Valacyclovir for cold sores
Common Questions and Answers about Valacyclovir for cold sores
valtrex
1) I have the beginnings of a cold sore on the lip. For Valacyclovir and Valtrex the recommended dosage is 2000mg every 12 hours...total of 4000mg in 24 hours. I have 2000mg of Valtrex and 2000mg Valacyclovir from prior outbreaks. Can I take them together for the some effect? Or do I need to take the 4000mg total dose with the same drug?
2) I am getting cold sores on the lip up to 3 times a year. There is no common catalyst. Each outbreak if not treated early is as severe as all the rest.
I had a cold sore for a week and granted I may have taken the loose scab off while washing it. But now after healing, it's dark and a little bit harder and rougher than the rest of my lip. Is it developing a scar? How can I heal it? I also took a medication I was prescribed at the doctor, it's called Valacyclovir. The doctor was very unclear on what she was giving me.
I have had cold sores since I was like 3 ;I met someone I deeply cared for and love..I am a lesbian by the way..I telling u this because of the questions I have.
So we got tested and everything came back negative for me except of course HSV1 and for her all was negative.
Here are my questions and thank u in advance for answering them:
1. I have read so many different percentages of shedding from 5% to 18% the highest..which is closer to the truth?
2.
I have been experiencing all-over-body nerve tingling for about 10 months now, after a strangely over the top outbreak of cold sores (HSV1) on my chin, nose & upper lip - the nerve tingling happens: scalp, ears, eyelids, nose, temples, armpits, arms, hands, groin, knees, feet, all over the place. Normally, throughout my teenage years, I would just get a single cold sore on one lip, thought nothing of it, but this outbreak had multiple small spots, lasted longer, and they were quite painful.
Herpes zoster (shingles) and herpes simplex are entirely different viruses and cause entirely separate medical conditions. Perhaps it is possible your distant past shingles was really HSV1 which was misdiagnosed -- but probably not.
The recurrent sore on your nose could be simply trauma from nose blowing etc, but I suspect you are correct in assuming it's HSV1 that recurs when you have an upper respiratory infection. (They're called "cold sores" for good reason!
have been taking Valacyclovir 500mg once daily for this for 8 years now. Seems to help a little but not much. Also for the same time 9-10 years my bottom (ONLY) lip peels ALL the time. now let up. Not an allergy to makeup/lipstick/lip/balm. I stopped using and it did nothing to solve this. I worry mainly about the peeling lip as it hurts lot and looks awful and is an invitation for germs to get into my body through the open sorness. Any help out there or does anyone else have this?
Valtrex is valacyclovir which would be a very effective preventative medication to block herpes simplex 1 which is the most frequent cause of cold sores (aphthous ulcers) and sores around the mouth. It sounds like cold sores, and you could find our for sure by having the open sore cultured by your doctor. If it's not blocking forming these sores, it could be something else.
I started getting sores on my tongue after i get a cold sore, which I have always had, about 5 months ago and these sores on my tongue have been constant since than. The start as a small dot that develops a white ring and the white ring spreads outward and the sore gets bigger with a shallow red sore inside it. They start and take about 10-15 days to heal and typically occur in same areas, back of tongue and tip of tongue. My tongue also feels hot and burns.
HSV-2 hardly ever causes cold sores and when it does it rarely recurs. Finally for lesions to occur in place where there was no contact makes herpes almost certainly not the issue. AS I said before, you need to stop worrying and take care of the problem. The way to do that is to seek evaluation. Again as I said, in your case if the rash is still there, I would think a dermatologist would be the best bet.
The Valtrex I have now is really a hassle to get, I have to go to the dr or clinic and tell them I sometimes get cold sores and have found valtrex works well in keeping them away, could you write me a prescription,
So that is the situation now, but before I was able to find a few doctors that would write the RX (had to shop around a few)...which is crazy...what do they think, I am going to overdose on Valtrex? No One asks for this drug unless they need it...
Thank you for your answers to my earlier questions about how contagious GHSV-1 is. You helped and your responses were comforting. Yet I have some more questions:
(1) It is my understanding that it is hard to shed asymptomatically from my stomach and that is why it is taking longer to heal (will...it's healed...but for the redness to go away). Do you, or anyone else, know how long it normally takes for your stomach to heal completely (as in no signs at all)?
I don't think they are cold sores. I have tried valacyclovir pills, eczema cream, antibacterial ointments, proactive, petroleum jelly, blistex, fluticasone propionate cream and have iced it and there has been no difference. Someone please help!!!
Also, I recently tested positive for HSV-1 with a numerical value of 21 from Labcorp Captia, never had cold sores and negative for HSV 2. Do you feel I should just move on? Does having HSV 1 protect me from HSV 2? Does flu like symptoms with no sores or blisters resemble HSV 2 infection? Does her meds help reduce the chance of spreading the infection? Thanks in advance.
About 14 days ago i went to the doctor to check out some bumps on my lower back and lower right thigh. He said it was the herpes virus but did not clarify which type it was (1 or 2 or zoster). The bumps on my back were itchy and the ones on my thigh were sore. I have been in a relationship with a girl for the past year and several months and we have unprotected sex several times and i have never experienced any symptoms before. She has been my only sexual partner.
Full STD screens 6 weeks and 12 weeks after exposure came up positive only for HPV 1. I’ve never had cold sores. Around June the HPV spread to my mouth and nose. In July it spread to involve my scalp and I got blepheritis and conjunctivitis in both eyes. An ophthalmologist who confirmed blepheritis but didn’t think it was anything to worry about. When it started to involve my sclera I put myself on valacyclovir 1g BID and I’ve been on that for nearly 2 months.
I was also started on Valacyclovir (2 grams/day for 5 days). Since that time (around 7 days now), my mouth sores have made little improvement. The never actually blistered. The issue I am now having is terrible pain in my groin area. My testicles, penis and the areas around the nodes on both sides of my legs ache. Is is possible that I will also have an outbreak on my penis? So far no sign of anything on the penis.
There are several very atypical aspects to all this. Recurrent shingles is very rare. Were all of your "few episodes" professionally diagnosed, and tested for the singles virus? Or for HSV? How about your cold sores -- also professionally diagnosed? Were those outbreaks in your mouth, on your lips, or where?
Assuming you indeed have oral herpes, almost certainly it is HSV-1, since they began in childhood; and almost certainly your recurrent genital herpes is HSV-2.
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