In her early 20s, Melys Edwards rarely left the house without a pair of sunglasses.
Not because it was sunny, but because she was ashamed.
"I just didn't want people to see me," the 29-year-old said.
Health experts say that, for many people, the psychological impact of a genital herpes diagnosis - which is treatable but not curable - can be even greater than the physical symptoms.
In England, official figures, external show new cases of genital herpes are increasing, with nearly 29,000 people diagnosed in 2025 - a 3% rise on the previous year.
In Wales, Public Health Wales recorded 913 first episode diagnoses, external in 2025, down from 1,321 the previous year - although they warned the figures should be interpreted cautiously because of incomplete clinical data from Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.
For Melys, from Wrexham, the physical pain of her first outbreak was intolerable.
"When I first got it, it was horrendous... the worst pain ever," she said.
The yoga teacher and digital content creator believes she caught it through having unprotected sex with someone who knew he had genital herpes, but didn't tell her.
Her diagnosis triggered grief, anger and denial.
She described feeling "detached" from herself, not trusting her own judgement any more.
Marian Nicholson, director of the Herpes Viruses Association, has lived with herpes for more than three decades and said public understanding had failed to keep pace with medical knowledge.
"There is an awful lot of unnecessary fear," she said.
She said she believesstigma dating back to public health campaigns in the 1980s , externalcontinues to shape attitudes today.
"People think it's a punishment - it isn't."
She said many people were unaware that cold sores and genital herpes are caused by the herpes simplex virus, and that oral sex is a common route of transmission.
"The virus doesn't know where it is. If somebody has a cold sore and gives oral sex, the virus can be passed to the genitals."
She said genital herpes is a manageable skin condition for most people.
Many people never develop symptoms at all, while those in recurrent outbreaks can often control them with antiviral medication and lifestyle changes.
"Only one person in three is going to notice that they've caught it. Two out of three people catch it so mildly they just don't realise."
Dr Olwen Williams, chair of HIV charity Fast Track Cymru and a former consultant in sexual health and HIV, said people with genital herpes should be able to have sexual relationships, but were advised not to have sex while they were having an active attack.
She said: "Actually it's quite uncomfortable to have sex at that point, but also there is a risk of onward transmission due to the shedding of the virus then."
Doctors believe the true number of people living with genital herpes could be much higher than statistics suggest.
Although home testing , externalis possible for some sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Wales, they do not test for genital herpes. This needs to be done in a sexual health clinic.
Williams said many people never seek testing, while others miss the short window needed for the most accurate diagnosis.
"We know there's probably under-reporting," she said.
"A lot of people who have the virus will never have gone to have a test and for some people the tests will come back negative even though they have the virus."
She said people should seek medical advice as soon as symptoms appear because swab testing is most effective within about 48 hours, but added accessing clinics was a challenge.
"What we haven't seen is any increased investment or expansion of the actual physical capacity within clinics," she said.
"We have a growing population requiring services and they're having delays accessing them."
The Welsh government said preventing ill-health was "a key priority" and that it had appointed a minister for public and preventative health.
A spokesperson added: "We are assessing our population needs in relation to the prevention, testing and treatment of STIs and HIV to improve sexual health services across Wales."
