Acyclovir dose for cold sores

Common Questions and Answers about Acyclovir dose for cold sores

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when you feel the tingle of a cold sore potentially starting, up your dose to 800mg 3x/day for 2 days to help speed healing. You can even head off a cold sore if you start it early enough. has your wife had herpes igg blood testing to know her status since you are thinking of more children? have you been tested for hsv2?

How long does the drug stay active in your system before you need to take the next pill? This is my first time fighting a cold sore with drugs and it seems to be working, my cold sore hasn't ruptured but i still can see the bubbles on my lip but it doesn't have pain like it usually does and it doesn't look like they are going to rupture open. any help is much appreciated as far as dosage goes and if i'm doing the correct thing.

Good morning, Big event coming up and I occasionally get cold sores. My question is, can I take Valacyclovir a few days in advance as sort of a preventative measure? If so how many milligrams would you recommend? Finally, at first sign of an outbreak what is recommended dosage of Valacyclvir? Thanks so much.

I understand it reduces the frequency of outbreaks and of asymptomatic shedding to some degree. I have had cold sores (i.e., HSV-1) as long as I remember (certainly before sexual activity), and I understand this also provides some protection. Assume I am uninfected. Suppose she starts using daily suppressive treatment with acyclovir, and we did not have unprotected sex during symptomatic outbreaks.

and secondly, am I contagious or shedding as they say online in the various forms? There seems to be some things about how if I have been taking the Acyclovir for 3 days (6 doses) and no outbreak then I am not contagious and the tingling is probably just my imagination at this point. I just don't want to pass this to my g/f at all. Can someone please put me at rest with my concerns with information? Thank-you for your help..

At first I was getting cold sores about every 4 to 6 weeks. I then started taking 500 mg of Valtrex daily for suppression therapy. This seemed to reduce the frequency of my outbreaks to about once every 2 to 3 months. To save money, my insurance switched me to acyclovir (400 mg twice a day) with similar results as the Valtrex. Then starting about 3 months ago, I began to have outbreaks every two weeks even with the suppression therapy.

I have had horrible cold sores for 14 years. B4 that, nothing. My initial outbreak was on my nose. Huge blister massive facial swelling that led to hospitalization for a month and diagnosed with herpes encephalitis. Since then only massive blisters, size of a plum. Cannot see shape of nose. When out brake frms on my lip it's so large it swells to the bottom of my chin. B4 I would have an out brake once a year, now it's almost every month.

I began suppressive therapy with acyclovir. Since then I’ve only had mild, painless and unopened sores about 3-4 times per year that healed in 3-5 days. I started off taking 800mg per day. I did this for about a year or two and then lowered it to 600mg per day until eventually I was taking 200mg per day for the past 18 months or so. I lowered the dose gradually because I thought this would be better for my health in the long run.

I have experienced non-stop severe cold sores for almost three months. I know how I got infected, and know I've never had them before. They cover the outer half of both lips, top and bottom). I've tried acyclovir and generic valtrex, with no relief. Not even a two hour break. Still taking generic valtrex (1 gram twice a day). I am taking Thompson's lip relief (lysine, vit c, zinc, bioflavanoids) and an immune support (andrographis,olive leaf, echinacea), and have been for a few weeks.

It is effective when the rash, cold sore, vesicle is visible (virus is active) and can be used as a suppression dosing. The double vision may be cranial nerve 6 involvement, and from what I have been told (I have CN6,7 and 8) time is what helps heal the nerves. They heal themselves but require time and energy to do so. With RHS we are told to allow 2 years for healing before trying other methods-surgery, stimulation,etc. Hope this helps.

The suppression dose for acyclovir is 400 mg twice a day. Acyclovir doesn't last as long in your body, so you aren't getting as much benefit from taking it once a day. You should take it at regular intervals, like breakfast and dinner, etc.

Hi, I am a 30yr old male. I got a cold sore (1st time) about four weeks ago. It first formed on the corner of my lip. It was a very bad outbrake, I had honey clusters forming on my lip and a couple a little white bumps form also on the lip area. I went to the doctor and they told me that it was caused by the herpies virus. No cultures or test were taking. They procribed Acyclovir(400mg) I took that for a week and no improvement. Actually I began to get more outbrakes above the lip area.

Well, after at least 12 years of successfully avoiding an outbreak, I developed a cold sore on my lip (usual spot) 17 days ago. I was very surprised as I had no advanced warning (no tingle or cheek pain) prior to feeling my lip develop a rather large blister. I'm pretty sure I also had a fever, as I could not get warm all day.

The symptoms never really progress past the prodrome phase as the extra doses of acyclovir seem to abort the OB quickly, but I'm concerned that maybe I'm developing a tolerance to the drug. Or, maybe I'm just constantly shedding! Also, I'm worried about the side effects of taking the higher doses somewhat regularly. What are your thoughts?

