Cure or quick fixes for oral herpes outbreaks?

My sister has a terrible time with cold sores, when she’s incredibly stressed out they can cover her entire lower lip so I feel for you. Lysine (an amino acid) can help in controlling outbreaks and facilitating healing. My brother has used Lysine supplements to that effect. Also, try to reduce stress, meditating, exercising, proper sleep, yoga, listen to music, have some alone time – whatever you need. If you’re still concerned about frequent, very painful or disruptive outbreaks there are some more methods for dealing with them here. If none of these help you I strongly suggest speaking to your doctor about Valtrex a prescription medication for Herpes.

Topical aciclovir (an antiviral). In the UK you can get it from a pharmacy without prescription.

The topical acyclovir helps to decrease the duration of symptoms, but not by much (1–2 days max).

I use tomato juice, when I get an outbreak, I drink a glass or two of V8, clears up the next day. Does not work for everyone, but anything is worth a try when dealing with that.

Great stuff. I already had a few Lysine lying around at home, took a few of those. I got some acyclovir cream from the pharmacy too which I started applying. I already have the blisters so lets see how much that helps. The V8 juice stuff sounds good, why not try it! I have also heard of the Valtrex stuff; it is known to not have a long track record which might be scary to use in the long run though.

@lataylor while I agree topical aciclovir isn’t much good at least what little effect it has has been demonstrated by controlled randomized clinical trial. Also it’s cheap.

I don’t get cold sores, so I can’t speak from experience, but I had a roommate who got them fairly often, and she swore by hemroid pads. I’ve heard from other people that this method actually works. It’s the witch hazel in the hemroid pads that actually speed up the healing time.

which hazel is always good! Heard that stuff does magic! Thanks will try that too!

If you do find something that works, please let us know.

I’ve got em too and would make my day to have a cure. Let’s get a cure for herpes, aids doesn’t need a cure, it’s totally preventable.

Herpes is pretty preventable also.

Alot of people just take prescription medications to prevent breakouts. There is valtrex and I think there are a couple of others.

Let’s get a cure for herpes, aids doesn’t need a cure, it’s totally preventable.

Okay, I’m going to refrain from using retarded again.
But, seriously? People don’t die from herpes.

@Nimis No, of course not, but…... is not Aids 100% preventable? Other than the few unfortunates that contact it through blood transfusions.

If you chose to have a lifestyle that includes the risk of contacting a terminal disease, I’m supposed to throw millions of dollars at you and feel sorry for you. Not in my lifetime, was your choice.

@cheebdragon : please explain

@pekenoe Please explain chose to have a lifestyle.
Are you inferring something by that?

Herpes is really just as preventable as aids. It’s spread by contact and can be passed down from parents.

@nimis- I think pekenoe believes HIV is only a threat to the gay community….

I got herpes from my mother, from kissing me as a babe. I didn’t have a lot of choice in the matter. If I would have had a choice as in a preventable disease, I would have chosen not to get it.

The main lifestyles that attract HIV, unless I’m wrong and I could be so enlighten me, is dirty or shared needles from drug use, promiscuity with infected individuals and choosing to not use protection, transfusions, and screwing monkeys.

If you engage in any of those activities (other than transfusions, but especially screwing monkeys) you are aware of the risks, if you chose to ignore the risks, then you should die. Your choice.

If you are not aware of the risks and become infected, then that’s life. Ignorance is not an excuse. I will, however, be more sympathetic if you are ignorant rather than stupid.

* 700,000 children under age 15 were newly infected with HIV
* Thirteen percent of all new HIV infections were in children under age 15
* Three million children in sub-Saharan Africa, the region with the highest number of cases, are living with HIV -National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

I don’t think they had a lot of choice in the matter either.
If they would have had a choice as in a preventable disease,
I’m guessing they would have chosen not to get it either.

Saying HIV is preventable and that people choose to contract it,
is kind of like saying your mom purposefully gave you herpes.
She knew she had it, she knew how it was transmitted and she decided
to kiss you anyway without wearing some kind of hazmat suit, right?

Not everyone realizes that they are infected
or understands how the disease is transmitted.

@Nimis : “Almost all HIV-infected children acquire the virus from their mothers before or during birth or through breastfeeding” same source as you quoted

The children acquire the disease through their parents with no choice, granted. The parents chose to infect their children with a disease that kills, that is unforgivable. The parents had a choice, they chose, the children pay. It is still a preventable disease, unfortunately, it now has to run it’s course through the innocents.

The herpes I acquired was through ignorance, no one knew what the hell it was back then (1951) I take steps to protect anyone I am in contact with to try to prevent them from getting the same curse.

Mother had the disease from ???? who knows. The disease was not diagnosed until the 80’s I think. Had she known, she may have taken preventative steps.

