Herpes: treatment

What helps against herpes?

A central role in the herpes therapy comes to the so-called antivirals. These drugs are used by default against various herpes types and are also used in other viral diseases. In addition, there are other agents that can be used in herpes, but these only have an effect on the symptoms and not on the cause.

Medicines for herpes treatment

There are several antiviral medications that are approved for herpes treatment. However, almost all of them have the same mechanism of action. Most drug names end in “-ciclovir”. Thus, the active ingredients used include, for example, acyclovir, valacyclovir, ganciclovir, valganciclovir and penciclovir. Brivudine is another drug that can treat herpes, as well as zinc sulfate.

If resistance to these agents occurs, foscarnet can be given as an alternative. All of these drugs are so-called antivirals, which means that they can not destroy the virus, but only prevent their multiplication. Medicines that destroy viruses would be called virucides, but such drugs are not available yet.

Other medications in the treatment of herpes

In addition to the antiviral drugs, there are still some others who do not directly fight the herpes, but act against its symptoms or reduce the outward spread of viruses. For example, anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving preparations are available, as well as antiseptic agents which kill the outward-coming viruses. Some remedies have a cooling effect, others can be used to speed up the crusting process.

What quickly helps against herpes?

“What to do with herpes?” Asks everyone who has ever made acquaintance with the annoying bubbles and of course you want to get rid of the herpes quickly. Unfortunately, the currently known agents for herpes treatment but cause no miracles. At best, they shorten the duration of the disease and alleviate the symptoms, a reliable fast help with herpes but they do not offer.

An early herpes treatment works better

The best way to at least speed up the healing process is to start therapy as soon as possible. Patients who often experience herpes reactivation often have a sense of the first symptoms of an impending onset of the disease. If there is any unpleasant sensation, itching or pain in the affected area, you already know that it will not be long before the first fluid-filled blisters appear.

This is the best time to start treatment with herpes. Some patients even report that they can prevent the outbreak of herpes like this. The fact that only an early use of antivirals has a significant effect on the disease process, explains itself by the functioning of these drugs: they can only prevent the multiplication of viruses, but not already destroy “ready” viruses.

Possible problems with the herpes treatment with drugs

Most of the above-mentioned antiviral drugs are used not only for herpes simplex treatment, but also in other herpes diseases such as the Pfeiffer’s glandular fever or herpes zoster. In part, they are also used in the treatment of viral diseases outside the herpes group.

This can promote the emergence of resistance, that is, herpes viruses of all groups are increasingly resistant to the active ingredients. In the worst case, the standard ingredients in a patient no longer beat and only expensive alternatives for the herpes treatment are still effective.

This may not be bad for the treatment of simple herpetic vesicles on the lip, but can be dangerous if the treatment of complications such as herpes-related brain inflammation or blood poisoning due to drug resistance fails. An economical and responsible use of the drugs against herpes is therefore important. Often a drug-based herpes treatment is not necessary, as it would also without further action after a certain time for the herpes cure.

Which treatment for which herpes?

Herpes outbreaks can occur in almost all parts of the body, with the face and the genital area in particular being among the preferred areas of the herpes simplex virus. Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1) is responsible for infections in the face, such as the lip or the nose, and in the genital area mainly type 2 viruses (HSV2). The antivirals act equally on HSV1 and HSV2, but there are, depending on the appearance peculiarities in the herpes treatment.

What to do for herpes on the lip?

In most cases, cold sores are harmless even without medication. However, timely treatment with antivirals reduces the duration of symptoms such as itching and pain by 20 to 30 percent, because it weakens the onset of herpes. What helps are, for example, creams containing acyclovir or penciclovir. It has not been possible to clarify sufficiently in studies whether zinc sulfate-containing ointments are effective.

Virustatics are the only thing that helps against herpes on the lip, at least they can shorten the outbreak. The creams for herpes treatment can be applied externally on the affected area. As a result, fewer side effects occur. Creams for herpes usually contain additional substances that allow the antiviral drugs to penetrate tissue more quickly. The treatment is recommended up to five times a day for about five to seven days. The creams should not be used in the mouth, on the mucous membrane of the vagina or on the eyes.

Aciclovir and some other antivirals for herpetic lip treatment may also be administered in tablet form. In case of very pronounced symptoms or complications of cold sores but also intravenous administration of these drugs may be useful.

