Do You Have To Take Herpes Medicine Everyday

I Had Lesions When I Was Evaluated But My Culture Was Negative Does This Mean That I Dont Have Herpes

Not necessarily. Although lesions can be caused by something other than herpes, false negative herpes tests can occur if the samples are not taken appropriately, if there is a long transport time between the clinic and the laboratory, or if cultures were taken late in the course of the lesions. Lesions that occur early in the course of a herpes outbreak are much more likely to have positive cultures than cultures taken after the lesions crust over.

Where Does The Herpes Virus Live In The Body

The herpes simplex viruses are latent, meaning they can live in the body without causing symptoms. After the initial infection, the virus gets into the nerve roots and spreads to the sensory nerve ganglia, the junctions where nerves from different parts of the body come together. For the genital area, the ganglia are adjacent to the spinal cord in the lower back. For orofacial herpes , the ganglia are located behind the cheek bone.

Treatment For First Episode Of Genital Herpes

Because the first episode is often more severe and lasts longer than recurrences, treatment should always be offered to you after a clinical examination by a Doctor or Nurse Practitioner. You do not have to wait for swab results before receiving treatment.

After taking medication for 7 days it is recommended you visit your doctor again so they can check your symptoms and give you further advice and support.

The treatment is 500mg of valaciclovir twice daily for 7 days for 5 to 7 days).

Most people have no side effects from the medication and it is safe to take with other drugs

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When Is Preventive Treatment Considered

Some people have outbreaks of genital herpes very often or experience especially severe symptoms. Then it may be a good idea to take antiviral medication for a longer time including during symptom-free phases. The goal is to prevent further outbreaks and to keep the symptoms from becoming so severe. Also, the antiviral medication reduces the likelihood of infecting others. As preventive treatment, the WHO recommends the following:

• aciclovir: 400 mg two times per day,
• famciclovir: 250 mg two times per day or
• valaciclovir: 500 mg once per day.

Research shows that preventive treatment can considerably lower the risk of further outbreaks. The people participating had four or more herpes outbreaks per year before the start of the studies, and then took an antiviral medication or a fake treatment for up to one year. A comprehensive analysis of the study results shows that

• 96 out of 100 people who took a placebo had at least one further outbreak of genital herpes.
• 46 out of 100 people who were given antiviral medication had at least one further outbreak of genital herpes.

In other words, the medication prevented further outbreaks in 50 out of 100 people within one year.

People with very frequent herpes outbreaks also benefited from preventive treatment: In one study involving people with very frequent outbreaks, the medication lowered the number of episodes in one year from 11 to 2.

Acyclovir May Cause Side Effects Tell Your Doctor If Any Of These Symptoms Are Severe Or Do Not Go Away:

• numbness, burning, or tingling in the arms or legs
• temporary inability to move parts of your body
• shaking of a part of your body that you cannot control
• loss of consciousness

Acyclovir may cause other side effects. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while you are taking or using this medication.

If you experience a serious side effect, you or your doctor may send a report to the Food and Drug Administration’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program online or by phone .

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What Happens If You Dont Get Herpes Treatment

The good news about herpes is that its not deadly or even very dangerous. It might be annoying, but herpes doesnt get worse over time or cause serious health problems like other STDs can.

If you dont get treated for herpes, you might keep having regular outbreaks, or they could only happen rarely. Some people naturally stop getting outbreaks after a while.

There are a few reasons people may decide not to get treatment. They might not have that many outbreaks, or their outbreaks dont really bother them. Or maybe theyre not having sex, so theyre not that worried about having herpes right now. Whatever your situation is, getting treatment for herpes is your choice.

Having herpes can make it easier to get HIV, because the sores give HIV an open pathway into your body. So always use condoms to help prevent the spread of both herpes and HIV.

Im Pregnant How Could Genital Herpes Affect My Baby

If you are pregnant and have genital herpes, prenatal care visits are very important. Some research suggest that a genital herpes infection may lead to miscarriage or make it more likely to deliver your baby too early. You can pass herpes to your unborn child before birth, but it more commonly passes during delivery. This can lead to a deadly infection in your baby . It is important that you avoid getting genital herpes during pregnancy. Tell your healthcare provider if you have ever had a genital herpes diagnosis or symptoms. Also tell them about any possible exposure to genital herpes.

If you have genital herpes, you may need to take anti-herpes medicine towards the end of your pregnancy. This medicine may reduce your risk of having signs or symptoms of genital herpes when you deliver. At the time of delivery, your healthcare provider should carefully examine you for herpes sores. If you have signs or symptoms of genital herpes at delivery, a C-section is likely to occur.

