Acyclovir: Medication For Genital Herpes – San Francisco

Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease. Genital herpes, a contagious viral infection caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV ), affects an estimated 30 million Americans. Each year, as many as 500,000 new cases may occur. Talk to your doctor about how to stop the spread of infection.

Antiviral medication is not always needed to treat a recurrence. This is because symptoms are often much milder than the first episode, and usually last only a few days. Acyclovir is  used to treat genital herpes infection. They work by stopping the virus.

Acyclovir is used both systemically and topically, but usually will only help with the symptoms of herpes and will not lead to a cure of the herpes virus itself. Acyclovir is excreted in breast milk. If you are or will be breast-feeing while you are using this prescription herpes medicine, check with your doctor or pharmacist to discuss the risks to your baby.

Treatment choices and regimens for genital herpes vary greatly between individuals and physicians. Treatment of burn, ulcers, acute and chronic wounds typically is directed to keeping the wound as clean as possible and making the patient as comfortable as possible. It has been recognized in this respect that keeping the wound moist is advantageous to patient comfort.

Patients should address specific medical concerns with their physicians. Patients on antidepressants and their families or caregivers should watch for new or worsening depression symptoms, unusual changes in behavior, thoughts of suicide, anxiety, agitation, panic attacks, difficulty sleeping, irritability, hostility, aggressiveness, impulsivity, restlessness, or extreme hyperactivity. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have thoughts of suicide or if any of these symptoms are severe or occur suddenly. Studies reveal thst patients with acyclovir alone healed in an average time of 7.7 days, while patients on the combination healed in an average of 6 days. Only one patient in the acyclovir and vidarabine group had a healing time longer than 7 days, whereas six patients in the acyclovir and placebo group had healing times longer than 7 days.