tech industry. 

Masked gang members have been filmed hurling packages of drugs over the walls of Britain's most troubled prisons.

The shocking footage was captured outside HMP Birmingham just days after inmates smashed up a wing and flooded cells at the facility.

The category B and C prison has had a huge problem with drug smuggling recently despite putting up protective nets to help combat the issue.   A source told the Star on Sunday that there were not enough police at the facility to stop the gangs.

The source said: 'The screws know it's coming over but there's nothing they can do.

'Spice, puff (cannabis), prescription pills like Subutex, booze, phones, food. Anything they want they can get. It comes over the back yard and cons go and pick it up. Simple as that. The footage consists of three videos, two of which were filmed during the day and one at night.

The gang members can be seen getting off their mopeds to chuck the contraband over the wall.

One of them can be heard shouting: 'Over the wall we go. Prison inspectors have said the prevalence of drugs at HMP Birmingham has contributed to an increase of violence within the facility.

In December last year, elite prison officers were called in to deal with a 12-hour riot which saw inmates rip their cells apart.

And last weekend prisoners left taps running before throwing furniture around the building. 

The jogger who pushed a woman into traffic may have targeted his victim, according to the bus driver hailed a hero for swerving out of her way.

Oliver Salbris, 45, managed to steer his double-decker London bus away from the 33-year-old at the last second, missing her by inches.

But a month after police released footage of the incident on Putney Bridge, the culprit has still not been identified.

Speaking for the first time about the attack, Mr Salbris said the jogger had singled out the woman. ‘The consequences could have been terrible for her – and for me,’ he said.        Asked if the push was intentional, he said: ‘Yes – unless he’s a blind jogger.’ Police have refused to rule out the possibility that the victim, who has not been identified, was known to the attacker dubbed ‘the Putney Pusher’.

CCTV footage of the attack in May showed the woman walking along the bridge heading to work at 7.40am with the jogger coming towards her.   The father-of-two, who moved to Britain from France in 2005, said: ‘I’ve never seen anything like this before.

‘I was focusing on the road and I just saw the collision between the jogger and the woman.

‘It was a fairly close call. I thought I was going to touch her. If I hadn’t swerved, I would have smashed her head. It was reflex – and I would say thanks to God.’ 

Mr Salbris said the jogger had chosen to push the woman rather than a man walking directly in front of her, adding: ‘He looked like he was doing it on purpose. He needs to be caught and to explain himself. He needs to be prosecuted.’ 

1. Exercise your brain. Brain games and certain puzzles and brainteasers help create new associations between different parts of the brain, which keeps it sharp. Other exercises that challenge the brain are things like doing normal activities with your non-dominant hand like brushing your teeth or combing your hair.   
2. Vary activities. Most of us here are already physically active, which is extremely important for brain health, but consider challenging your body – and brain – in a variety of ways from time to time. Mix up exercise routines, do something you haven’t done in a while whether it’s hiking or tossing a ball around. This variety is as healthy for your brain as it is your body.      
3. Eat brain food. We all know that a good, clean diet will improve all areas of our health, but there are many studies and an increasing amount of evidence that certain foods slow mental decline. Topping the list of brain-boosting food is any food high in Omega 3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, which has been linked to a lower risk of dementia and improved focus and memory And you were just taking your fish oil to keep your joints from hurting.    
4. Try new things outside of the gym.Take up a language, an instrument, memorize poetry. Asking your brain to do some new tricks keeps it active and able to learn. 
5. Volunteer. Research shows that this can lower your stress levels and increase mental functioning. Volunteering adds to a person’s well-being and overall health. Not only does it feel good, but it promotes brain health by raising self esteem.      
6. Socialize. We are social animals and according to a recent study published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, we need a variety of brain stimulation, including social activity, to keep our minds sharp. This is especially true later in life, when aging takes its toll on memory and other complex neurological processes. In the study, older adults who were less socially active than those who were socially active had both cognitive and physical limitations.