Well, since it's a little ways up my nose, I don't think I can put ice on it. I don't have any medication and can't see the doctor as I don't have health insurance at the moment. Do you know of any OTC medications that would be safe?

have you ever tried the oral herpes antivirals in the cold sores doses like acyclovir, valtrex or famvir? you can sometimes get a whitish drainage from a cold sore once it's been there a few days. I really wouldn't worry at this point that this is something else going on.

It activates and then goes into remission. If you are having cold sores more frequently - either go with the cold sore dose of one of the antivirals at the very first sign of one starting or if you are having them monthly and they are sure they are cold sores and not something else, consider suppressive therapy to try to reduce the number of cold sores you are having over all.

I did not have any signs and symptoms of ANY HSV (herpes 1 or 2) thru out my life. I never even had a cold sore!I've been dating ever since then. I met a girl in Sep 2011, I've been monogamous and have been having unprotected sex with her. In October '11, I left to go to another country (for work) and STILL maintained my monogamous relationship (I thought SHE WAS THE ONE); came back after 2 weeks later.

lysine doesn't help speed the healing of cold sores. it also doesn't help to reduce the number of recurrences either. we also don't have doses that are safe for children his age. I would not continue to supplement with it for your child. acyclovir is safe for children for suppressive therapy. Why not give it a try, 2x/day for the next few months to see if it reduces the number of cold sores he gets since you were given a prescription for it?

Hello, Without examination confirming a diagnosis is very tough but the various possibilities are perioral dermatitis(red papules or pustules appear around the lips), Fordyce spots(normal superficial sebaceous (oil-producing) glands seen on the moist tissue) , angular cheilitis(inflammatory lesion at the corners of the mouth) and cold sores. Perioral dermatitis is a chronic papulopustular and eczematous facial dermatitis. Treatment consists of oral antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs.

in the future, anytime you feel a cold sore about to start, that's the time to start the cold sore doses of acyclovir. 800mg 3x/day for 2 days is the easiest way to treat cold sores with acyclovir. If you don't have insurance, you can still take advantage of the walmart and type stores $4 prescriptions for acyclovir. just get it for the 200mg dose and take 4 pills at a time. for more info on hsv1 orally, see the herpes info at www.ashastd.org.

rite aid or CVS sell Herpecin L. it is used for cold sores and fever blisters. not only will it reduce any pain you have, but it will cover it up to a degree and the healing time is cut in half. i use it and it works. it's a lip balm like chap stick.

Ask your provider for a prescription for oral acyclovir, famvir or valtrex in the cold sore doses and use an otc pain relief topical instead if the cold sore hurts. Even cheaper yet, hold an ice cube to the cold sore !

It's more expensive than abreva though! The cold sore doses of acyclovir, famvir and valtrex all speed healing of cold sores on average by 2 days sooner than placebo. If started within 6 hours of the beginnings of a cold sore about to start, most folks can avoid a full blown cold sore.

they both work best when started at the very first tingle that a cold sore is on its way. abreva is over priced and only speeds healing of cold sores less than a day sooner than using a placebo. don't bother wasting money on that over priced teeny tube.

I'd give it another week yet and if you are still feeling this way, either try switching to acyclovir or even just stopping it and only taking the cold sore dose of valtrex or acyclovir when you feel like a cold sore is about to start. any side effects from valtrex should be better after a week or two of starting it as well as since you get less active acyclovir available to the body with acyclovir compared to what you get with valtrex, some folks do better on acyclovir.

My questions are - how likely is it for friction to cause a cold sore to appear on my face (when I've only had them appear on my lip and in my nose in the past)? Also, would it be ok to start taking a course of acyclovir now to make a cold sore (if it does appear) less of an issue or should I wait until there is an actual symptom?

I have no experience with genital herpes, however I do have HSV-1. I have always take acyclovir when I have a cold sore, and never had too much of an issue with side effects until my last prescription. They upped my dose from 200 mg to 800 mg (different doctor), and I had all kinds of problems and only ended up taking them for 2 days. After the 2nd day on the 800 mg, my eyes became very irritated and my lips developed a rash and broke out in fordyce spots.

have you thought about using oral antivirals for your cold sore? 1 day dosing for valtrex and famvir in the cold sore doses so much easier. also it could be way cheaper too. You can treat with acyclovir for as little as $4 for each cold sore if your provider writes the prescription properly. Just take the acyclovir 800mg 3x/day for 2 days.

those are the wrong doses for cold sores - that's the shingles dose! Try the 800mg 3x/day for 2 days dose instead and encourage your provider to check doses before prescribing!

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