Home Health Center Genital Herpes   Genital Herpes - Treatments

Treatment for Genital Herpes



Treatments for genital herpes are helpful in reducing the duration of the first outbreak. They may also help to reduce the risk of recurring infections and also diminish the severity of later outbreaks. Genital herpes is treated with antiviral drugs. These drugs are prescribed for a course of 7 to 10 days. Antiviral medication helps in the following ways:

  • Enables quicker healing of the sores during the first outbreak
  • Reduces the severity and duration of symptoms in later outbreaks
  • Lowers the frequency of subsequent outbreaks
  • Reduces the risk of spreading the infection to others

Doctors usually advise patients to take the medication only when they experience symptoms of an outbreak. In some cases, doctors recommend taking a medication daily even if there are no symptoms so that the chances of later outbreaks are reduced. Individuals who develop severe symptoms and complications may require hospitalization and intravenous antiviral medication.


Signs & Symptoms
Diagnosis
References
  1. Lawrence Stanberry, Anthony Cunningham, Gregory Mertz, Adrian Mindel, Barry Peters, Michael Reitano, Stephen Sacks, Anna Wald, Sawko Wassilew, Paul Woolley, New developments in the epidemiology, natural history and management of genital herpes, Antiviral Research, Volume 42, Issue 1, May 1999, Pages 1-14, ISSN 0166-3542, 10.1016/S0166-3542(99)00004-2.
  2. Margaret Perlia Bavis, Diane Yeager Smith, Martha Zervopoulos Siomos, Genital Herpes: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Counseling in the Adolescent Patient, The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, Volume 5, Issue 6, June 2009, Pages 415-420, ISSN 1555-4155, 10.1016/j.nurpra.2008.11.004.