Finally, there are still drug-free herpes patch that produce only a moisture pad on the cold sore and thus curb the outward spread of viruses via smear infection. However, since an antiviral component of action is missing, the disease duration is not reduced thereby.

What helps with genital herpes?

To help against herpes in the genital area, antivirals are mainly used in tablet form. Local ointments or creams with antiviral agents are recommended for mild outbreaks of genital herpes.

When genital herpes first appear, tablets are given three to five times daily for at least one week, depending on the active ingredient concentration. In severe cases, such as when a pronounced immunodeficiency in the patient is present, the herpes drug must be brought via the veins directly into the bloodstream. The drugs used for intravenous infusion are acyclovir, famciclovir and valaciclovir.

How do you treat herpes in the mouth?

Of herpes in the mouth (stomatitis aphtosa) children are mostly affected. Because of the severe pain throughout the mouth and pharynx they often refuse food in this form of herpes. So what do you do so that the child eats again?

On the one hand, there are gels and creams that contain local anesthetics such as lidocaine and can be applied directly to the diseased mucosa in the oropharynx. However, they also suppress the sensation of taste on contact with the tongue. On the other hand, classic painkillers from the group of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are available, such as ibuprofen or paracetamol. Both also reduce fever. Such painkillers should always be used with caution in children and only on medical advice.

Suitable foods

When choosing foods, make sure that they are not irritating to the oral mucosa. Drinks are best chilled and should not contain acids. Fruit juices are therefore not a good choice, clear water, milk or chamomile tea are more suitable. Solid food also causes the least amount of pain when it is pH-neutral, cool, and as soft as possible in consistency. Acid-like as tomato sauce or too dry food such as biscuits or biscuits would additionally irritate the affected areas of the herpes.

A herpes treatment with antivirals is not mandatory in stomatitis aphtosa. Since the antiviral drugs are also associated with side effects and children are generally more sensitive to it, their use should always be weighed well. If the doctor decides, for example, because the herpes outbreak is very severe, acyclovir is the drug of choice, either as a tablet, or intravenously.

Herpes treatment in pregnancy

What can you do against herpes if the patient is pregnant? May antivirals be used during pregnancy or harm the child? Of course, these questions are about an expectant mother who suffers from a herpes outbreak during pregnancy.

Although the known antivirals are not officially approved for use during pregnancy. At least for the active ingredient aciclovir have been shown in the previous observations but no negative effects for mother or child.

Whether herpes treatment is necessary in pregnancy depends on the appearance of herpes, the time of herpes pregnancy, and whether it is an initial infection or a reactivation. The real danger with herpes in pregnancy is a possible transmission to the child. Therefore, especially a genital herpes of the mother is dangerous for the child. Other manifestations, such as herpes on the face, play almost no role in transmission to the child.

A first infection with genital herpes represents a greater risk during pregnancy than reactivations. In addition, the risk of transmission to the child is greater, the closer the occurrence of the herpes on the delivery date. Because a large part of the infection happens during the birth.

If a reactivated genital herpes occurs in the first or second trimester of pregnancy (trimester), medication is usually dispensed with, whereas a primary infection in this phase of pregnancy often requires herpes treatment with acyclovir in tablet form or intravenously. If the mother is first infected in the first or second trimester, acyclovir can be given preventively three times a day from the 36th week of pregnancy. With such Supressionstherapie trying to prevent the occurrence of herpes lesions during childbirth and thus protect the child from infection.

Treatment of first infections in the last trimester of pregnancy

If herpes symptoms in the genital area occur in the last trimester of pregnancy and it is a primary infection, a caesarean section must be considered. Especially if the herpes breaks out in the last six weeks before the birth, the risk of virus transmission to the child at the vaginal birth is otherwise very high. If a caesarean section is actually needed, but can not be performed for some reason, not only is the mother given acyclovir for herpes treatment, but also the newborn immediately after birth.

What else you should know about herpes treatment

Some people often suffer from herpes reactivation, sometimes several times a year. In such cases, often a Supression therapy remedy. For this, the patient continuously receives a low dose of a virostat for months or even years. Many sufferers can thus get rid of the typical symptoms of herpes for a long time.

Wrong tips against herpes

For many forum tips against herpes, by the way, caution is required. For example, it is claimed that if you break the bubbles, the herpes will go away quickly. ” On the contrary, this ensures an increased release of viruses and thus an increased risk of infection. Comes the usual Herpes treatment If you are not eligible, you should consult a doctor or pharmacist for advice.