Difference between acyclovir and valacyclovir

Common Questions and Answers about Difference between acyclovir and valacyclovir

famvir

Avatar m tn 1) Take suppressive therapy, preferably with valacyclovir (acyclovir would be OK, but is less convenient because of more frequent dosing); 2) Inform each and every parnter of your HSV2 infection; and 3) always use condoms, unless your partner is willing to take the chance of not doing so. Although your apparently doesn't know herpes or its management very well, this doesn't necessarily mean she otherwise "sucks" as a caring and effective doctor.
Avatar f tn The official prescribing information for valacyclovir indicates a 1% chance of minor abnormalities of liver function in people taking valacyclovir, which was slightly higher than 0.5% for placebo. That difference was not statistically significant and there is no suggestion even for routine liver tests in people taking the drug. Here is a link to the official prescribing information about the drug, as approved by the US Food and Drug Administration: http://us.gsk.
Avatar m tn If both the infected and uninfected members of a couple consistently take any of the anti-HSV drugs (acyclovir, valacyclovir, famciclovir), I cannot imagine transmission taking place. You are wrong about suppressive therapy and blood test results. If someone catches HSV-2, the blood test becomes positive. If it remains negative, no infection occurred. For suppressive therapy to prevent transmission, I normally rely on valacylcovir 1.0 g once daily.
Avatar f tn However, it is well documented that valtrex and acyclovir perform very similarly. Valtrex is actually converted into acyclovir by the liver, so essentially, the two drugs act the same way in the body to suppress the virus. If acyclovir improves your quality of life, I would stick with it and explain the similarities to your partner - they are well documented and I expect you can find information in scholarly journals that supports the suppressive activity of acyclovir.
Avatar f tn postmarketing experience with valacyclovir provides evidence of favorable safety and efficacy in herpes simplex virus (HSV) management. Valacyclovir enhances acyclovir bioavailability compared with orally administered acyclovir. Long-term use of acyclovir for up to 10 years for HSV suppression is effective and well tolerated.
Avatar f tn You must tell your physician if you are allergic to valacyclovir or acyclovir. any kidney disease, blood disorders, immune deficiencies, dizziness etc. side effects associated are nausea, vomiting, fatigue, sore throat, hemolytic uremic syndrome etc. You need to be concerned about the cumulative side effects of the two drugs. Otherwise, there are no serious interactions documented in the medical literature. Hope this helps. Take care.
Avatar f tn Famvir and famciclovir are the same thing, as are Valtrex and Valacyclovir. One is the brand name, one is the generic. I'd stay on the valacyclovir. The last thing you need right now is another outbreak, and stopping antivirals can trigger an ob. I can't advise you on the amiltriptiline. If it's not working, maybe you shouldn't continue it, but PLEASE talk to your doctor before stopping it.
Avatar f tn Hi All, this is my first post. I had been taking acyclovir successfully for the past six years, for outbreaks about two to three times per year. With all the stress in my life these days, my outbreaks have become much more frequent and for whatever reason, I am now having some unpleasant side effects from acyclovir, like headache (tolerable), weird taste in my mouth and excess salivation, and a heavy feeling in my legs and arms.
Avatar f tn yes and no. Valtrex is an acyclovir prodrug. what that means if you swallow valtrex and your body changes it into acyclovir inside your body. Because of that unique delivery method, you get more active acyclovir available to fight the herpes virus when it's active so you take it less often. The main difference in the two of them is convenience and of course price.
Avatar f tn My dr changed my 2x daily 400mg acyclovir to 1 500mg of valacyclovir a month ago and it hasn’t made a difference. The worst part of all this is that I haven’t told my husband (we married last year). We have children and I’m so scared this is going to end my marriage. I never had outbreaks on the meds and never knew how to bring it up and now I’m suicidal over it. I’m a horrible person and just don’t know what to do.
Avatar m tn Hi, acyclovir is one med and valacyclovir is another this is the one termed valtrex.
Avatar m tn There are 3 antiviral meds for herpes: acyclovir (generic) also known as Zovirax Valtrex (valacyclovir) famciclovir (generic) also known as Famvir Any informed opinions. I know acyclovir is the oldest and I saw some impressive statistics on it's suppression abilities. Obviously the two generic drugs will be much less expensive than Valtrex.
Avatar m tn I know this has been covered before, but I don't like taking any medication daily (obviously in this case it's not really an option) so I'd like to try at least cutting back. I don't want to be on 500mg daily for the rest of my life (i'm only 26) so I was hoping that if I can cut back to 250mg daily then if that works out then one day I may be able to go onto just episodic treatment if the outbreaks are few and far between.
