Antiviral Therapy for Herpes

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) types one or two are the causes of infection that results in what is known as genital herpes. Outbreaks can affect any part of the genitals and surrounding areas. The infection by HSV remains in your system permanently and may cause recurring outbreaks at varied times. Antiviral medications are used to suppress HSV outbreaks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Types of Therapy

• Herpes is treated either with episodic therapy or suppressive therapy, according to the International Herpes Management Forum (IHMF).

  Episodic therapy is used to relieve symptoms and minimize the duration of outbreaks. The therapy does not prevent recurrence or affect the rate of recurrence. Usually, antiviral drugs are given between two and five times daily for five days at the first sign of outbreak during episodic treatment.

  Suppressive therapy is the use of antivirals over several months to eliminate symptoms for that period and stop recurrence throughout the duration of the treatment. Your doctor will help you determine whether this treatment is right for you. Often, suppressive therapy is used for patients who have long-lasting and severe outbreaks or outbreaks that happen very frequently. Other factors such as impact on personal well-being, pain and depression may be factors in determining whether this is the appropriate type of treatment.

Aciclovir

• According to the IHMF, aciclovir was the first antiviral therapy that was effective against herpes. It is still used, but less than other available therapies. The drug can be used for suppressive or episodic treatment. Episodically, aciclovir is known to reduce severity of outbreaks and can shorten the length of time during which the virus can be spread to sexual partners. When taken as a suppressive therapy, it has shown a reduction in outbreaks in patients from an average of 11.4 per year to just 1.8.

Valaciclovir

• Valaciclovir is another successful antiviral. As an episodic drug, sores resulting from outbreaks will heal more quickly and the duration of herpes detection on the skin surface is decreased, according to the IHMF.

  Clinical trials have shown significant decreases in total outbreaks associated with suppressive therapy with valaciclovir. The research showed that eight times more patients taking the antiviral were recurrence-free than those in a placebo group. Also, the trials proved that 85 percent of outbreaks were either delayed or prevented entirely with valaciclovir.

Famciclovir

• Pain and duration of outbreaks are significantly reduced in episodic therapy with a drug called famciclovir, according to the IHMF. Famciclovir appears to have many of the same benefits as valaciclovir, but clinical trials show the outbreak reduction slightly behind that of the other option at 70 to 72 percent. Also, three times more patients were recurrence-free than those taking a placebo, as opposed to the eight times more patients in the valaciclovir study. However, each person responds to the antivirals differently and should consult a doctor about which one may be best for their situation.