Who Gets Genital Herpes
Genital herpes is common in young people aged 20-24 years, but anyone can get it. Whenever HSV is on the skin, it can be passed to another person. It is passed between people by direct skin-to-skin contact, including sex. You can also catch it if you share sex toys .
However, you are at a higher risk of getting herpes if you:
- have had a sexually transmitted infection in the past
- started having sex young
- have had sex that was unprotected with many partners
How Should I Take Valacyclovir Tablets
- Take valacyclovir tablets exactly as prescribed by your healthcare provider. Your dose of valacyclovir tablets and length of treatment will depend on the type of herpes infection that you have and any other medical problems that you have.
- Do not stop valacyclovir tablets or change your treatment without talking to your healthcare provider.
- Valacyclovir tablets can be taken with or without food.If you are taking valacyclovir tablets to treat cold sores, chickenpox, shingles or genital herpes, you should start treatment as soon as possible after your symptoms start. Valacyclovir tablets may not help you if you start treatment too late.
- If you miss a dose of valacyclovir tablets, take it as soon as you remember and then take your next dose at its regular time. However, if it is almost time for your next dose, do not take the missed dose. Wait and take the next dose at the regular time.
- Do not take more than the prescribed number of valacyclovir tablets each day. Call your healthcare provider right away if you take too much valacyclovir tablets.
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Using Instillagel For Genital Herpes
Instillagel is an anaesthetic gel that can be used to ease pain and discomfort. It contains 5% lidocaine and comes in a 6ml syringe. Once applied to the affected area, it works quickly to numb the area. It is worth noting that it will not have any effect on the duration or severity of the symptoms, it simply helps ease the pain.
You should apply a small amount of this gel to the affected area as needed. We recommend applying the gel using a cotton bud or whilst wearing gloves to reduce direct contact with the lesions and avoid numbing your fingers. You should not use more than one-third of the syringe in 24 hours.
How Do I Use Valacyclovir
Valacyclovir can be used as an episodic therapy or suppressive therapy to treat genital herpes. As an episodic therapy, valacyclovir can treat an individual breakout as it occurs, if the treatment is started within one day of noticing symptoms. As suppressive therapy, valacyclovir is taken on a daily basis to help keep breakouts from occurring. This is often recommended for people who experience frequent or severe recurrences, or would like to reduce the risk of transmission to a sexual partner. A doctor will evaluate you and determine if either approach is appropriate for you.
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How To Reduce The Risk Of Transmitting Genital Herpes
Herpes lesions are contagious from the moment of the first tingling/itch until they have completely healed. You can reduce the risk of transmitting genital herpes by:
- Not touching any active lesions or blisters. If you do, ensure you wash your hands.
- Avoiding intimate contact if you or your partner have cold sore lesions or symptoms to suggest a flare is starting.
- Putting a condom on sex toys before use and washing them thoroughly after use. Alternatively, avoid sharing sex toys.
How Is Genital Herpes Passed On
As mentioned above, genital herpes is extremely contagious and is transmitted through skin-to-skin contact with a person who has the virus. The risk of spreading HPV infection to another person is greatest when symptoms are present . However, those who carry the virus but do not have any symptoms can spread HPV, as the shedding skin will carry the virus and infect another person. In fact, the majority of infections are spread by those with no symptoms .
You can spread HSV from one place on your body to another. If you touch lesions around your mouth , you can carry the virus on your fingers and spread it to your genitals, for example. The virus can be spread to your partner in this way, or during intimate sexual contact, regardless of where the active lesions are located. It is true that cold sore lesions can lead to genital herpes!
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What Is Genital Herpes And How Is It Spread
Genital herpes is a very common STI that is most often caused by the herpes simplex virus type 2 , and less commonly by the herpes simplex virus type 1 . Both HSV-1 and HSV-2 can occur in areas of the body other than the genitals, including the lips, mouth, throat, and more rarely, the eyes.
Once outside of the body, the virus dies quickly so theres no need to worry about getting genital herpes from toilet seats, holding hands, hugging or coughing and sneezing.
While herpes is not curable, there are medications available to help prevent and treat new outbreaks, as well as self-care tips to manage symptoms.
Order Antiviral Treatments For Herpes
If you have genital herpes, you can get an online prescription for antiviral herpes medication discreetly and easily. Our doctor’s prescribe aciclovir, valaciclovir or famciclovir via our online service.