Avatar n tn Suppose she starts using daily suppressive treatment with acyclovir, and we did not have unprotected sex during symptomatic outbreaks. What does best science suggest the probability of me becoming infected would be per year, if there were,say, 50-60 varginal exposures per year without using condoms (I'm just expecting your best sense on this)? What should the daily dosage regime be? How much would condom use lower the risk?
Avatar f tn Sorry for posting so much but I am a wreck. Doctor said she'd have my results for the culture today but she hasn't called and it is driving me insane. I can't sleep soundly, I keep waking up every hour to see if I missed the call. No missed calls. I'm really losing it. I really wanna know what this is! I started taking the meds (Acycolvir 400mg 2 times a day) Friday night when I got home from the hospital and the pills have not made me feel any better, in fact i feel worst.
Avatar f tn Take antiviral medications like Acyclovir and Valtrex can help. Some topical creams like Prosurx or Acyclovir are also effective in keeping herpes sores dry. Besides, you should wear cotton underwear to avoid irritation. Immeditaely keep the sores clean and dry after taking bath by a soft cotton towel, and don't forget to wash the towel.
Avatar m tn (How many people know they were exposed to herpes within an hour after sex with a new partner, and also have access to acyclovir or valacyclovir so quickly?) And once infection is established, there is no reason to suppose seroconversion would be delayed, which was one of china's main questions.
Avatar f tn Hello Everyone, Does anyone have any recent data or know of any new studies that attempt to answer the question of whether acyclovir or valacyclovir therapy delay seroconversion? In past posts, Dr. HHH stated that it is unlikely that antivirals delay seroconversion while a more recent post by Dr. EWH states that more recent data suggests antiviral therapy can delay seroconversion. Can some shed some light on this? Below is my timeline of events.
Avatar f tn I have been on Acyclovir once a day 400mg as a preventative for outbreaks for almost 2 years now. It has significantly helped lessen the amount of outbreaks as well as the duration if I do get one. I had to recently switch doctors and this new doctor is not willing to prescribe it to me anymore stating that the FDA has linked Acyclovir to causing cancer after 1 year of use. I can't find anything on FDA website or Google linking long term effects causing cancer.
Avatar n tn I have never had an outbreak in my genital. And I have tested twice (6 months in between) and both times I am positive for HSV-1 and not HSV-2. First time HSV-1 IgG = 51.9. Second time HSV-1 IgG = 41. I know the basics about HSV and I appreciate you taking your time to explain it. 1. I was not expecting acyclovir to reduced the antibody response, I don't even think that's how that works? Acyclovir is an antiviral drug.
Avatar m tn I am on a daily antiviral treatment and my outbreaks went dormant for a year and a half and recently was five months between them. I have learned that sunburn / UV is a trigger for my outbreaks. My question is, if I prevent UV exposure to my lips where the outbreaks occur is that enough to theoretically thwart the onset of outbreaks or is the research behind HSV and sun exposure any sort of sunburn anywhere? Anyone have clarification? Thanks!
Avatar m tn consistent condom use; and taking anti-herpes suppressive therapy like valacyclovir. Genital to oral transmission is uncommon, but could occur. However, if it's HSV-1, the risk of transmission (for either genital or oral sex) probably is quite low. Also, has your partner been tested to determine for sure whether she has genital herpes? She could be tested to learn whether she is susceptible to HSV-1 or HSV-2, or perhaps previously infected and therefore immune to a new infection.
20830284 tn?1526838532 There are antiviral drugs like acyclovir, valacyclovir and famciclovir which can shorten the episodes and decrease their severity. Acyclovir reduces the pain and number of lesions in the initial case of herpes and reduces recurrence. The ointment applied topically reduces pain, healing time and limits the spread. Though rare, herpes virus can cause inflammation of membranes and the cerebrospinal fluid surrounding your brain and spinal cord." https://www.medhelp.
Avatar f tn Welcome to the forum. I'll try to help. There are two reasons for anti-herpes therapy the last 3-4 weeks of pregnancy in women with histories of genital herpes. First is to prevent a recurrent outbreak that would increase the chance of HSV transmission to the baby and would force an otherwise unnecessary cesarean section. The second is to lower the chance of transmission of HSV to the baby.
Avatar f tn you can also try switching to famvir to see if that makes a difference though it basically works the same way as acyclovir/valtrex does but some folks do do better on one over the other. best of luck getting to the bottom of all of this!!