I need advice about Genital Herpes.?

Question

I have some questions, for anyone who has the virus, and wouldn't mind sharing. How often do you get break outs? Is there anyone out there who gets really frequent break outs (like twice a month?). Has anyone found any over the counter products that have helped? Anyone have any experience with prescription meds?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Here is a good link full of information for you.

Answer 2

I used to get outbreaks every month.

It has got better the longer I have had the virus, but the best thing you can do is keep your immune system up by eating well and getting plenty of sleep, not letting yourself get run down. Being over tired, alcohol, and having another bug such as a cold or the flu have always been triggers for me.

There are certain foods that can trigger outbreaks. Sugar is known to lower your immune system, and chocolate is high in arginine which is a trigger. Avoiding sugar and chocolate helps hugely for me.

Some people also find lysine taken as a supplement really helpful. You can get it from health shops. It was tested in the 80s before valtrex was commonly used, and clinical tests did seem to clearly show it helped.

As for prescription meds, well I have never used them as suppressive therapy (daily) but I do use them if I am getting an outbreak. And valtrex is like magic. If I take it when I start to get the first symptoms, they just vanish, its great.

But the best healer has been time. When I first got it, for the first year the virus seemed very active. I got lots of outbreaks, often only weeks apart, and I could feel the virus active in between them (prodrome). Now, three years later, I have about 2-3 outbreaks a year and they are very mild. I hardly ever feel like the virus is active.

Answer 3

Yes, I contracted genital herpes after being raped. I had my first outbreak about 3-4 weeks after the rape. I had two ulcers in my inner thigh area. 10 months after the rape, I had my second outbreak. I had the same ulcers in the same area. However, they were less severe and they healed within 3 days. As far as topical treatments, I bought Lemon Balm at my local health food store. It made the ulcers shrink in a matter of hours. I also used baby powder and aloe vera jelly.

I also incorporated a lot of supplements/herbs/vitamins in my treatment. I don't remember them all but a few are Lysine, goldenseal, garlic. There are a bunch more. Just google "natural cures for herpes"

You need to understand that 90% of people that have herpes have no signs or symptoms and as a result, don't know they have it. That means, that 90% of people with the condition have no symptoms. Of those that do have symptoms, the average outbreaks are 4 per year.

I have researched herpes extensively and I have found that Valtrex can virtually eliminate outbreaks as well as reduce the asymptomatic viral shedding by as much as 90% (Reduce your risk of spreading it)

Personally, I have not used Valtrex or any prescription treatments because I have only had two outbreaks in the past 10 months or so of having the condition. Also, keep in mind that studies have shown that the condition always gets better after the first year. Also, most people with herpes stop having outbreaks after 5 years.

There is so much you can do to control the outbreaks!! The hardest thing about herpes is the social stigma. Did you know that coldsores are herpes? They are most often caused by HSV-1 and genital herpes is most often caused by HSV-2. However, HSV-1 and HSV-2 can cross-contaminate in the instance of oral s*x. HSV-1 and HSV-2 look virtually the same under the microscope. The only difference is their area of preference. 80% of the population has been infected with cold sores and 25% of the population has been infected with genital herpes. However, genital herpes is stigmatized more so genital herpes are seen as more of a problem than oral herpes.

Search "natural cures for herpes". A bunch of cures will come up. Good luck! the best thing you can do is keep your immune system in the best shape possible so you can keep the virus in a dormant state.

Answer 4

Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the herpes simplex viruses type 1 (HSV-1) or type 2 (HSV-2). Most genital herpes is caused by HSV-2. Most individuals have no or only minimal signs or symptoms from HSV-1 or HSV-2 infection.

Results of a nationally representative study show that genital herpes infection is common in the United States.

HSV-1 and HSV-2 can be found in and released from the sores that the viruses cause, but they also are released between outbreaks from skin that does not appear to have a sore.

Most people infected with HSV-2 are not aware of their infection. However, if signs and symptoms occur during the first outbreak, they can be quite pronounced.

Genital herpes can cause recurrent painful genital sores in many adults, and herpes infection can be severe in people with suppressed immune systems

http://www.cdc.gov/std/Herpes/STDFact-He...

Answer 5

I just got my first outbreak in June.  I've already have had 3 now.  It's made me very very depressed and sad.  But I have learned that the only way to find out what works for you is by testing different herbal pills and different rx pills.  Sometimes even a combination.  (Which a dr will never advise)  I've tried the cheap rx medication and that didn't do a darn thing, I've tried L-lycine (make sure you get the real stuff not the synthetic).  That helped a little bit more.  I've tried a combo of the two and it seemed as if the L-Lycine did the most.  Now I'm trying Valtrex (which is like a mercedes payment) along with 1000 mg of vitamin C.  It seems to be working but only time will tell. It's very important that you try different rx medications to see which one is right for you.

Answer 6

I'll share with you.  

I've had it for many years and I'm opposite of what most people experience.   When I first contracted it, I rarely had an outbreak. Now, years later, I experience more outbreaks and also they are more severe than they were in the past.

I have used over the counter Lysine for years and it seems to help some, I've also read a lot of info. on Lemon Balm, which is an herbal product. I have not tried this yet though.

I'm currently using Valtrex and have found that it truly does work best for me to shorten the duration of the outbreaks.   I only take it when I feel an outbreak coming on, some people though choose to take it daily to supress the virus.

I'm am pregnant currently, so I'm leary to try anything herbal right now, but after my child is born, I'm going to try the lemon balm.

If you go online and search for "natural" herpes treatments, a whole host of websites will pop-up with many different suggestions.

Good luck to you.  

Answer 7

I'll be brave for you. My boyfriend gave it to me 7 years ago (freshman in college) and at first the outbreaks were frequent and horrible. I was depressed and didn't know what to do about it. Later I found out that the stress of the situation (living on campus across the sidewalk from him) made the outbreaks reoccur very frequently. As the years went on and my stress slowly went away I noticed fewer and fewer outbreaks. Now I might get one or two per year (but I just got divorced, so that was the reason this year). Nothing over the counter will help, it is a virus and the only medications that work on a virus are antivirals. Unfortunately, those are prescription-only and some are quite pricey.

I've tried uber-expensive Valtrex; it didn't do anything for me. I also tried Famvir and it may have helped, I only had it for 3 weeks (right before my wedding). I have not tried the cheap acyclovir, but lately I don't need it. I've never passed it on to anyone and when you have an outbreak just don't have any sexual contact whatsoever.  

Answer 8

One of the tricky things about herpes is that almost anything will SEEM to help.   Herpes symptoms tend to lessen over time.   When I was first diagnosed, I got five or six outbreaks per year.  Now I get maybe one.   So anything you do, or don't do, will seem to work.   The only way to know what actually does work is clinical testing.

And antivirals are the only thing to have shown to work in clinical testing.   The only real difference between the three available antivirals (Valtrex, Famvir and Zovirax) is the number of pills you need to take each day.   Its pretty much the same medicine with the same results.

If you want to try something over the counter, and its not too expensive, and it doesn't seem like it would hurt you, then go ahead.  Many people report that various things (like L-lysine) work for them.   But be cautious.  And know that nothing will actually CURE your herpes.

Good luck.