Order for a herpes outbreak: if you have a flare-up of symptoms, you can get a short course of medication to help control the outbreak.
Order to prevent outbreaks: if you get outbreaks more than 6 times a year or find your symptoms are hard to deal with, you can have suppressive treatment. This is where you take a low dose of antiviral medication every day to help prevent outbreaks.
Order a herpes test: if you need to check if youre a carrier of herpes, you can order a herpes test online now.
| 1st outbreak – up to 10 days | £25.00 |
| Repeat outbreaks – 5 days each, 1/2/3 courses | from £25.00 |
| Suppression treatment – 3 months | £49.00 |
| 1st outbreak – up to 10 days | £70.00 |
| Repeat outbreaks – 3 to 5 days each, 1/2/3 courses | from £40.00 |
| Suppression treatment – 3 months | £220.00 |
| Outbreak – 1 day each, 1/2/3 courses | from £95.00 |
Click & Collect: free Next Day Delivery: £3.99Dispensing and standard delivery included.
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Order Herpes Medication On Your Terms
Need a prescription for herpes medication? We make it easy to buy valacyclovir online so you can treat genital herpes at home, safely and privately. It still isn’t possible to get prescription medication for herpes without a doctor or order Valtrex without a prescription. But with wisp, you can message a doctor to get prescription medication for herpes whether you have insurance or not. We also ship the best over the counter herpes meds to help manage the frequency and severity of genital outbreaks.
Tired of waiting rooms?
Get discreet online herpes treatment without the hassle of making a doctor’s appointment.
Extra meds, delivered free
We’ll send you enough antiviral medication to ensure it’s there when you need it. Take Valtrex every day, or at the first sign of an outbreak
Hassle-free, judgement-free
Order herpes medication online whenever you need it. Explain yourself to no one
All natural herpes treatment
Need an over the counter herpes home remedy? Got you covered with wisp’s All Natural AV Herbals
What Are The Risk Factors For Herpes
Some risk factors for herpes may include:
-Having unprotected sex
-Having sex with multiple partners
-Kissing someone with a herpes virus that is active
-Abuse of cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs
-Spreading the virus by touching a cold sore and then touching something else
-Having an autoimmune disorder or illness, such as hepatitis or HIV/AIDS
-Poor eating habits that cause nutritional deficiencies
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Is There A Way To Prevent Getting Herpes
You can protect yourself and your partner by taking steps to prevent an outbreak of herpes. Some things that you can do include:
-If you already have herpes, dont have sex until the outbreak is completely gone, even with a condom.
-Try to learn the signs of an impending outbreak, such as itching, tingling and burning, and stop having sex as soon as you notice.
-If you wear contact lenses, dont wet your lenses with your saliva. This could spread your herpes infection to your eyes.
-Dont have sex with your partner until your herpes sores are completely healed.
-Always tell your partner if you are infected with the herpes virus before you have sex. Even though it can be embarrassing and difficult, herpes is very common, and telling your partner will help keep the infection from spreading.
When To Get Tested
Consult a doctor about any of the following symptoms:
- tingling or itching around the genitals
- pain when peeing
- unusual vaginal discharge
The World Health Organization describes the risk of the herpes virus passing to a newborn during childbirth. Although this is rare, people who are pregnant and have herpes should let their doctors know.
Using a condom or another barrier method of protection during sex reduces the risk of the virus transmitting. It is also a good idea to avoid sharing sex toys with someone who has herpes.
Several online companies offer STI testing kits, including:
- EverlyWell: This company sells tests for chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, and HIV.
- LetsGetChecked: This company sells tests for several common STIs, and it provides prescriptions at no extra cost if a test result is positive.
- PriortitySTD: This company returns results within 3 days.
Anyone with a positive test result should contact a healthcare professional.
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How Do You Treat Your First Outbreak
With the first genital herpes outbreak, your sores and blisters may last from about 10 days up to 28 days. You will usually start with a five-day course treatment of antiviral medication , which should improve your symptoms, but if you are still getting new symptoms you can continue the tablets for 10 days. The earlier you start treatment, the quicker your symptoms will improve.