HIV Aids, the transmission method and the disease are known and have been known, millions of dollars have been spent warning and educating, but people still, for whatever reason, chose to spread it. Their choice.

AIDS was discovered in 1984.
Whereas herpes has been around for two thousand years.
The etymology of the word herpes has been around 25 centuries.

The parents chose to infect their children
with a disease that kills, that is unforgivable.
Good god. I don’t even know why I bother replying to reading this.

You’re right, you could read all of the articles you are so fond of quoting.

@Nimis. There is really no point in arguing this. It is an age-old argument to blame the victim. As an HIV doctor, I am quite familiar with this bigotry. It is a sad manifestation of homophobia and racism.

Medicine is not about blame, it is about compassionate treatment. We don’t blame the smoker for his emphysema or lung cancer, we treat him. We don’t blame the alcoholic for her cirrhosis, we treat her. We don’t blame the diabetic for failing to take her insulin and developing DKA, we treat her. We don’t blame the promiscuous male for developing gonorrhea and syphilis, we treat him. We don’t blame the elderly male for failing to get his pneumococcal or influenza vaccination and then getting pneumonia, we treat him. And so on. In all of these cases, the diseases were preventable, and yet, we still treat patients with dignity and respect. HIV-AIDS is no different.

@shilolo it is good that doctors generally do not with hold treatment as a result of personal judgment.

I beg to differ, AIDS is different. Different in the way is is transmitted. AIDS is generally transmitted via socially unacceptable practices, whereas the other diseases you mentioned are transmitted or contacted through forgetfulness or just being old. Certainly, smoking or drinking will kill you. Different from AIDS, think so.

My disdain is with HIV-AIDS patients who through their own volition acquired the virus without respect for their body or for their children’s. Either because they don’t care or because the taxpayer will pick up the tab for their treatment and medicines should they get infected. People of that ilk are in the same category as meth cookers, lowest of the low and should not be given free treatment, let their decision seal their fate.

Children who contact the disease through their parents, that’s unforgivable. The children pay a huge price, am I responsible? I am not. When the virus is transmitted through blood transfusions, that is sad. Am I responsible, no. That is the way life works, whether you get AIDS accidentally or slip on the ice and bust your ass. It’s unfortunate, but crap happens.

Their is no guarantee of a long and happy accident free life, so, if someone carelessly infects themselves with a killer disease and wants me (taxpayers)to bail them out when there are plenty of accidental candidates that better deserve treatment with limited funds, who do you think should be treated?

Perhaps, then, we would see a substantial reduction in the number of new case.

Pekenoe has obviously never seen the movie Kids.

@cheebdragon

I’m open, I doubt that anyone can convince me that sympathy is due the individuals who deliberately infected themselves or passed on this virus without regard.

By deliberately, ignores warnings, ignores the disease, ignores tests, or forgoes protection.

People that have contacted the disease through absolutely no fault of their own, it’s a damn shame and I do feel for them.

Especially chaffing is the fact that whomever gave it to them could have possibly stopped it there, if not, then it could have been stopped at the previous step, or the previous one, instead of passing it on like a game of tag.

Point being, somewhere back along the trail, someone could have stopped it cold, but didn’t. Those people do not deserve to exist, let alone deserve my help or sympathy.

Just like the nicotine addicted smoker who gives himself cancer and emphysema, and through second-half smoke, his wife gets cancer, and his kids get asthma. Just like the ethanol addicted drinker who gives himself cirrhosis, or an ulcer, and needs constant medical attention or a liver transplant. Or, like the truck driver who drives too long, falls asleep at the wheel, and gets into a serious accident that kills another person and-or hurts himself, requiring months of surgery and medical attention (hmmm).

You also have absolutely no idea about the epidemiology and biology of HIV. Most new infections occur through heterosexual sex. Most people who are infected don’t know until they get sick, which occurs 5–10 years after the initial infection. Most women who get infected in Africa are infected by their husbands. Most of them don’t know they are sick, and, unknowingly pass the infection on to their kids.

As I said, I have sympathy for those who got the disease innocently, what I also said was I despise those who pass it knowingly. I did not say that all cases were passed by people who knew they had the disease. I did say that somewhere back through the linked line of cases, there was quite possibly a person who knowingly passed it on that could have stopped it. Thereby saving a lot of people a lot of grief, those are the object of my anger. Would people please reread my post before assuming that I said something they didn’t like.

Ah, the classic troll two-step. One, make inflammatory comments. Two, feign innocence (“who, me?”).

Mind showing me the quote you are referring to?

#1 If you engage in any of those activities (other than transfusions, but especially screwing monkeys) you are aware of the risks, if you chose to ignore the risks, then you should die. Your choice.

