Treating Herpes

After a diagnosis of herpes, whether is genital or simplex herpes antiviral drugs will be prescribed for those who experiences outbreaks so they will stay symptom-free for a longer time. These drugs can reduce the duration and severity of the symptoms when they show up. This treatment does not cure herpes, but it makes life with this condition much easier.

There are three common and major drugs used to treat herpes which are:  Acyclovir (Zovirax), Famciclovir (Famvir), and Valacyclovir (Valtrex) which are taken orally or in the case of Acyclovir  it also comes as an ointment for external use (Herpes Simplex) or in the worst case scenario it can be supplied intravenously.

Initial treatment: this is given when a first time outbreak is experienced a drug therapy will be ordered for a brief course of seven to ten days to relieve or prevent them from getting worse. If, not result is seen, a person must stay under the drug therapy for a longer time.

After the initial treatment, the doctor will decide which drug therapy option is more convenient to be used.

Intermittent Treatment: consists of taking the drugs for two and up to five days as soon as the sores start showing up or the initial outbreak symptoms are felt. This will ease the symptoms and make them go away faster but the sores will disappear on their own.

Suppressive Treatment: this treatment will be used when the outbreaks are often experienced meaning that the person must have six or more outbreaks a year, so the antiviral drug must be taken every day which reduces the outbreaks in a 70% or more and in many cases no outbreaks at all.

In order for a doctor to decide if suppressive treatment must be started, regardless of the amount of outbreaks, it is the frequency in which they are experienced and if they are severe enough that interferes with daily life. It is also proven that those taking the suppressive treatment, have less chances of infecting their sexual partners since antiviral reduce viral shedding when the virus duplicates itself on the skin surface.

Genital Herpes or HSV-2

As mentioned before, Genital herpes is transmitted from one person to another during sexual contact, causing blister or small ulcers (open sores) on or around the genitals membrane of men and women. Though Herpes can´t be cured, there many medications to treat the outbreaks and relief the symptoms.

The infection can be transmitted unnoticed by the carrier and without having any symptoms, which makes it widespread and very contagious. About 80-90% infected with herpes failed to recognize or did not presented the symptoms. Like most STDs it is poor, less educated people, drug addicts specially those who use cocaine, and promiscuous people have greater chances to get infected.

Genital Herpes is transmitted by having direct contact with an infected person through sex or oral sex. In other words this can be transmitted by any skin-to-skin contact and it is more possible to be transmitted from male to female than from female to male.

The outbreak is usually developed after three to seven days of having contact with an infected person, and starting as a sore and becoming an ulcer which also tend to be grouped in ¨Crops¨. The first outbreak may be the worst and more painful and it can last from two to four weeks.

During an outbreak you may experience:

• Fever
• Muscle aches
• Severe head aches
• Painful urination
• Flu-like symptoms
• Vaginal discharge
• Nauseas
• Urethral discharge in men

The sores can slowly heal within 2 weeks or more. However, once you haveHSV 1 or HSV 2 the virus hides within nerve cells and reside in the body. It can stay "asleep" (inactive) for a long time and can be awaken (reactivated) at any time. This may be triggered by:

• Fatigue
• Genital irritation
• Menstruation
• Physical or emotional stress
• Injury

What is Herpes?

Herpes is caused by infection with herpes simplex virus (HSV). There are two types of HSV, HSV-1 and HSV-2, both of which belong to a wider group called Herpesviridae.

HSV 1: is acquired orally, causing cold sores.
HSV 2: is acquired during sexual contact and affects the genital area. 



The herpes simplex is avirus and works as such. It causes ulcers or sores such as cold sores or genital blisters. It is an effective virus, but one the human immune system is equipped to fight. Of those people infected with the virus, the majority of them are asymptomatic. This is one of the reasons medical studies are conflicted on the true infection rate in America.
It is passed through sexual contact, so is regarded as a Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD). This is because the moist skin that lines the mouth, genitals and anus is the most susceptible to infection.
The virus can also enter the body throughout a cut or scratch on the skin. If the wound comes into contact with a cold sore for example, the virus can pass into the body. This is rare, but does happen occasionally.