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Home Remedies And Lifestyle

At-home treatments for a cold sore or genital herpes can relieve symptoms. However, it can not cure the infection. To ease the pain and prevent sores from getting worse, try the following:

• Apply cold compresses. Place a well-insulated ice pack on your lesions for as long as it makes you feel better. The cold will not worsen or improve the lesion, but it can lessen the pain.
• Dont scratch. Avoid touching and rubbing lesions caused by herpes. Doing so can spread the infection to other areas of your skin.
• Keep the sores clean. Cold sores and genital herpes infections can become infected with bacteria from your hands or, in the latter case, from urine or feces. Therefore, keep the sores and blisters and the areas around them clean and dry to avoid an additional infection.
• Reduce stress. Stress can affect how well your immune system can keep your herpes infection in check. Therefore, reducing your stress may help prevent excessive herpes recurrences.

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Using Valacyclovir To Treat A Primary Outbreak Of Cold Sores

Valacyclovir is also used to treat primary outbreaks of cold sores, or oral herpes. The standard dosage of valacyclovir for managing a primary oral herpes outbreak is 2,000 mg every 12 hours for one day .

During a particularly severe or persistent outbreak, your doctor may recommend adjusting your valacyclovir dose or extending the dosage to provide greater relief. Follow your doctors advice and instructions for the best results from valacyclovir and other antiviral medication.

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How To Use Cream For Cold Sores

Wash your hands before and after using the cream.

Put a thin layer of cream on the cold sore 5 times a day. Do this every 4 hours for example, at 7am, 11am, 3pm, 7pm and 11pm.

Use the cream for at least 4 days. If the cold sore has not healed by then, you can carry on using the cream for another 6 days.

If the cold sore still has not healed after a total of 10 days, stop using the cream and tell your doctor.

Whats The Difference Between Antibiotics And Antivirals

Antibiotics help the immune system fight off bacterial infections. Bacteria typically reproduce outside of cells, making it easier for medicines to target them. An antibiotic can usually treat many different types of bacterial infections. But the drugs do not affect viruses.

Each antiviral only works against a specific virus. Because viruses inside cells are harder to target, antiviral drugs are more challenging to develop. There are more viruses than antiviral drugs to treat them.

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Before You Start To Take Them

You must tell your doctor if:

• you are allergic to foods, dyes, preservatives or any other medicines
• you have a kidney or liver condition
• you are anaemic .

Care should be taken to ensure adequate fluid intake in patients who are risk of dehydration, such as the elderly.

If you have not told your doctor about any of the above, please do so before you take Valtrex.

Coping With Herpes In A Relationship

Many people with herpes suffer a form of depression that prevents them from dating or having any sort of sexual encounter after being diagnosed. In their mind, the unsurities of having herpes and navigating the dating world is too overwhelming to be worth delving into. Again, the undeserved feelings of embarrassment and shame alone may be overpowering enough to keep someone from even talking to a hot guy or cute girl.

An effective way to break out of this self-destructive cycle is to know about yourself, your outbreaks, and what you can do to still have an enjoyable social and sex life.

• Talk about your status to your partner*
• Use condoms to reduce transmission by 30 percent
• Use oral antiviral drugs with a form of suppressive daily therapy to reduce transmission by 50 percent
• Use a protocol aimed at naturally breaking the herpes cycle
• Avoid sexual activity during outbreaks

Many people often find that their sex life is more satisfying and enriched than before diagnosis. This is because when oral sex and genital-to-genital contact is avoided during outbreaks, sexual partners can explore many other ways to still have a fulfilling sexual relationship.

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Continue Learning About Genital Herpes

Important: This content reflects information from various individuals and organizations and may offer alternative or opposing points of view. It should not be used for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. As always, you should consult with your healthcare provider about your specific health needs.

When And How Are Later Outbreaks Treated

Later outbreaks with only mild symptoms dont necessarily need to be treated. The blisters can then simply heal on their own.

But antiviral medication can also shorten the duration of later outbreaks by an average of about two days. If you decide to have treatment, its important to start it within the first 24 hours of the outbreak ideally, as soon as you notice the first symptoms. So its a good idea to always have a few tablets at home or to take them with you when you travel so they are ready to use. You can get a prescription from your doctor.

In later outbreaks you can take them for a shorter time. The WHO recommends the following:

• aciclovir: 400 mg three times per day or 800 mg two times per day for five days, or 800 mg three times per day for two days,
• famciclovir: 250 mg two times per day for five days, or
• valaciclovir: 500 mg two times per day for three days.

A different dose and treatment duration may be a good idea for people who have immune system disorders, such as an HIV infection.

