Herpes side effects

Patients also report feelings of nausea accompanied by vomiting, associated with decreased appetite or abdominal pain. Joint pain, diarrhea or constipation, and kidney problems in people who receive large doses of intravenous acyclovir are also common.

What is genital herpes?

Herpes is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the herpes simplex virus, or HSV. Genital herpes infections are very common and on the increase in the United States, and in the rest of the world as well.  Nationwide, 45 million people aged 12 and older have been diagnosed with HSV-2 infection. It is more common in women than in men, possibly because male to female transmission is more efficient than female to male. Moreover, HSV-2 infection is also more common in areas of high socio-economic disadvantage, facing fundamental issues of health. The most important of these issues are access to quality health care, poverty, living in communities with a high prevalence of STDs, or illicit drug use.

What are the effects of HSV-type 1 and HSV-type 2?

Herpes simplex virus type 1 causes fever blisters on the mouth or face, which is known as oral herpes. Herpes simplex type 2 typically affects the genital area, and is refered to as genital herpes. Both viral types can be inactive or silent, causing no symptoms at all. Both of these types are able to cause either genital or oral infections, outbreaks of blisters and ulcers. The problem is, people can remain infected for life after the first initial episode. Herpes is spread by direct contact including sexual contact, anal sex, oral sex, vaginal sex, as well as kissing and skin-to-skin contact. Genital herpes can be transmitted with or without the presence of sores or other symptoms.
Herpes is often easy to transmit by people unaware that they are infected. Genital herpes infection has increased by 30% in the U.S., most dramatically among young white teens 12-19 years old.

How serious is herpes?

You could experience mild symptoms of HSV-2, but often no apparent symptoms are present at all. However, HSV-2 may cause recurrent painful genital ulcers and can be severe in people with suppressed immune systems. Besides these effects, severe genital herpes frequently causes psychological and emotional stress. If a woman with HSV-2 diagnosis is pregnant, it could be a potentially fatal infection for the infant. A cesarean -section delivery is common if a woman has active genital herpes at the time of birth. People infected with herpes may be more susceptible to HIV infection, and HIV-infected individuals may be more susceptible to HSV.

How to recognize a genital herpes infection?

Many people with HSV-2 are not aware that they have an infection, because they do not have lesions or suffer only very mild, almost unnoticeable symptoms. Sometimes, these symptoms are mistaken for insect bites or a rash. The primary episode usually occurs within two weeks of the virus is transmitted. Lesions usually heal within 2-4 weeks of the outbreak.  Other symptoms may include a second crop of lesions, or flu-like symptoms including fever and swollen glands. A primary episode of genital herpes can cause several symptomatic recurrences a year, four to five on average. Most recurrences occur within the first year following the primary episode of herpes infection.

Herpes simplex, a recurrent viral infection, caused by Herpes Virus hominis (HVH) is a widespread infectious agent, and very hard to control. There are also some latent herpes-associated infections. It is important to recognize blisters that usually crust over, form a scab and then heal. Healing of the skin does not normally leave a scar. When it gets into skin cells, the virus reproduces itself and starts to multiply, making the skin red and sensitive. Blisters or bumps may appear on the genital area, first opening and then healing with the regeneration of new skin tissue. During the outbreak, the infected area may be painful; it might burn, itch or tingle. Other symptoms include fever, headache, infection of the urethra causing a burning sensation when urinating, muscle ache, painful inflamed blisters which develop around the infected area, and vaginal or penis discharge. The first episode of herpes infection is the most severe, with most episodes lasting 10-21 days.

Diagnosing herpes

There are several methods to help your doctor diagnose herpes infection.

• Blood tests for herpes are available only in a few research centers.
• Microscopic examination of tissue scrapings is a process where scrapings from lesions stains undergo examination under a microscope. This test is less accurate than viral cultures, as it is difficult to ascertain which type of HSV infection is present.
• Tzanck smear is a common test for diagnosing herpes infection. Results of the tests take up to 2 weeks, which is the only downside.
• Viral cell culture test is a specific virus culture assay of herpes virus. Your doctor or health consultant will obtain fluid from the sores and send it to a laboratory. There it is possible to see if the herpes virus is present. Highly accurate results are possible from a culture taken while the lesion is still in the clear blister stage, but the process takes a few days. The problem is that viral cell culture tests will not work if the sores have healed.
• Immune response tests detect the body’s immune response to the herpes virus and are slightly less reliable than viral cultures. However, this test is more reliable than tissue scrapings. Results can sometimes be clear after only two hours.
• Other available tests are the antigen test and Pap smear.

Herpes treatment

Genital herpes is manageable; over the years, a number of treatments offering effective relief from symptoms of genital herpes and cold sores have been made available. Most patients with herpes try between two and five different therapies. These therapies include prescription drugs, OTC "cold sore" treatments, herbal remedies, vitamins, nutritional changes, psychotherapy, and more. If you have been diagnosed with a herpes infection, you could try all of these, but your doctor will most likely prescribe medication. However, the standard, effective and specific treatment for genital herpes is antiviral therapy, usually in tablet form. Antiviral drugs stop HSV from replicating in the body, so the treatment only works while you are taking the drug. It cannot prevent future outbreaks once you stop taking it. Antiviral treatments can shorten the duration of a genital herpes outbreak and help speed healing. Those drugs are also successful in reducing the number of outbreaks suffered or prevent them completely. You could use antiviral medication in two ways: You could treat outbreaks as they happen, which is known as episodic treatment; the aim is to shorten the time each outbreak lasts and to relieve your symptoms. Also, you could try to prevent or delay recurrent outbreaks, which is known as suppressive therapy.

If you have frequent or severe recurrent outbreaks, your doctor may recommend daily oral antiviral medication to help prevent outbreaks. You should use suppressive therapy continuously (daily), for months or even years. Oral antiviral medication is only available by prescription, but you should consult your doctor for any information about antiviral treatment for your particular situation. These medical drugs are synthetic, and your doctor should monitor their usage very strictly, because of their common side effects.

Side effects of herpes therapy

Choraphor is a relatively new topical product, which means you should apply it externally. It helps with active skin lesions. The use of Choraphor can result in rapid healing of the infected area, smaller, less intense outbreaks, and partial or complete end to symptoms associated with the herpes simplex virus. Choraphor will usually kill any herpes virus that it encounters. Immediately after application to the broken blisters, you might feel mild to strong burning. This appears to be the Choraphor molecule running down the peripheral nerves, killing the virus as it goes so most users report a rapid drying out of the blister, with the area first going black, quickly followed by the forming of a healthy scab.

However, there are some side effects of this herpes treatment, such as sharp to moderate stinging pain on application. Pain is sometimes strong and feels as if running down the nerve, but soon subsides. This drug should not be used during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. As with all treatments, in rare cases an individual may be sensitive to some of the side effects. That is why you should have a skin sensitivity test, to ensure sensitivity is not an issue. If you notice some other side effects, you should report it to your doctor