What is the best treatment for Herpes?

Question

What is the best (medical) way to prevent breakouts? Are doctors anywhere close to finding a cure?

Answer 1

The only medicines that have been proven, in clinical studies, to reduce herpes symptoms are antiviral drugs.   The oral anitvirals are Zovirax, Famvir and Valtrex.   They are actually all pretty much the same.  The big difference between them is the amount of time the drug stays in your system (so the number of pills you need to take each day).   This is why Valtrex is advertised as "once-daily."   The other meds need to be taken more frequently than that.

Realize, though, that for most people, symptoms will become less and less frequent regardless of whether you do anything or not.   Your body slowly gets better and better at combating the virus - it just never manages to defeat it completely.   This is one reason why so many different folk remedies seem to work for people - anything (or nothing) will work to some degree.

As for the cure, herpes will likely only be cured by accident - while searching for a cure for some other virus.  It's not life threatening.  It doesn't cause infertility or other diseases.  In most people, the symptoms are so mild that they don't even know that they have it.  It's pretty low on the priority list of viruses to cure.

Answer 2

Valtrex is the most common medication.  

Answer 3

I see those commercials for something called Valtrex.