Valtrex viral shedding
Common Questions and Answers about Valtrex viral shedding
valtrex
I am 43 years old otherwise healthy male and have had genital herpes for almost 22 years now.
When I was diagnosed with this disease in 1986 I was told in a nutshell, no sores - no problem (that is in the absence of ALL the stages associated with the disease of course) and I had no reason to think otherwise that is until yesterday.
I guess I am wondering if it really reduces the viral shedding (What is the difference between shedding and an outbrea anyway) or transmission to an uninfected partner? What about L-Lysine and something about kelp that helps to reduce it too. I guess I am just confused since I dont know what an outbreak really is!
Sometimes I forget that I have this....
Also is taking 400mg of Acyclovir enough for suppressing viral shedding, or is 400mg 2x daily going to suppress viral shedding that much more. What is an estimated percentage of suppressing viral shedding with both aforermentioned doses? Also where is a free/cheap place to get a HSV blood test in California?
Haven't been able to get much info/ answers from my doctor. Want to take something to suppress it to lessen the chance of passing it on and symptoms.
Thank you.
if you are on daily suppressive therapy, it reduces not only the number of recurrences you have in general but also reduces viral shedding by 80-90%. Less viral shedding, less risk of a partner coming into contact with hsv2 regardless of the sex act.
when folks do contract hsv2 orally, on average it doesn't reoccur again in your lifetime and also hardly sheds at all.
ve also read that viral shedding is quite small for oral HSV-2 since its not in the area it wants to be. I've also read that viral shedding is most prominent in the first 2 years of infection. If I wait 2 years before performing oral sex, and take valtrex daily, how likely would oral to genital transmission be? I don't want to put anyone at risk.
are you taking valtrex or acyclovir?
Are you taking acyclovir 400mg 2x/day or just 800mg once a day?
My understanding is that based on my Genitial HSV-1 diagnosis, I should never have another outbreak (or at least very few) and that I am at an extremely low risk of spreading the virus through shedding. Valtrex is outrageously expensive costing me and my HMO about $375 per month. Also, I am worried about the side effects of the drug. Lately I have started to feel rather depressed, something very new to me.
tea tree oil is a symptom remedy, it doesn't prevent recurrences. lysine doesn't help to speed healing of cold sores nor has it been shown to reduce the recurrence of them. we also have no info on if it's helpful for reducing viral shedding or not. it's the valtrex that has been doing all the work at suppressing your hsv1, not the lysine.
Is it inside the vaginal canal in which case penetrative sex is risky yet fooling around naked without direct genital to genital contact/rubbing is safe? Does shedding carry the same viral load as a herpes sore? The whole shedding concept is troublesome since the biggest thing for a herpes carrier is to never transmit the virus to a partner.
Thank you for any insight.
asymptomatic shedding of HSV-2 continues in most infected persons 10+ years after their initial HSV-2 infections, including people with few or no symptoms of recurrent herpes.
2) Symptomatic recurrent outbreaks do not necessarily occur at the site of the initial infection. Recurrent episodes can occur anywhere from waist to upper thighs. (Think of the parts of the body covered by men's boxer shorts -- that's where recurrent HSV-2 episodes are possible.
Is there a correlation between the frequency of outbreaks and viral shedding? For example, if someone gets multiple outbreaks per year does that mean they are asymptomatically shedding more often than the person who experiences, say, 1 outbreak per year? I know genital HSV-1 is less well studied than genital HSV-2 however, any information on this topic would be appreciated.
I am wondering about this as I was diagnosed two months ago with genital HSV-1. I have not had a recurrence yet.
There is no evidence that the supplements will do anything at all, but the VAltrex will certain reduce both outbreaks and viral shedding.
If you are only infected genitally, then you can only transmit from the genital area. You say you've never had any major outbreaks orally? If you have ANY outbreaks orally, then it means you are orally infected and can transmit to others via your mouth.
No, you can't shed from areas where you are not infected.
to number 4, no and no.
I am a 40 year old female with genital HSV1, I am currently going through my initial outbreak, I have a prescription for Valtrex. I will be seeing a potential sexual partner in several weeks. What are the chances of him(he is HSV1&2 negative) catching HSV1 orally by performing oral sex on me? Chances of him catching HSV1 genital by having intercourse with me?
ve been taking 500mg of Valtrex every night and plan to do so for the next year to year and a half as suggested by my doctor. I have had no other outbreaks since the first one. My doctor explained to me that taking Valtrex on a regimen would help the virus become dormant. I was wondering what that meant specifically in terms of my likelihood of transmitting the virus to sexual partners with or without condoms.
Also, I am an HSV2+ male and I am considering swab testing to determine my rate of viral shedding while using Valtrex for suppression therapy - how long do I need to undergo daily swabs to have an accurate view of the issue - 100 days? Is this overkill? (money is not an issue in this case, but having the data would be helpful in terms of peace of mind - it also seems like people shed at highly varying rates, making the study averages less personally meaningful) . . .
if you two want to use condoms, try female condoms. He doesn't have to maintain an erection to use those.
to answer your previous question I missed, no, valtrex doesn't reduce the viral shedding of active lesions.
it reduces it, it doesn't stop it completely.
She says that sometimes she feels something but no symptoms appear. Could this be a hidden symptom of viral shedding, a helpful sign that now is not a good time? Questions: What are my chances of staying with her and not contracting the H be it in the short or long term? Will I most likely get it if I think on the long term? Can we have unprotected sex; can I give her oral sex? What kind of sex life can we have, what measures should she and I take for protection and prevention?
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