How To Get Testing And Treatment
If you would like to place an order for one of our genital herpes home test kits or genital herpes antiviral treatment prescription, you can follow the steps below:
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What Else Can I Do To Help With A Genital Herpes Outbreak
As well as taking medication to help with symptoms, you can also try:
- using an anaesthetic gel to numb your skin and ease any pain
- soaking the affected area with plain or salt water
- applying Vaseline to the affected area
- drinking plenty of fluids
- wearing loose clothing
- taking pain relief medications, like paracetamol or ibuprofen
The symptoms of herpes outbreaks will usually go away by themselves within 10 days as your immune system fights the infection on its own. You might find the sores painful during that time, so medication can help you by clearing up the infection more quickly.
If youd like to speak to one of our doctors about your symptoms, you can book a telephone consultation. Theyll be able to provide personalised advice on how to cope with genital herpes.
Meet Some Of Our Doctors
Our physicians are Canadian-licensed and practice family or emergency medicine right here in Canada.
Dr. Michael Verbora
Dr. Verbora practices family medicine in Toronto, and specializes in student health. He received his Bachelor of Science with Honours from the University of Windsor, his Masters of Business Administration from Odette School of … Read More
Dr. Verbora practices family medicine in Toronto, and specializes in student health. He received his Bachelor of Science with Honours from the University of Windsor, his Masters of Business Administration from Odette School of Business, and his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Western Ontario. Dr. Verbora completed specialty training at the Toronto Western Hospital, while acting as the OCFP Chair of the Residents Committee.
Dr. Gita Kruger
Dr. Gita Kruger is a practicing family medicine and urgent care physician in Calgary, Alberta. Her pre-medical education includes Masters of Science degrees in both Audiology and Speech Pathology from Syracuse University … Read More
Dr. Garth Slysz
Dr. Slysz has practiced as a family physician in Charlottetown in PEI for 26 years. Throughout that time he has cared for his patients in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. He has taught family medicine residents and medical studen … Read More
Dr. Aleksandra Ferenc
Dr. Eric Fonberg
Dr. Mark DSouza
Dr. Shafik Dharamshi
Dr. Marni Brooks
Dr. Bharat Bahl
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Can You Get Herpes On Your Tongue
While you may associate herpes type 1 with cold sores on your lips, it is possible to suffer from the symptoms of herpes on your tongue. This is referred to as oral herpes and usually affects more of your mouth than just your tongue. More than half of all adults in the United States are thought to have oral herpes.
Should I Tell My Sexual Partner
Yes, you need to let your sexual partners know so they get tested. If you do not feel comfortable contacting them yourself, your sexual health clinic can contact them for you. They can send them a contact slip suggesting that they might have been exposed to a sexually transmitted infection and recommending that they go for a check-up. Your name will not be on the slip, although sometimes it states which infection they might have picked up.
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After Herpes Treatment What Should I Expect
Remember that, as long as you keep them clean, the blisters/sores will scab and heal with time. They will not leave a scar. If this is your first herpes outbreak, you can expect to have four or five outbreaks over the next couple of years. These are known as recurrent outbreaks. They are usually much less severe than the first outbreak. Over time recurrent outbreaks become increasingly infrequent and milder. If you are concerned or distressed, speak to your doctor.
Valacyclovir For The Treatment Of Genital Herpes: Important Safety Information
What is the most important information that I should know about valacyclovir for the treatment of genital herpes?
-
Valacyclovir can be used as an Episodic Therapy or a Suppressive Therapy for the treatment of genital herpes:
- Episodic Therapy: This is when you take valacyclovir for an individual outbreak as it occurs. Typically, you would start valacyclovir within 1 day of noticing a genital lesion or at the first sign of any prodromal symptoms that precede some outbreaks. This type of therapy can shorten the time to healing of the herpes lesions.
- Suppressive Therapy: This is when you take valacyclovir on a daily basis. Suppressive therapy is often recommended for people who experience frequent or severe recurrences or those people who would like to reduce the risk of transmission to a sexual partner who does not have genital herpes.
Valacyclovir does not cure genital herpes. There is no cure for genital herpes.
Valacyclovir used on a daily basis with safer sex practices can lower the chances of passing genital herpes to your partner.
Do not have sexual contact with your partner when you have any symptom or outbreak of genital herpes.
Use a condom made of latex or polyurethane whenever you have sexual contact.
Do not use valacyclovir for the treatment of genital herpes if you:
If any of the following conditions apply to you, please speak with a healthcare provider in-person about seeking treatment for your genital herpes:
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