If you are not aware of the risks and become infected, then that’s life. Ignorance is not an excuse.

#2 The parents chose to infect their children with a disease that kills, that is unforgivable. The parents had a choice, they chose, the children pay.

#3 AIDS is generally transmitted via socially unacceptable practices, whereas the other diseases you mentioned are transmitted or contacted through forgetfulness or just being old.

#4 Their is no guarantee of a long and happy accident free life, so, if someone carelessly infects themselves with a killer disease and wants me (taxpayers)to bail them out when there are plenty of accidental candidates that better deserve treatment with limited funds, who do you think should be treated?

All of the above statements are inflammatory and flame bait.

For some reason (namely, bigotry), you seem to want to blame HIV-AIDS patients, but allow smokers, drinkers, reckless drivers, unimmunized individuals, people that forgo preventive medical care (lower blood pressure, cholesterol, eating right, etc.) off the hook. You even acknowledge your own bias “AIDS is generally transmitted via socially unacceptable practices, whereas the other diseases you mentioned are transmitted or contacted through forgetfulness or just being old. Certainly, smoking or drinking will kill you. Different from AIDS, think so.”

FYI, none of your statements about HIV are even factually correct, so you are both uneducated about HIV, and bigoted. Not surprising, I suppose.

#1 “then you should die” I should have added this….. “in my opinion”.

#2 The parents who choose, granted, there are innocents who pass it.

#3, #4 all true and proven, proven contradictionary statements are welcome.

I responded to shilolo privately in response to not involve the community in bickering and name calling, behavior that I find disturbing in a moderator.

All of these statments were not made as a moderator. Though I would imagine that as moderator, he would even be more concerned for the quality of the community when a user states such bigoted and uneducated statements. Spreading misinformation and intolerance is not what Fluther is about.

@Nimis Then you should withdraw (quit spreading misinformation) and quit complaining when someone steps on your toes. If you don’t have proven validated facts to back it up, then back it off.

Are you willing to have sex with your best friend if they are of the same sex as you? If the thought of that turns your stomach, then you are a bigot, if used in the same sense you accuse me.

@shilolo @Nimis If you had the Herpes or the AIDS virus?

Would you do everything in your power to prevent it from spreading past you?

What would your personal opinion be of your friend who had the same disease but continued to live without concern for others and chose to not try to contain the virus, thereby spreading it throughout society?

I don’t know how this went from stopping oral Herpes to preventing Anal Injected Death Sentences?
As I recall oral herpes is a lot different than genital herpes. Oral herpes can be just a viral canker sore, which lysine is an efficacious treatment.

@Garebo Sorry, but canker sores ≠ herpes.

Tell that to my doctor.

@Garebo. I’m an infectious diseases doctor. I think I know better. Here is a link describing canker sores (which are not caused by herpes), and another about cold sores which are caused by oral herpes. Feel free to share that info with your doctor so that he/she can become better informed.

I must admit, I suffered severely with mouth leasions or canker sores when I was young, probably from food allergies of orange juice and bananas. The doctor said I had viral herpes and gave me a precription. This was before the advent of genital herpes on a large scale. I will check this out, thanks.

@shilo-This is what I learned:
There are 2 types of herpes simplex:
1. Herpes Type1 virus, typically causes cold sores, canker sores & fever blisters. A recurrent, contagious, viral infection characterized by
thin-walled, fluid filled blisters which have a tendency to recur in the same area, usually at the junction of skin and mucous membranes
such as the border of the mouth. They may also affect gums, mouth or conjunctiva

Right. I don’ t know your situation, but canker sores are easily identified within the mouth (and yes, they hurt) while herpes (cold) sores are usually at the junction of the mouth and skin. While unsightly, they tend not to be as painful (they can burn though). Herpes sores can be treated, while canker sores need to be managed supportively.

@shilo: But it says symptoms of the Herpes Simplex VIRUS are canker sores-who’s one to believe?
I don’t have them anymore, thank god; the doctor didn’t know that it was a food allergy.

I don’t think it says that. Show me…

My answer above states, “Herpes Type1 virus, typically causes cold sores, canker sores & fever blisters.” You have determined that herpes do not equal canker sores, that is why I am confused.

Well, that part of the statement is wrong. HSV1 does NOT cause canker sores. No one knows what causes them (probably a virus), but it isn’t HSV1. Cold sores and fever blisters, yes, canker sores, no.

i agree canker sores are probably a virus and medicine doesn’t know what causes them. And doctors have been known to associate them with Herpes.

Zovirax(prescribed by doctor) is a miracle worker on cold sores. it’s fairly expensive but, as soon as you feel the tingle of a cold sore coming on, you apply it and the cold sore won’t even have time to appear!