I heard that acyclovir tablets 800mg reduce the incidence of the common cold!

Hello! My brother had shingles some time ago. It was difficult time for him (and us) but he is fine now. His doctor prescribed Zovirax (acyclovir) 800mg and he had used it for ten days. We still have a bottle for Zovirax left at home. I heard that Zovirax tablets 800mg reduce the incidence of common cold. I don't know whether this is true or not. Since I often catch cold maybe this will help. Should I try it?

Hi! Zovirax (acyclovir) is a synthetic drug used in treatment of herpes zoster (shingles), initial and recurrent episodes of genital herpes and chickenpox (varicella). As you can see it is used only in treatment against herpes viruses. I have never heard that someone used this medicine in order to reduce the incidence of common cold. You are wrong if you think if it is used against herpes viruses it should be good against other viruses too. It doesn't work that way.
You should be careful when taking any medicine and consult your doctor first. Zovirax is a serious medicine with many possible adverse reactions and you should not take it just like that.

I have had recurrent shingles for a long time, so my Doctor prescribed Aciclovir as a prophelatic (preventative drug) for a 3 month period. In normal times, I take 3 x 200mg daily. When symptoms are coming, I take 5 x 200mg daily.

Since I have been taking the drug in this way, I have not had a single common cold, while everyone around me at work without fail has caught the winter snivvles. Furthermore, there were two days where I forgot to take the drug, and I felt a cold coming on in my head/at the very top of my nose. Then, upon taking 2 x 200mg Aciclovir, the symptoms literally vanished within a day.

While I would not ever recommend taking drugs unecessarily, I cannot deny my observations that Aciclovir seems to prevent and help shorten the efeects of a common cold. Given that this is an antiviral (not antibiotic) medicine and the common cold is a virus, it seems entirely logical to me.

I hope this is helpful.