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How Do People Get Genital Herpes

Infections are transmitted through contact with HSV in herpes lesions, mucosal surfaces, genital secretions, or oral secretions. 5 HSV-1 and HSV-2 can be shed from normal-appearing oral or genital mucosa or skin. 7,8 Generally, a person can only get HSV-2 infection during genital contact with someone who has a genital HSV-2 infection. However, receiving oral sex from a person with an oral HSV-1 infection can result in getting a genital HSV-1 infection. 4 Transmission commonly occurs from contact with an infected partner who does not have visible lesions and who may not know that he or she is infected. 7 In persons with asymptomatic HSV-2 infections, genital HSV shedding occurs on 10.2% of days, compared to 20.1% of days among those with symptomatic infections. 8

Is Genital Herpes Related To Shingles

Shingles, also called herpes zoster, is caused by the varicella zoster virus , which causes chickenpox earlier in life. The natural history of varicella zoster infection is similar to genital herpes infection in that VZV also becomes latent in the sensory nerve roots. Later in life the virus may exit, causing shingles.

Recurrences in shingles cause blister lesions in a single area of skin called a dermatome. Shingles is not a sexually transmitted infection and is independent from genital herpes.

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Foods To Avoid During Herpes

Here are some foods that you might not eat if you have herpes:

Arginine and Acidity

Arginine is an amino acid that is plentiful in specific foods and can increase the potential that you will experience a herpes blister, either genital or oral. L-lysine is another amino acid that has anti-viral properties and can help reduce the effect of arginine and your potential for an outbreak. However, lysine has acidic properties, and when taken with acid-rich foods like dairy products or sweets, it can lead to hyperacidity in the body. This imbalance can also trigger an outbreak.

Sweets

Foods that are sweet or have sugar are high in the amino acid arginine. This includes chocolate and raisins. Other foods that are high in sugar include soft drinks and foods made with high fructose corn syrup, such as popsicles, fruit juices, some breakfast cereals, candy bars, cough syrups, drink mixes, ketchup and jams and jellies. Each of these products contains sugars and syrups that will increase your risk of developing new herpes lesions.

Nuts

Nuts are high in arginine and low in lysine, increasing your potential for an outbreak so avoid peanuts and peanut butter because of the high amount of arginine in the products. Other nuts are also high in arginine, such as almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, filberts, pecans and walnuts.

Caffeine

Herbal Remedies to Cure Genital Herpes Outbreaks

Vitamins to Prevent Genital Herpes Outbreaks

Vitamin A

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How Herpes Is Spread

You are most likely to spread herpes when you have a herpes sore or blister. But many people have time periods when they can still spread the virus even though they don’t have symptoms.

And some people spread the infection because they don’t realize that they have a herpes sore. Or they may have different symptoms, such as painful urination, that they don’t realize are part of an outbreak.

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Daily Therapy Cuts Herpes Transmission Risk

Taking Valtrex Once a Day Reduces Risk of Spreading Herpes

Dec. 31, 2003 People with herpes who take an antiviral drug once a day can reduce the risk of transmitting the virus to their sexual partners by nearly 50%.

A new study shows that daily therapy with the antiviral drug Valtrex significantly lowers the risk of transmitting genital herpes among heterosexual couples in which one partner is infected with the herpes simplex virus type 2 .

Valtrex is commonly used to treat outbreaks of genital herpes, but preliminary results of this study prompted the FDA to approve a second indication for Valtrex in reducing the risk of transmitting the disease to susceptible heterosexual partners. The complete results appear in the Jan. 1, 2004, issue of TheNew England Journal of Medicine.

Valtrex is manufactured in the U.S. by GlaxoSmithKline. GlaxoSmithKline is a WebMD sponsor.

What Happens If Herpes Is Left Untreated

Without treatment, sores and outbreaks usually heal on their own. Oral herpes is usually considered a mild infection, but complications may appear in people with weakened immune systems.

The risk of complications with genital herpes is also low, though these include inflammation, swelling, and pain.

Passing HSV-2 to a newborn can be dangerous, however. Doctors may recommend a Cesarean delivery to pregnant people with genital herpes, according to the .

Medically reviewed by Michele Emery, DNP

Valacyclovir is one of the most common and effective medications used to manage HSV-1 and HSV-2, two variants of the herpes simplex virus. While valacyclovir provides treatment for and management of herpes symptoms, its not a cure for the virus.

However, can it also act as a way of preventing herpes transmission? Scientific data shows that while valacyclovir is helpful in reducing the risk of herpes transmission, it isnt a 100% effective drug for preventing herpes entirely.

In this guide, well look at some of the study data on valacyclovirs effectiveness for preventing herpes transmission, as well as how the drug can be used to reduce your risk of infecting other people if you have HSV-1 or HSV-2.

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Treatment Options + Pricing

If you experience outbreaks often, a daily dose of valacyclovir can prevent them and make it less likely that youll pass herpes to partners. If your outbreaks are less frequent you might choose to only take valacyclovir when you feel an outbreak coming on this will lessen the outbreaks severity and help it heal faster. We bill insurance if you have it, and out-of-pocket prices are detailed below.

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